Unfortunately, the Chinchilla poked it's eye on something, which got infected. Zie stopped eating and pooping, and I had to examine it to find the problem. Veterinary intervention seemed the best course of action, so I then had to locate a competent vet that would actually treat a chinchilla, take time off from work, and drive the chinchilla to the next county for treatment.
Treatment consisted of putting medication in. the. chinchilla's. infected. eye. FIVE. Times. Daily. A process that was about as much fun as giving a cat a pill, although chinchillas don't have much in the way of claws, and it only bit me hard enough to break the skin once.
Wake up. Pour Coffee. Put drops in chinchilla's eye. Take Shower. Recapture chinchilla. place salve directly on chinchilla's eyeball. Go to work.
Return from work. Drag complaining chinchilla from cage, place salve directly on eyeball.
Eat dinner. Recapture chinchilla, put drops in eye. get ready for bed. Recapture chinchilla, place salve directly on eyeball. go to bed.
Rinse, lather, repeat for FIVE WEEKS. Add several more vet visits, subtract several hundred dollars from $discretionary_spending.
*sigh*. I was trying to NOT grab the chinchilla, since it was very skittish when I got it. Obviously, this whole process set me back to zero on the trust front. However, the chinchilla has stopped making angry sounds when I come near it, and it doesn't always pre-emptively bite my hand when I try and touch it, so maybe all is not lost.
The chinchilla's eye is still somewhat whitish and cloudy, but the vet seemed to think that it will eventually clear and the chinchilla will have some/most vision from it. Otherwise, the chinchilla is fine, the vet removed the large mats from it's coat, and with improved diet and more exercise it seems much healthier than when I got it in November. Although the people I got if from said they were told it was a female, the vet has confirmed it is male. So, I'm glad I didn't name it Sophie, because it would still be biting me out of rage and humiliation. Since it is the Chinchilla Who Can't Be Named, I have been toying with the idea of calling it Voldemort.
-- PB "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the Red Bull generation." - CJW
>> >> Well, I was watching the Chinchilla run around, rattling the >> >> bars of its play area, and thought I heard it say:
>> >> "I am not a number, I am a free Chinchilla!"
>> >> So the critter is now "Number Six", or "Six" for short.
>> >> I am now shopping for a small weather balloon to patrol the >> >> perimeter.
>> > Does it look like Tricia Helfer?
>> No, it looks more like Patrick McGoohan.
>So long as its a sixy beast.
*He* is teh cute!
If you're very good and have lots of rose hips handy, he'll let you rub between his ears. If you're a bad person who scoops and shoves him back in his cage, however; he'll bite your finger and give you a dirty look if you try and pet him.
I'm a little worried, though. He grabbed the piece of paper I had all my email accounts and passwords on and hid it under the computer desk.
Penelope -- "Maybe you'd like to ask the Wizard for a heart." "ElissaAnn" <eli...@everybodycansing.com>
> Penelope <penpe...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Diorite <dior...@wowway.com> wrote: >> > Plague Boy <plague_...@earthlink.net> wrote: >> >> Diorite wrote: >> >> > Plague Boy <plague_...@earthlink.net> wrote: >> >> >> Plague Boy wrote: >> >> >> Well, I was watching the Chinchilla run around, rattling the >> >> >> bars of its play area, and thought I heard it say:
>> >> >> "I am not a number, I am a free Chinchilla!"
>> >> >> So the critter is now "Number Six", or "Six" for short.
>> >> >> I am now shopping for a small weather balloon to patrol the >> >> >> perimeter.
>> >> > Does it look like Tricia Helfer?
>> >> No, it looks more like Patrick McGoohan.
>> >So long as its a sixy beast.
>> *He* is teh cute!
>> If you're very good and have lots of rose hips handy, he'll let you >> rub between his ears. If you're a bad person who scoops and shoves him >> back in his cage, however; he'll bite your finger and give you a dirty >> look if you try and pet him.
>> I'm a little worried, though. He grabbed the piece of paper I had all >> my email accounts and passwords on and hid it under the computer desk.
>We really don't need every detail of your relationship with Dave.
Yes, I often scoop him up and shove him in a cage.
*strikes an Arrrnold muscleman pose*
Hasta la vista, baby!
The Penelopator
-- "Maybe you'd like to ask the Wizard for a heart." "ElissaAnn" <eli...@everybodycansing.com>
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