Chin losing weight/not eating

[Aromagna]

Help! I’m at my last resorts, at a final choice. Looking for any leads…



TW: mention of euthanasia.





Background: I live in Wisconsin, I rescued a 9 year old chinchilla from our local shelter, knowing nothing about them. And putting in EVERYTHING. I fell in love. Now Wisconsin has like NO (good) exotic vets, and if you know of any let me know. I’ll travel across the state right now…



I’ve called every vet asking for advice and help, they all point me to this one…and I don’t trust this one!!



Issue: Weight dropped(first thing noticed. I have a good scale I use frequently.) then I noticed less pellets, and hay being eaten then the poops being less and small.



Vets solutions: X rays, blood work, and teeth check because they were unable to look at her teeth because of too much spit…



Found: Teeth are great, blood work is good, X rays off…Vet #1 said: there’s some fluid around her chest, we’re gonna start with furosemide, in case it’s heart failure or pneumonia. Come back tomorrow to see if it started working. I come back tomorrow and I’m given a yes looks good, come back in two weeks…



I do that that, but with a different vet who says, we need to put her down.



Why? Her lungs/airways look off, maybe a collapsed lung, or tumor on her lungs, or congestive heart failure.



So we go through with everything and include upping the dose while I figure how I’m gonna put her down.



In that time period I spend calling vets, asking for opinions and grasping for ANY answers other than what I’m given… one retired vet said he thought they look better. So I decide to call vet #1, and see if vet #2 read them wrong…



All I’m told is “I agree with #2, it’s a lung mass…” even though #2 was saying heart failure over and over… hmm that’s off to me…



This all happened Friday, it is now Thursday. Tuesday night, she was eating something and it seemed like she was choking, she gagged weird and it was strange and I freaked out. My mom (a people doctor) said she feels no wheezing or hard time breathing, maybe the hibiscus just cut her throat.



Wednesday, I’m watching her eat rose petals and she had spit it out like it was too hard to eat, and I’m realizing she’s refusing all other treats than oats(soft treats?) and very little hay and pellets.



Could this be a throat thing? Do I just follow the vets and put her down?(sounds so hard…!) thing is she still seems happy, loves her puzzle toys, and treats and cuddling, always desperately wants out. It can’t be the end…



But then I’m worried about GI stasis, is it already too late for that? What could I do to help?



Tips for the vet?



Any ideas what it is?





Her weight right now is at 408g I’ve been monitoring daily…

 

[Amethyst]

I'm going to start with, I am not a vet, I am just taking guesses based on owner knowledge and research, but I agree the chest/lungs do look "off". There does look to be improvement from the 5-4-24 to 5-17-24 photos, however it still look pretty cloudy to me. It could be the meds are working just not all better yet and you need to give it more time. Or the meds worked to lessen the fluid but there is either a mass, the heart is enlarged do to heart failure, or part of the lung is collapsed. I'm guessing without an ultrasound or possibly a ct scan it might be tricky to see exactly what the issue is. However if her breathing is good though I would think a mass/tumor or collapsed lung is less likely. Unfortunately an improper diet, even before you got her, or even just bad genetics, could lead to organ failure including heart failure in a fairly young chin.

Were head x-rays taken as well? I assume so, but just to be clear, if not you can't fully rule out tooth issues since it's impossible to see the roots without an x-ray. Teeth issues would not cause issues in the chest though. Something stuck in the teeth though, like a bit of hay or wood, could possibly cause pain when eating and drooling (which would explain excess spit) and may not show up well on an x-ray. Could they possibly use a camera scope down her throat to see if there is any issues there as well?

Were any pain meds given as well? or ACE inhibators (if they think heart failure), or just the furosemide?

