Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: guybrushandsnicket on February 21, 2016, 05:11:09 PM
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Hello, I'm posting because my chin Guybrush's feet look sore, but he doesn't seem to be having any trouble moving or look like he's in pain. He doesn't even seem to be paying more attention to his feet that usual, he's eating and drinking fine. I know they tend to hide illness well, but surely if they were sore he'd limp?
He's in a wire cage with ledges, a wooden hidey-box, and two fleece blankets and a fleece hammock to rest on. He's also white with pink, rather than grey skin so I don't know if I'm just seeing normal callouses.
I've attached a picture. The flash was on so it looks more... dramatic? than it does in natural light. Sorry for the quality as well.
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Do you have shelves in the cage that your chinchilla sleeps on? I have a standard grey and a white mosaic. They have some callouses but they aren't near that thick. I don't think your chin is in pain or in trouble but it looks a little concerning to me.
To me it looks like exposure caused by being on a wire floor without enough wooden shelves. You should have at least two shelves that span roughly the length of the cage either on the long side or the short side. You may also want to add a granite or marble slab to the cage.
I also know that sometimes fleece lined floors can increase your pet's exposure to urine and this can cause irritation and sometimes bleeding of the skin so be careful of that as well.
It's good that you're keeping an eye on this.
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Thanks for replying. There are 3 shelves in the cage, but they're spaced out. I'll rearrange them asap. I hadn't heard that about fleece blankets but it makes sense, I'll start changing them more often (though they've never been damp that I've noticed). They seem to be sorer today, so I'm going to make a vet appointment to try and nip anything developing in the bud :)
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His feet are fine. Pink feet often look red. If there isnt any blood, discharge or swelling then theres nothing to worry about. Wire cages are quite safe and healthy to use, as long as the chin has a single solid surface to get off the wire if it chooses to. Fleece bedding is more likely to lead to feet problems than any other bedding. They need hard rough surfaces to keep the healthy callouses on their feet