Paralyzed leg
 

Hello,

My female chinchilla is 8 yrs old and on Thursday night, I found that she couldn't move her left hind leg at all and can barely move her right hind leg. Took her to the vet yesterday but the xray shows there is no problem with her spine and there is no bruising anywhere.

She refuse to eat on her own so I'm giving her baby food (as the vet suggested).

Can anybody let me know why this can happen? :(

And if there is anything.... ANYTHING at all that can help her?

Thank you,

Justina

See if your vet can get you a product called "CriticalCare" which is designed for the needs of herbivores who are not eating properly. It would be better than baby food.

Good luck with the paralyzed leg.

I had a chinchilla sprain his hind leg before. The vet couldn't tell what was wrong with it as well. I removed all ledges and perches, so that my chin would not jump and cause more strain on the leg. After a couple of days, he started using his leg again.

For your chin, does it have nerve damange? Do a test to see if your chin still has feeling in its leg. Push the leg again a table edge and see if she will move the leg at all to attempt to step on the table. If she has nerve damage, she wouldn;t move her leg at all, as she wouldn't be able to feel the table pushed against her leg.

I also agree with weng keong about using critical care. You have to get a vet's prescription. I use baby food sometimes, but feel that it doesn't work as well.

Which vet do u go to? I recommend Dr Hsu at The Animal Clinic or Dr Ling of Namly clinic.

Thank you both for your help. Unfortunately my poor Angie has nerve damage. Her leg is as soft as jelly and she can't feel a thing even if i press it (by right should be hard enough for the lil thing).

I went to Dr Ling in Namly Clinic last friday. (Sourced from the internet late last thursday night out of desparation because I know some vets may not be that good with chins. Plus the real shocker is the previous owner who gave the chins to me know next to nothing about chins.) Dr Ling was the one who treated Angie. She was great. Ok, I shall mention CriticalCare to her and purchase it from her. Have another appointment with Dr Ling for followup... if Angie survives till this coming friday!!!!

Been force feeding Angie every single morning at night and thank God she still seems ok, and strong enough to bite my finger at the same spot the last few days till it has a slight infection now, and pee on me 3 times in a row last night.

Thank you both again!! :)

Jus

Please keep us updated. Good luck to you and your chin.

If REALLY desperate, can try accupucture as an alternative. You would need to call up Mt Pleasant to get a referral. I only know people who did it in dogs, so i don;t know if it will work on chins, but it never hurts to try. Not sure about cost though, but i think it is $80 a session.


I read a story of someone's dog who also could not move its hind legs gradually regain use of the hind legs over 3 sessions. It was amazing.

yah, i heard about accupuncture on animals. My friend's sister-in-law's friend took her bunny for accupunture and the bunny healed it's back problem. But what I'm afraid of is from what I read from internet and heard from friends (they know one or 2 ppl with chins), there are so many ways for a chin to "move on."

Honestly I hesitate to contact Mt Pleasent because there's quite a few not so great stories floating around.

Will bug my friend on the accupunture place the bunny got taken to. :) If she can help me to find out, that'll be great!!!

yup, will keep you both updated. :) Thanks again. :)

At House of Chinchilla, we sell critial care but we only have the large bottle. No need vet's prescription.