Caboose's Infection

[lolanu]

I'll move this from emergency since it's no longer a "I don't know what this is!" type topic. I'll just post how my current chinnie is doing and hope that she's one of the few lucky ones who will not need a full spay! Tried to clean her bottom while burrito-ing her today but failed miserably. Got some cute pictures on my sad phone camera instead. She's slowed down on her eating a bit since yesterday but she's still showing interest in food and water, gonna keep an eye on her food intake.

She also seems little for her age (I guessed 6 months?) but she doesn't seem to mind.

Scrambling around all over me

Confused by my ratty hair

I don't like this burrito thing...

 

[lolanu]

She started popcorning when I changed her cold bottle today. This little girl loves life far too much to be given up on or abandoned because of money. If people think like that, they shouldn't take care of these special little animals.

 

[Claire D]

You say she is 6 months old? It is possible that she may be having her first season (oestrus) rather than having a full blown uterine infection. Sometimes the first season makes them wet & sticky underneath but any (clear) discharge passes in a couple of days.
It would be very unusual to have pyometra (uterus infection) at 6 months old. Very unusual but not impossible.....

Why does the vet think she has an infection?
What colour was the discharge?
Did it smell?


I've just read your other posts - antibiotics in water will put a chinchilla off drinking & you can't be sure they are getting the right dose. It is far better to have a small dose given by syringe - that way you know she has had the full dose.
I would ring the vet & ask for Baytril to give by syringe. You need our chinchilla to be drinking - Baytril can (& does) put chinchillas off their food & it is very important that she keeps eating, drinking, peeing & pooping.

The 'pneumonia' - can I ask why the vet thought she had pneumonia? Is she showing any symptoms of having a chest infection or a URI? Is she breathless, wheezy, lethargic, got any discharge from her nose?

I'm not saying your chin does not have problems BUT young females can be pretty rubbish at sorting out their first season & they can look wet by their genital area - is she open? Can you seen the opening is slightly pink & round rather than a usual tiny slit?
Has there been any more discharge?

 

[lolanu]

The vet thinks she has an infection because the discharge was whitish and smelled; she took a swab of it and it has a lot of white blood cells in it.

As for the pneumonia, she coughed up fluid while they were xraying her to check for macclusion, and the full body xray showed a small amount of fluid in her lungs.

The opening was slightly more rounded, now it appears to be closed. I have not been able to get a good look since the day I took her in, because I had my boyfriend to help me hold her. She is very difficult even to burrito, I will try again today so that I can check. She is definitely still wet, and a slight amount of wetness, enough to definitely be noticeable (not sure if it's pee or otherwise) comes out when she poops.

I am trying to keep her clean by wiping her with a damp cloth several times daily, but the fur around her bottom is starting to crust, and I worry about her getting scalded.

 

[Anna]

she's adorable. i love her face in the first one, good luck!

 

[Laurie]

Baytril tastes awful--when I had Abigail on it I tasted it myself and it is quite bitter so baytil in food or water is not something a chinchilla willingly eats. As Claire said it is much better to get the baytril by syringe to give to her instead of hoping she drinks it out of her water bottle. It's best if the baytril can be done by injection as it does not mess up their appetite. If she has a uterine infection AND a URI she is a very sick chinchilla and needs the big guns medicine to help pull her through this.

 

[lolanu]

They gave her an injection of Baytril before they sent her home with me, I will call today to ask for a syringe version. Thank you.

And thank you Anna, I know she's not "show-quality", I got her from an abandonment/probably accidental breed at a pet store, but she has more personality than most humans

 

[lolanu]

Wow, that is definitely disgusting, dipped a finger in her water and it tasted like wasabi to me. Switched her back to her spring water, the vet is looking into syringe antibiotics for me. Unfortunately, everything is tentative and slow out here with exotics, MT tends to only specialize in horses and cattle. Yeehaw.

 

[lolanu]

Success! I've always been horrible with anything that involves folding or rolling, but after a long chase around my bed and nightstand I managed to get her wrapped up in a shirt and an oral dose of Baytril in her. She sees the vet again after this round, and then we will see what we do next. I have some Metacam left over from Eve's neutering that I gave her today when she was whimpering a bit, I halved the dose and it seemed to make her more comfortable. (About .05 of a ml)

 

[Stackie]

I have had success when giving baytril by drawing up simethicone into the syringe with the baytril. It tends to mask the flavor a bit.

 

[lolanu]

I was thinking of trying a tad of safe baby food. After only one dose last night, she was really squabbling at me this morning at her dosage.

 

[lolanu]

She's feeling better! Hopefully it was just her first estrus and everything is all cleared up. I am going to teach my mom how to give her Baytril, and go pick up two (maybe moer!) new chins this Saturday from Christine. I will keep Caboose quarantined in my room and put the two new girls in her old house after a thorough scrubbing. Thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement!

