Sick Shinek
On the mend
Back to normal! | One day I let my chinchillas run out of their cage. I planned
a small photo session with them so firstly I let them go away from cage
then I started to prepare a tripod for my camera. It was positioned
in a bad place so I decided to move it a little bit. Of course since
I was busy with the tripod I did not pay attention to my chins.
I moved the tripod and as I put my leg on the floor I suddenly
heard a terrible cry - like in agony - and I saw that my leg had squeezed
one of my chins to the ground!
A few seconds later I saw two slowly expanding stains of bright and dark
blood and I saw Shinek lying on his side, bleeding strongly from his mouth
and nose.
I thought I'd killed him by breaking his backbone but I was, fortunately,
wrong. He was unable to move for a while, then he stood slowly. Bleeding
was continuous but decreasing.
I immediately put him in a basket and together with my daughter we
went quickly to a vet, who lives around 1 kilometer away from our flat. Shinek
was carefully examined and given an anti shock injection. I was told that the
next 3-6 hours would be critical for his survival. The Vet also said that the fact we reacted very quickly probably saved his life.
We observed Shinek all night long. The bleeding had stopped
but it was clear to us that he was very weak, sick and in a very bad state.
He did not eat anything nor drink - just standing and sleeping. His breath
was also very quick and irregular. Fortunately there was no bleedings from
his belly. He was weak and unable to bite hard food for over a month.
Recently I got information from our vet that probably I squeezed his
upper teeth which cut wrists and arteries located in the lower part of
his mouth. It was absolutely impossible for me to notice his
position because Shinek was running very quickly and very silently. After
that accident I started to analyze the causes and I found that:
1. Chins run silently and they love to play with you pretending
they run away; you will never be able to foresee their next move.
Thus you should always be aware of where your chinchillas are before moving.
2. Chins love to run and change direction very quickly. I know from
observation that they could be found anywhere - behind chairs, beds, armchairs,
under the table etc. Now I move my legs and furniture very slowly and noisily
in order to let them have an audio warning that something is happening
.
3. The ideal situation is to let chins out of their cage when you are
in static position e.g. you watch TV, read a book, rest in an armchair
etc. If you are going to move extensively in a room you' would be
better to leave them in their cage. On the other hand a static position will
give you plenty of fun just observing all your chins activities and games
4. If, for any reason, you must move in the room while they are out,
always check carefully as you move, also do not move any furniture, boxes,
bags without checking for the presence of your chins behind it. |
