Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: Snickerdoodlesmom on October 19, 2013, 05:28:49 PM
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Snickerdoodle was running around his cage as usual last night and fell on his face. He is CLEARLY in pain or at least is uncomfortable. He sneezes over and over again, and there was a bit of blood (dried now- when he wiped his nose, I saw dried blood on his hand). He's eating and drinking, and poop is normal. He just seems a bit down and keeps pawing at his nose. Please advise.
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Call the vet and ask for advice. There is a possibility he needs treatment.
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What are the risks here? ::cry222:::
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I think this is a case where the animal needs to be examined to assess the risks. Best case is that he cut his lip from the inside that will heal on its own. Worst case is damaged teeth or a wound that can infect.
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It's his nose though.
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I forgot to mention that last night, even after his injury, I took him out and he was popcorning everywhere. He seemed to run back to his cage more, but he was popcorning.
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It is your call. If you see any new blood or if he goes off his food then seeing a vet becomes non-negotiable.
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Okay. What could the sneezing be from?
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I am not a vet. There are some things only an xray can reveal. Or a physical exam.
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Are his teeth fine? It could be something to do with when he fell on his face pushed his teeth up into nasal cavity area, causing the bleeding. But, I would definitely take him to a vet to be looked at just in case. I hope he is alright let us know.
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His teeth are fine. It's his nose :(
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Google "chinchilla skull" and you'll get a better idea.
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My mom won't give me the vet's number.
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How is he doing today? Any improvement?
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I guess. He still sneezes when his nose is touched :(
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Could be bruised. It may heal on its own. As long as he is still eating his hay and pellets I wouldn't get too upset. I think if it were life threatening he'd be in pretty bad shape today.
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Also with most animals three days after an injury or surgery typically is going to be the time they are in the most pain from inflammation so don't be too surprised if he gets a little worse before he gets better. You can see from the skull anatomy of chinchillas that the bones of the upper maxilla come to sharp edges at the nasal opening so you can imagine that being shoved up into the soft tissues on a blunt force impact. Because it's such a fragile area a vet visit and exam would have been advisable to check for signs of fractures to the skull and teeth and lacerations in the mouth or nose.
Because there is no new blood and he is still eating regularly today I think that rules out the worst problems. I suspect that Snickerdoodle will be fine and the symptoms will subside in less than a week.
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How is Snickerdoodle today? Is his nose still sensitive? Is his food consumption and behavior otherwise normal?
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Any new blood with the sneezes? How is his eating and drinking? And is he still playing like normal?
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Thanks everyone! There are very few sneezes now :) Maybe once every three days :)
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I am glad to hear that. I think the risk of infection is mostly over by now and there has been enough time for everything to close up. There is a possibility that some of the underlying damage could be permanent, not that he is in pain, but it could cause some sneezing because it feels weird when is pressure is applied to that area. We'll see. For severe bruising it still can take a couple weeks to fully heal.