Bear’s Kit Update

The little beige male is still hanging on in there. It really is touch and go with him - although he is very feisty his foot is a real mess and there is a huge risk of infection and septicaemia.
My vet is being superb as usual and is discussing possible antibiotic therapy with an exotics specialist. She was not there yesterday unfortunately and the little chap had an injection of Engemycin to cover until tomorrow - we need to decide which course of action is best. He is far too small to be given pain relief but he has surprised us all today by trying to use his paw despite the damage. Eventually I think he will lose his front left leg - but that’s a long way down the road yet and we have to get him through the next couple of days or so first. He is certainly a determined little character.

Here he is with his very grumpy mum - she has just been belly shaved at the vets because the little chap cannot use his paws to part her fur and, therefore, could not find a nipple easily for feeds. She is being very good with him though and is keeping him warm and clean - she is still not bothering his wounds either which is good.

……….

………

………

The outcome is far from certain for this little chap - this is one of the challenges that comes with breeding chinchillas - it does not always go smoothly and there is always a risk of losing mother and/or kit(s). I deliberately took this week off work in order to be at home when Bear was due to deliver - it is a good job I did - I am topping up his feeds round the clock and carefully monitoring his wounds for signs of infection. He needs intensive TLC for now. No sleep for me for a while.

For those of you who are interested I have taken a photo of the kit’s foot - it is not for the faint-hearted - please don’t look if squeamish.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

………..

It was not easy to photograph due to the small size of the kit and the fact he was wriggling in my vet’s hand! The small white bits visible at the front left of the photo are what is left of the kit’s digits (toes) and the green bit in the middle of the top wound looks like a bit of readigrass. Even if the massive injury somehow heals he will be left with a toes-less paw with probable limited movement. However it is so severely damaged that I suspect it will need to be amputated when he is strong enough to survive the anaesthetic and surgery.

Please keep this little chap in your thoughts - we have a long road ahead of us.