Major Steve Goes to the Vet

The vet’s office always reeked of sterility. The scents of bleach and other cleaners hang heavy in the air. The metal cages for smaller animals line part of a wall. Typically these get used for the mammals or birds. The floors and walls are stainless steel with mesh bars across the front. A few of them contain acrylic doors to act as incubators for severely ill animals. The vet always tried to make their clinic feel warm because they despised the bare white walls and tile of other locations. They had decided to do a faux wood tile floor to allow waterproofing and keep a natural look. The walls are painted green. The main white in the clinic is the counter tops. The metal exam table in the middle of the room contains the patient of the day.

Unfortunately someone had left Major Steve, the chinchilla, outside when a storm rolled in. The poor fellow got soaked which was extremely concerning. Their gray fur was plastered to their body and they sat shivering on the table. One of the techs had already tried to dry him with a towel and was now blow drying his fur to try to dry him as quickly and safely as possible. His normally perky ears lay flat against his back. He appeared skinny as the dense fur was still damp and not fluffed back up. His tail looked like a spiky rat tail.

There was a large concern for him developing mold in his fur and the vet decided that he should stay for observation. Major Steve was placed in one of the incubator type cages with a blanket and dust to dust bathe. The goal being he had been dried quickly enough to avoid any complications and could continue to keep his coat healthy. However after two days in the vet, there were signs of fungal infection. This meant Major Steve needed to be treated with anti-fungal medication. There was signs of ringworm and to treat this he needed to stay in the vet with an anti-fungal added to his dust bath and an ointment on the thin spot. The vet had moved him to one of the metal cages to continue to heal as he would be there for a few weeks until it cleared up. Part of his treatment meant he needed a clean environment. Thankfully after a few weeks, he was healthy and able to return to his enclosure. Hopefully there wont be any more rain accidents in his future.