Bacterial Enteritis - experience with this?

So far I have heard from just a few people. Some showed at different shows than others, some showed at the same show but had issues at different times, a couple had issues at the same time. The start of issues has been anywhere from April to October. One person has not even been to a show and has not brought in any animals in over a year. Some found the animals dead after showing no symptoms. Some quit eating and had loose droppings. A couple had nasal discharge. Unexplained loss per person has ranged from 2 to 12 animals. Most had different water and hay. A high percentage are on either Mazuri or MannaPro Pro. Several necropsies, Giardia found in two cases, others show nothing conclusive.

Any more info out there?

Anyone still having issue's?
I have some one who is possibly willing to do some necropsies and cultures if we have anyone with symptoms or freshly dead.

I just had a long talk on the phone with Christoph Mans, DVM from the University of Wisconsin explaining the info I have put together so far. He recommended more necropsies be done on 2-3 sick animals from each ranch. He said having just one may not show whats wrong, may even lead you in the wrong direction as one may show one thing but in reality there may be more than one problem or this one animal may have died from something different altogether.. Doing 2 or 3 should show a common problem among them. For those having necropsies done the animal needs to be cooled immediately after death and then overnight them to the lab doing the work. Christoph said running cold water over them is the best way to cool them down fast then make sure they stay cool in shipping also. Anyone who has had a necropsies done and would be willing to share the report Christoph has offered to review the reports and give his thoughts on the results.

Quick question Randy.

Does this University require your local vet to fill out referral paperwork to go with the animal as well? If you read back for my posting, Virginia Tech requires it. They send the report to my vet.


Thanks for posting. I have been following along. I did not have any animals pass. Just trying to help out with necropsy information that I found here in my state.

Yes they do. I was told most every state has this available through their agriculture department and a local university, fees are lower as they are subsidized by the government.

I know I'm late to jump on this thread, I haven't been online in many months, but I wanted to add my experiences. Back in around June of 2012 I had problems arise in my herd that caused multiple deaths in my chinchillas. At the time I had just decided to switch my feed over and shortly afterwards I had major gastrointestinal issues arise in my herd - soft stool, diarrhea, green stool, bloat and blockage. I had at least 5 chinchillas die and I had vet visits, blood work and biopsies on a few chins and necropsies done on 3 chins. All chins I had necropsied ultimately died of intestinal blockage and mass infection in different parts of their bodies. None of the reports came back with anything conclusive on what actually caused the infection or blockage. I'm still not positive if this issue in my herd was a cause of the feed switch, bad water, from my animals coming in contact with other chins at any of the shows I had gone to that year (MCBA Natl, PA, OH) or something else. My chins had varying symptoms and once I switched back to my old feed I stopped having animals die. I didn't sell any animals or take any in for a few months after the problem went through my herd. When I went to the PA show in 2013 I heard other breeders having some of the same issues that my herd had had. In early 2013 I started adding DE to my feed after talking with some of the ranchers and have shared this to some of the breeders who have been having problems recently and it seems to be helping their chins regain their health as an FYI for anyone currently having issues.

Cheryl

May I ask what DE is? Dichotomous earth?

I was wondering too Dawn! I use the Diatomaceous Earth stuff in my donkey stalls and sometimes in the pasture to help with any parasite loads.How do you get the chins to eat it,or is it like the lava bites and they just eat it right up?

It is a great idea if that is what it is, DE is good for detox. What is the "dose"?

I too am curious about 'DE' - what it is? and the dose and do you mix it with the food?. I, thank God, haven't had those problems. However if the 'old' breeders feel it helps to prevent this problem I am interested in all information about it.

Yes I'm talking about diatomaceous earth. I put around 3 tablespoons in a 50lb bag of feed and mix it up so that it covers all the pellets. It gives the feed a bit of a Dusty look to it and the chins just eat like normal.

Cheryl