 

[Claire D]

Ok, let me get this straight - your 6 month old chinchilla has supposedly had pyometra & pneumonia, has been xrayed to check for malocclusion, has been on Baytril & is now miraculously better after 4 days?

Something is off here - I have some observations & questions:


The vet is convinced the chinchilla has a uterine infection. A swab was taken, showing white discharge & a large presence of white blood cells.
Now it's not an infection but the first oestrus?

The vet took an xray for malocclusion - WHY did the vet do this on a 6 month old chin anyway?? Were there any symptoms of tooth problems?
The vet did a whole body xray & discovered fluid on the lungs - You earlier stated that the pneumonia was caused by the chin cleaning her genital region - why did the vet think that? It is highly unlikely that a chinchilla inhaled vaginal discharge which cleaning herself - I have had several females with pyometra & not one of them developed pneumonia in that way, even those which were clinically very sick at the time.
Then the chinchilla 'coughed up' fluid during the xrays being taken? Really?
Did the vet take a swab of the fluid & send it off for M,C,&S?
Pneumonia can be caused by some nasty bacteria (some of which are fatal to chinchillas) & I would want to know what bacteria had caused the infection - examples of the bacteria are: Bordetella, Pasteurella, Pseudomonas and E. coli.

she definitely has a uterine infection and has also given herself pneumonia by cleaning her infected genitals.

The vet thinks she has an infection because the discharge was whitish and smelled; she took a swab of it and it has a lot of white blood cells in it.

As for the pneumonia, she coughed up fluid while they were xraying her to check for macclusion, and the full body xray showed a small amount of fluid in her lungs.

.................... She is definitely still wet, and a slight amount of wetness, enough to definitely be noticeable (not sure if it's pee or otherwise) comes out when she poops.

I am trying to keep her clean by wiping her with a damp cloth several times daily, but the fur around her bottom is starting to crust, and I worry about her getting scalded.

She's feeling better! Hopefully it was just her first estrus and everything is all cleared up. I am going to teach my mom how to give her Baytril, and go pick up two (maybe moer!) new chins this Saturday from Christine. I will keep Caboose quarantined in my room and put the two new girls in her old house after a thorough scrubbing. Thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement!

Neither pyometra or pneumonia are cured by 4 days of Baytril.
A lack of vaginal discharge does not mean your chinchilla has no more infection. If there was an infection (did the swab get sent off for M,C&S?) then she may still need treatment - there is no guarantee the Baytril has worked & she may well need to be spayed. That is IF she had pyometra.

Pneumonia is contagious - personally I would not be purchasing any more chinchillas until Caboose's infection was completely cleared & you have a reason for her developing it in the first place. If I were the breeder I would not sell you more chinchillas at this time - I would want to know my chins were going to be safe & not put at unnecessary risk.

Pneumonia is associated with infectious agents, usually bacteria, which are inhaled and then produce the disease. However, a cold, damp environment, undernourishment, or other unhealthy conditions lowers the chinchilla's immunity and makes it more susceptible to these types of infectious agents. http://www.petmd.com/exotic/conditions/respiratory/c_ex_ch_pneumonia

I would also not put the new chins into anything which Caboose had been in/on (that is pointless until she is free from infection since you're just going to contaminate another cage/area which means more risk of the spread of infection) - I would keep her in her cage & use a new/clean one for the new chins.

If you are determined to get more chinchillas (you need to let the breeder know in advance about Caboose's illness so that she can make a decision as to whether to let you take more chins or not) then you need to make sure you can quarantine properly & effectively. I would also quarantine for a minimum of 6 weeks to ensure Caboose is really free from infection before putting them chins & cages/equipment anywhere near each other. 6 weeks means she should come into oestrus again at least once - so that you can check whether she has further infective discharge.


I'd also find a new (chinchilla competent) vet.

 

[ticklechin]

When were the pictures taken in this post?

 

[lolanu]

The pictures were taken the day after the vet. I doubted the infection myself, after more research post-vet visit, but she was definitely in pain and not herself. The "pneumonia" was more likely from dusty bedding, which I have fixed. She had been pawing at her mouth and her chin was wet, they wanted to make sure. I think the discharge was definitely pus. I can't explain why she seems to be perking up, either she is a master disguiser or she has something that is easily relieved after a few days on antibiotics. I've no idea there.

In Montana, there are no chinchilla specialists outside of Bozeman. She is the only one in Billings that has even seen a chinchilla to my knowledge, if there is ever an emergency I'd take them to Bozeman. Until then, I've given my current vet the address to this site as well as ChinCare so she can do her homework.

 

[ticklechin]

The chin in the picture does not add up to a chin who is sick, the chin looks bright eyed and bushy tailed, not sick at all. The story does not add up.

