Herpes simplex virus in chins

[Pikaia]

Ok, I was going to ask this on the chin debate forum, since it was mentioned. However, I decided to just start a new topic.

I hope you guys don't think I'm gross by asking this.

I was reading earlier about the herpes simplex virus being passed to chins in the topic of "chins playing with other pets" in the debate forum. I do get the occasional cold sore :hair: Hate them with a passion of a thousand suns... LOL. I'm assuming I should just wash my hands really good before handling the chins (which I do anyway) and not let them near my mouth? Doesn't really happen- but who knows.

With somewhere around 90% of the adult population having the herpes simplex virus (many just don't show symptoms), I wonder why we don't see more cases of chins catching it. I guess the only way they could actually catch it is by a person kissing a chin on the mouth. NEVER recommended, but with chins being so darn cute, I am sure it happens more often than one would think.

Thanks for reading.

 

[ticklechin]

Sugar got it from Spice, where Spice got it from is not known since she was a rescue. The transmission was from Spices saliva to Sugars eye and directly to her brain. So if you touch your sore and flick a eye bugger out of the chins eye, there you go. AND, how many pet chinchillas have actually had a necropsy, MAYBE one in 10 if that? Sugar went to UC Davis since I wanted a in depth necropsy due to possible malpractice and I highly doubt a regular quicky necropsy would have found it.

So my answer, there are more chins that die from it that you think since pets chins rarely get a necropsy and yes on CNQ there were two chins that were diagnosed with it, one died and one lived due to a very smart vet, very agressive treatment and a whole lot of luck.

 

[Laurie]

Chins can get this from humans and as dawn mentioned it did happen to chins and was discussed on the chins-n-quills forum. Whenever you have a cold sore simply washing your hands is not enough--if you have one you should not handle your chin at all--see if you can get someone else to feed and clean cages for you until it is gone.

 

[tunes]

There was a breeder in California who lost quite a few chins to Strep. I don't remember her name, and I wouldn't post it anyway, but people who bought chins from her also brought it home to their chins. She was not aware of what it was at the time, and by the time she found out, it was too late for the chins affected.

I also agree with Dawn. Rarely do pet owners take their chins to be necropsied. They always say "I just couldn't do it." That's fine, I can understand that, but an important part of having an animal like a chin (a not well known critter to vets) is learning as much as we can so that it benefits the chin community as a whole. If I have a chin pass who has an obvious cause of death, let's say a female who died during the birthing process or one who had the living tar beat out of it and died from shock, then no I don't do necropsies. If I walk in and find what was an apparently healthy chin the night before dead in it's cage, yes, I absolutely get a necropsy. Sometimes nothing shows up, which I hate, but at least I found that out. Other times it might show that they had pneumonia or liver abnormalities (which seems to be showing up a lot in chins nowadays), or I even had a chin that I bought that had stomach ulcers. There was no way to know about it, even with a vet visit, but at least when he passed I knew that it wasn't something that would affect the rest of my animals.

 

[Pikaia]

Oh wow. Thanks for the information! This is terrible and I'm a little worried. I know I have had a cold sore since I got Chichi. I guess my boyfriend will have to take care of the chins when I get one. I get a cold sore probably once every 1-2 months in the winter time. It depends if my immune system gets compromised. I might see about going to the doctor and getting on a medication to prevent outbreaks.