It was a dark and cold night when a member of
public turned up with an unknown animal the dog
had sniffed out. Cautiously
peering into the box I saw two beady eyes looking back at me, to my
surprise it was a Chinchilla!
Stapeley Grange does not take in domestics usually but it appeared that he had been abandoned. He therefore needed temporary refuge until he could be moved on to one of our domestic centres. I took down as much information as possible in case an owner came forward to claim him and then gave him a quick inspection. There appeared to be a problem with his teeth so he was put down for an urgent vet inspection the next day.
Once we had found and set up a suitable
cage that had shelves, tunnels and places to hide I put in some food and
water, it was ready. He appeared
to instantly love his new pad and investigated around. We also provided a dust bath which is
important to keep his fur in good condition.
Unfortunately, this story did not have a happy ending. During the vet inspection it was discovered that he had some major dental issues, so bad in fact that he was put to sleep.
Owners of exotic pets need the knowledge to provide for their specific welfare needs. Chinchillas don’t like excessive heat (as they can’t sweat and overheat easily), need lots of exercise and their teeth need to be worn down as excessive growth can prevent them from eating. Why was this Chinchilla abandoned? Maybe its owner could not afford the massive vet fees that were involved in sorting out its teeth, I suppose I’ll never know, a very sad ending indeed.
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