Chinchillas have become popular as pets over the last few years. Whilst some chins have always been sold as pets, the full implementation (January 2003) of the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 meant that it was illegal to keep animals for the production of fur. Since then, the chinchilla “industry” in the UK has been geared solely towards pet keeping.

Since the first UK chinchilla forum appeared in 2002 the number of members using such forums has rocketed. Along with the positive aspects – better chinchilla husbandry (some of the original pet books contain erroneous information), support for people when going through challenging times with their chins, and the availability of like-minded people for networking – the forums have probably contributed to the increased number of chinchillas available and also to the number of unwanted chinchillas around the UK.

Chinchilla kits are incredibly endearing. They are born fully furred, precocious, and ready to go. They are appealing and as such it has become popular to try and breed them – with little or no knowledge of the potential pitfalls involved or the consequences. Forums have made it much easier to obtain chinchillas of both sexes or even as pairs and the resulting over breeding of pet or poor quality chinchillas is becoming more and more apparent.

Now I’m not saying forums are a bad thing – I cannot say that, since I moderate on 2 and administrate another with a couple of friends – but they can give a false picture of chinchilla breeding; making it appear lucrative (the price asked for some chins), and relatively easy. Some people never read the opposite side of the story – females that die in labour, kits that are still born or have some deformity or die after a couple of days, hand rearing 24/7 for weeks, prolapses …………. the list of potential problems is a long one.

What I am suggesting is that it is the responsibility of the forums to educate and provide support but to do it in such a way that people are discouraged from indiscriminate breeding. Indiscriminate breeding is the key phrase here. This is not easy – there is a balance between giving advice and being supportive when things go wrong and being judgmental. The problem is that forums are often targeted by numpties intent on trolling for attention or winding people up for fun.

That gets very tiring – trying to sort the genuine people asking for help and/or information and the trolls, intent on causing chaos. I don’t like trolls. I don’t like numpties. I don’t like people who lie from one forum to the next, one thread or post to the next and then get stroppy when they are caught out – hello? If you’re going to use the forums (which are perused by the same people in general) then for goodness sake learn to lie better! If you can’t get the story straight or the story changes from forum to forum you’re going to be found out and somone will point it out – quite often by me!

There was no change in his urine so back to see Jade with a urine sample – collected using very technical means: a bit of tin foil under his cage. 

Urinalysis (testing the urine for various thing) revealed blood, protein, and white cells so he’s been started on Septrin twice a day to try and shift any underlying infection (the Septrin is also good for his bumblefoot). 

Jade and I discussed his condition and he is going to have Xrays under anaesthetic to check whether he has any stones in his kidneys/bladder or underlying kidney disease/failure. I don’t think he’s going to be amused, bless him.

I’ve been watching Mr Otto closely since he arrived at The Manor and it’s pretty obvious he has some problems.

Taking in rescues is never easy, especially when one does not know the chin’s history – it is always a risk. Sometimes problems are not initially apparent and a quick veterinay check is not sufficient to identify all the underlying problems/issues – although Otto was apparently initially veterinary checked when dumped he has several potentially serious problems – these really should have been spotted because they are fairly obvious - it’s a bit frustrating that they were not since he could have started treatment sooner. 

Anyway …………. I noticed that Otto had dark urine when he arrived (easy to spot because he has his cage lined with soft light coloured towels). Initially his dark urine could have been attributed to a little dehydration because he did not have access to water during ther show day (not normally a problem since chins don’t tend to drink much during the day anyway) but the dark urine has continued to be present. He’s not obviously dehydrated – the rough test for this is if you gently pinch the skin on the back of an animal’s neck and it remains in a tented position the chances are the animal is dehydrated. If the skin immediately returns to it’s original position (ie. flat) then the animal is considered to be sufficiently hydrated. 

 Also he continues to throw his weight a little onto his front feet while resting and is somewhat awkward when he mobilises (he looks like a clockwork toy when he runs and throws his right hip out).

So he went to see Jade today and he’s definitely got arthritis in his back legs – he’s been started on Metacam daily for that.  He’s also got signs of bumblefoot and a fluctuant /squishy (meaning there is fluid under the skin - i.e. a hidden ulcer) rear left foot which will need treating if it breaks open – If necessary I’ll be dressing that on alternate days to help with healing.

In himself, Otto is bright and seems perfectly happy – he’s a real sweety and he is bouncing about like a spring lamb at times and is obviously enjoying his heat mat, exercise (within limits) and the Manor life in general.  He looks like he’s probably been a breeding male at some point in his life – he has only a few digits on his front paws.