Posted: May 27, 2009 7:30 p.m. EDT
Q: My chinchilla has an abscess under his chin that came up recently. What is it and what can I do for him? Bugsy is 6½ years old and normally healthy.
A: Most abscesses that occur near a chinchilla’s chin are due to dental-related infections, just as we see in rabbits and guinea pigs. The best thing you can do is to visit your veterinarian and have the abscess checked out.
The veterinarian will not focus only on the chinchilla’s abscess. Your veterinarian will check the teeth, maybe under sedation, to determine if dental disease was the cause of the abscess. To determine this, skull radiographs (X-rays) may also be taken. Finally, your veterinarian needs to make sure this is just an abscess and not some other type of mass.
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