Question:
I need some advice. Our chinchilla was running around today, as he always does but we noticed after putting him back in his cage that his left leg was pulled up and a bit to the side. We are thinking that it may be broken. We took him to a 24 hour vet but, in all honesty, we could not afford to pay for the x-rays, let alone am additional $500-$1,000 for actual treatment. What do you think we should do? we really don't have the money to fork over and i don't know what else to do? do chinchilla's bones heal as well on their own as human bone? HELP!!!


Answer:
Your best option is probably to surrender him to a rescue or shelter that can take proper care of him. The bone will NOT heal by itself and your chinchilla needs medical attention NOW. If the leg is indeed broken then you are letting your chin sit there in pain and he could potentially go into shock and die.
No offence but if you can't afford medical treatment maybe you should reconsider even owning a pet.


Answer:
i had a problem where one of my gerbils a few months agoand he needed medical attention emidiately,but the cost of treatment was very high so i would try getting someone to lend u the money..but in my case my doctor helped me out with my gerbil and got me the medication i needed 4 free but if yur chin has a broken leg he will need more than just medicatoin to him..so i think u should either get the money lent to you or give her to a shelter..it will b hard to do but it would be the best thing.
hope everthing goes well 4 u and yur chin


Answer:
find a vet that will arrange monthly payments? Visa? Ask to borrow from family...Your chin needs to see a vet ASAP


Answer:
Thanks for the advice. The majority if what you guys said was helpful. However, I do not appreciate Solaris' comment on having to reconsider having a pet if I can not afford it. Just because unexpected things happen and you don't have the money on hand does not mean that you should never own a pet. This is called life; unexpected things occur all the time and it's impossible to always be 100% prepared. what I wrote last night was under something called stress, but aparently solaris must not the know the meaning of the word since they would just avoid the situation in it's entirety rather than deal. Advice like that is not helpful since it's kinda too late to just "not have a pet"


Answer:
Actually I know the situation very well. My first chinchilla broke her leg in just as unexpected a way and I was in a situation where money was scarce. However I still found a way to assist and provide the care she needed and NEVER refused my animal treatment based on money. Considering you don't even have the money to afford even the xray needed to diagnose the problem, I would say you are pretty unprepared to be owning a pet and surrendering your chinchilla is most likely your best option to make sure it is cared for properly.
You are absolutely right. Life happens and accidents occur. However, when you take a pet into your home you commit to taking care of them no matter what happens, and yes that includes vet care. While accidents never happen in an expected manner, what CAN be expected is that your pet will require vet care during its lifetime. That's why repsonsible pet owners set aside money or plan for emergencies IN ADVANCE so that their pet is provided for when the vet care is needed. (even if that includes making sure you have someone else who could lend you money if you were in a bind)
Whether you like my comment or not, it does not change the fact that your post implied that you were going to refuse this animal the care it needs. That is neglectful and wrong and I still think you need to reconsider whether your are financially fit enough to care for a living creature. Owning a pet is not just about providing for thm while they are healthy. It also involves making sure they are taken care of when they are injured or sick.
I agree that it's too late to think about whether you should have brought the pet in your home or not. That's why I suggested you surrender your animal if you could not find the money. It does not change the fact that you should still be thinking about whether or not it's a good idea to keep the animal.