Are you hand feeding at all? If not getting some critical care would be a good idea, along with gas drops (human infant gas drops can be used for chins, one dropper full every 8-12 hours). Less poos and smaller poops could be a sign of gas build up. Certain treats like oats should be given in moderation if given at all, just a few oats a week, since they can cause gas. If she is still pooping the gut hasn't stopped yet, GI stasis is when the gut has stopped, so there is still time. Also I'm not sure if the vet told you but furosemide does increase peeing, it's designed to help remove fluid, so making sure she drinks enough is very important when on that med otherwise you could be dealing with dehydration (which can also cause small poops). Hand feeding can help get more fluids in if she isn't drinking enough since you mix it with water.

 

[Aromagna]

I'm going to start with, I am not a vet, I am just taking guesses based on owner knowledge and research, but I agree the chest/lungs do look "off". There does look to be improvement from the 5-4-24 to 5-17-24 photos, however it still look pretty cloudy to me. It could be the meds are working just not all better yet and you need to give it more time. Or the meds worked to lessen the fluid but there is either a mass, the heart is enlarged do to heart failure, or part of the lung is collapsed. I'm guessing without an ultrasound or possibly a ct scan it might be tricky to see exactly what the issue is. However if her breathing is good though I would think a mass/tumor or collapsed lung is less likely. Unfortunately an improper diet, even before you got her, or even just bad genetics, could lead to organ failure including heart failure in a fairly young chin.

Were head x-rays taken as well? I assume so, but just to be clear, if not you can't fully rule out tooth issues since it's impossible to see the roots without an x-ray. Teeth issues would not cause issues in the chest though. Something stuck in the teeth though, like a bit of hay or wood, could possibly cause pain when eating and drooling (which would explain excess spit) and may not show up well on an x-ray. Could they possibly use a camera scope down her throat to see if there is any issues there as well?

Were any pain meds given as well? or ACE inhibators (if they think heart failure), or just the furosemide?

Are you hand feeding at all? If not getting some critical care would be a good idea, along with gas drops (human infant gas drops can be used for chins, one dropper full every 8-12 hours). Less poos and smaller poops could be a sign of gas build up. Certain treats like oats should be given in moderation if given at all, just a few oats a week, since they can cause gas. If she is still pooping the gut hasn't stopped yet, GI stasis is when the gut has stopped, so there is still time. Also I'm not sure if the vet told you but furosemide does increase peeing, it's designed to help remove fluid, so making sure she drinks enough is very important when on that med otherwise you could be dealing with dehydration (which can also cause small poops). Hand feeding can help get more fluids in if she isn't drinking enough since you mix it with water.

I really appreciate this reply. Head x rays were also taken, and they said they looked good.

I could see about a scope to see if something was off, because I was wondering if it was her throat. No pain meds have been given, she’s on a supplement just for being old and arthritis, Cosequin. But no pain meds, just Furosemide.

So she does not like critical care, I did try with a syringe and it ended up down her front… I’d take recommendations though? I’ve been considering making my own, of just her hay and pellets and such.

Also I can only get her to take the furosemide with an oat, so she’s probably getting too many oats… I’ll have to come up with something different…

 

[Amethyst]

You can try different flavors of critical care, it comes in Anise, Apple Banana, and Papaya. You can also try mixing in a small amount of treats with it to see if that helps. I know some people will dip the tip of the syringe in apple juice, a cut open raisin, or something similar, just enough to add flavor so you can get the syringe in their mouth. You can also try just using the pellets ground up, they don't have the extra nutrients the critical care does but it's better then nothing if she will eat it.

The trick with hand feeding is burrito wrapping the chin and giving tiny amounts at a time, aimed at the cheek not down the throat. It's easier if you have two people, that way one can hold the chin while the other gives the food.

If you can't find anything else and really need to give the furosemide with oats I would definitely be giving gas drops with it. Even hand feeding it's a good idea to give gas drops after just in case they swallowed air.

Just so you know, 9 isn't really that old, like early 50s if human (average lifespan is around 15-20 years, though some do live longer), so she is a bit young for arthritis but it does happen, or she could be older then you think. Most of the time if a chin has arthritis, or other "age related" issues they are over 10.