Goodbye Missy (Unexpected Death)

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Brian123

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 3, 2013
Messages
55
Location
California
Last night Missy, one of my two chinchillas, unexpectedly passed away. The two years I've had her went by way too fast and I will miss her. She was between the ages 3-4, very young. This was my first time having pets, as I had none as a kid, so the loss is hitting more than I thought it would today.

As mentioned, this was very sudden, as she seemed fine the day before, nothing unusual yesterday night. I was just out side of a cracked door working and heard nothing unusual. No squeaks, no loud falls, no running and jumping, nothing that caught my attention.

At 11:30pm, I found her laying on her side, tail straight, legs and arms together and outward, eyes open. She was still warm and limp, so it must of been very recent. A few hours later, stiffness set in. A quick inspection showed no visible signs of external injuries, no blood from the nose, but I haven't checked deep in the ears if that's a place I should look. With her being a White Mosaic, any blood should be easy to spot.

The other chin, a beige named Mable, seems fine for the most part. I figure she knows what happened, though, she stayed at the lower level during all this. So I can't say for certain she knows Missy passed away before removing her. Either way, it's probably going to be tough on her :(

Missy was always the outgoing and curious one, while Mable is generally more reserved, cautious and keeps to herself. They got along perfectly as far back as when they were together at times at the breeder.

Missy seemed healthy and lively most her live. She did come down with a mysterious illness she once battled not long ago. I found her on her side in a corner making lots of squeaks and not moving or eating. An X-Ray and exam never revealed the cause. After a week of hand feeding and antibiotics, she recovered. Though, shortly after I found her with an eye swollen shut, which I then treated for another week. Since then she had been fine. Mable never got sick despite being in the same cage the whole time. I always feared there was an undiagnosed condition that could return at any moment, especially would I heard unusual squeaks.

I called my vet this morning to discuss necropsy and he seemed to not really push doing one, and that he felt they are usually inconclusive. He himself use to own Chinchillas and knows how fragile they are. With the death so sudden, plus no symptoms to work off of, he didn't have high hopes a necropsy would reveal much for the effort/cost. I don't really need to know the exact cause, but the other chin's safety was a concern, which he didn't feel the other chin was too much at rick, but recommended cleaning the cage to be on the safe side.

Some goodbye photos of Missy (White Mosaic)
 

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I'm so sorry for your loss :(. It's never easy losing a loved pet especially when it's completely unexpected like that. I too would want to know what caused it and it sucks that the vet doesn't think doing a necropsy would help. Maybe the room got too hot or something? I would definitely sanitize the whole cage though just to be on the safe side. Again I am so so sorry for your loss!
 
I'm so sorry for your loss :(. It's never easy losing a loved pet especially when it's completely unexpected like that. I too would want to know what caused it and it sucks that the vet doesn't think doing a necropsy would help. Maybe the room got too hot or something? I would definitely sanitize the whole cage though just to be on the safe side. Again I am so so sorry for your loss!

Thank you

It's tough, as I keep thinking of all the extra time I could of spent with her before this, and then all the things she can't do from here on after such a short life. It's been a busy year with freelance and work, so I was looking forward to a time when things were more quiet and I could make up for the lost time.

As for the temps, I managed to always keep it 68-72 for them, even if it's 110 outside. Only been highs of 88 the last couple days and the AC was replaced not long ago and functioning well. The split level condo I'm in has two AC units, so when one fails, I've always been able to move them quickly to a cool area, except that one time both units failed within a day, to which then a basement remained cool enough until one was repaired.
 
Sorry for your loss, it really sucks when they go unexpectedly like that. My first chin died when she was young, around 2 I think, I had her out playing, then went upstairs for a hour and when I came back she had passed.

As to the vet saying a necropsy wont help, they are right, the best hope is to get one done right after death, within the first hour or so of death. Even then, with nothing to specifically to look for, they are so small, blood clots quickly, it's hard to tell what was like that before death (and possible cause) and what wasn't.
 
I'm sorry, that's really hard. I hope your other chin doesn't take it too hard in the days to come. ):
 
I'm so sorry for your loss I cant imagine the pain you are feeling. She was so beautiful and although her life was ended you gave her plenty of love and a very happy life and she will never be forgotten. She looked so happy. Chins know when they are loved.
 
I am so sorry for your loss!
It is always a hard time when a pet passes because you grow a friendship with that animal. And since its your first time, it will be even harder!
But always look at it that you loved Missy and she died knowing you loved her!
I hope you feel better soon!
~Marcus :D
 
I am so so sorry for your loss of Missy. I recently lost a chin to heatstroke and it was completely devastating. BIG hugs to you.
 
so sorry for your loss.. i just lost my chin baby last night...never easy take care
 
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