 

[lolanu]

I know. It's hard to show with her, I don't believe she was fatally ill or anything. It seems to go in waves. Sometimes she's bouncy and ready to go, other times she's peeing on herself and can't eat or drink. I really have no idea what's up.

 

[Claire D]

........ The story does not add up.

I think Dawn & I are on the same page here - something just isn't right with all of this.

You've got a 6 month old chinchilla who is so sick she has pyometra & pneumonia but looks fine on the photos - who you describe as being fine - & yet the vet is convinced the chin has a double infection, needs xrays for possible malocclusion (in a 6 month old with no real history? Seriously??) & needs Baytril.

Why are you self prescribing & giving this chinchilla Metacam?
Did you weigh her before you gave it to ensure you were not giving her an overdose?

The pictures were taken the day after the vet. I doubted the infection myself, after more research post-vet visit, but she was definitely in pain and not herself. The "pneumonia" was more likely from dusty bedding, which I have fixed.

So you actually have no idea what caused the pneumonia? The vet has no idea either - it's from the chin cleaning her genitals..... it's from dusty bedding ....... The story keeps changing.

She had been pawing at her mouth and her chin was wet, they wanted to make sure. I think the discharge was definitely pus. I can't explain why she seems to be perking up, either she is a master disguiser or she has something that is easily relieved after a few days on antibiotics. I've no idea there.

The story keeps changing here too - you described the discharge as white, now it's pus. Before you thought she was in season/oestrus - pyometra or metritis does not clear with 4 days on antibiotics.
Chins hide illness well - it is the reason you need to carefully monitor her food & fluid intake, her general health & activity levels, & also her peeing & pooping.

I know. It's hard to show with her, I don't believe she was fatally ill or anything. It seems to go in waves. Sometimes she's bouncy and ready to go, other times she's peeing on herself and can't eat or drink. I really have no idea what's up.

Ok, so now she's peeing on herself & can't eat or drink?
Which is it, vaginal discharge or pus or urine?


Are you weighing her? How much does she weigh?
Please list what this chin is fed on daily, including any treats.
Is she producing her normal quantity & size of droppings?
Is she drinking normally now you have taken the Baytril out of her water?
What sort of bedding do you use?


I may well get jumped on for this but I'm going to say it anyway - don't buy any more chinchillas - you need to stick with this one chinchilla for now & learn all about how chins function & behave. It would be irresponsible of you to buy more chinchillas at this time when the first one is sick - she needs you to be able to monitor her closely, spot any signs of problems, & care for her until she is completely infection free & behaving like a normal chinchilla again.

 

[tunes]

I may well get jumped on for this but I'm going to say it anyway - don't buy any more chinchillas - you need to stick with this one chinchilla for now & learn all about how chins function & behave. It would be irresponsible of you to buy more chinchillas at this time when the first one is sick - she needs you to be able to monitor her closely, spot any signs of problems, & care for her until she is completely infection free & behaving like a normal chinchilla again.

I can pretty much guarantee you aren't going to get any negative comments on this post. Pretty much everybody is thinking the same thing.

In addition to that, I'm wondering how a 17 year old who can't afford hammocks because she has vet bills (and all very questionable ones at that) can afford 4 new chins, especially since she's going to be attending school to become a vet? What's next? Breeding them while attending school with no money?

 

[lolanu]

I don't want to jump anybody, I know that you all are just trying to make sure that I'm not being an idiot.

Tunes - I will never breed chinchillas, or any other animals. There are plenty of homeless pets without me thinking "monies!" and breeding them, to their possible deaths. I am getting two more chinchillas, it may be my dad getting the others. I have talked to Christine thoroughly about this; if she reads this thread and decides not to sell me them, I will respect her right. I spend all of my spare time with my chinchillas, and hand fed Caboose today, as she is not eating enough. I am only giving her .05 ml of Metacam to take the edge off the pain, as I mentioned... somewhere...

Claire D -I know pretty well how chinchillas function and behave, and am always researching more. I am not changing my story, I am trying to figure out what is wrong. Most of my posts are led by "Hopefully", which means that I'm not jumping to conclusions. I obviously don't know what's going on, so I'm attempting to rule things out for the next vet visit. Pus can range from whitish to close to orangey yellow; I am fairly sure and the vet seemed sure. There is also definitely pee. It is both. I feed her Mazuri, the occasional raisin/sugar free cheerio, and timothy. She gets alfalfa every few days. I also give her a vitamin c tablet every few days and Exotic Nutrition on her food every few days. Should I stop that?

I hope I will not be judged for my age; that's not what I'm getting from you guys, but I will do my absolute best to care for these chinchillas, even if it means working night and day. I try to be reasonable and mature (mostly), and hope that I answered your questions. And maybe reassured you a little.