Please help!!!

[toma]

Had a very bad night last night!! i put the chins in the bathroom as i normally do and we had a house full round due to christmas. i warned every one that they were in there and to use the other toilet. But when i went in to check some one had been for a pee and not flushed the loo and left the toilet seat up and my little black nico had fell in!!
He fell with his head above the water, everything got sorted and i got him completey dry and calm and gave him a dust bath. The big problem is when i put him back in with his cage friend, bo bo went nuts and was chasing him around the cage like a mad man and grabbing hair from his rear. because the toilet was full of pee when nico fell in i think he has a different smell..

I dont know what to do ive been really upset due to him falling in but its very upsetting seeing bo bo chase after him and not wantiing him in there, they used to cuddle up and fall asleep together.

please could any one help i dont know what to do!! they were seperated last night and have tried again this morn but bob bo just went nuts again running after him.

 

[3CsMommy]

Calm down. If you're worked up, they'll stay stressed, which isn't good for any of you. If you think it may be the smell, a tiny dab of vanilla is sometimes used to introduce or reintroduce chins, but I'll let the experts chime in on the specifics of that one. For now, keep offering Bo Bo dust (just a couple of rolls at a time) and make sure he's well dried. His health would be my primary concern.

And, in the future, I hope you'll supervise your chins Every time they're loose from their cage. This would not have happened had someone been in the room with them to keep your guests from using that loo.

 

[toma]

Thankyou for the responce, will try the vanilla tip, I just hope they get back to there normal selves.

 

[Narcissus]

I would try to give him a water bath to try and get the smell off him...... But, the experts will have to give you better advise. That's why my chins are never unsupervised at play time.

 

[Claire D]

I have to agree with C3sMommy that you shouldn't let your chins out unless they are supervised at all times (chins have the ability to hurt themselves in a padded cell!) - however, what is done is done so lesson learned - you are very lucky that Nico is still alive & that you found him when you did.

Firstly, I would suspect that Nico is a bit shocked - he will have been struggling to get out of the toilet & he will have been distressed - Bo Bo has probably picked up on that as well as the whole urine smell issue.

I would keep them separated for now - make sure Nico is eating, drinking, peeing & pooping ok.
Were there any chemicals in the toilet bowl?

Secondly, make sure Nico did not swallow or inhale any of the water - it might be worth getting him checked out at the vets to ensure he does not have any fluid in his lungs or upper respiratory tract.
I am not trying to frighten you (I know you will already be upset about what has happened to Nico) but respiratory infections are very serious, come on quickly, & can be fatal.
Check him for wheezing, sneezing, gasping for breath or sides heaving (signs of respiratory distress) & make sure he has no fluid of snot coming from his nose.

I would also make sure there is a vet on-call over the Christmas period just in case you need them (hopefully not though) & discuss whether it is worth giving Nico preventative antibiotics - remember though that certain antibiotics can make a chin go off their food & you'll need probiotics to replace the good bacteria in the gut.

I'd also be sure to have some syringe food & syringes on stand-by just in case you need it - it does no harm to have some in your chinny first aid box anyway & it's better to be prepared than not have any & be scrabbling around for alternatives. Oxbow Critical Care or Supreme Science Selective Recovery are usually available from a vets.

Treatment for shock can be found here - http://www.azure-chinchillas.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150&Itemid=148.


The urine smell issue is a longer term problem IMHO - I think it is sensible to make sure Nico is healthy before we start giving advice on trying to get rid of the urine smell & get him back with his pal.

Please keep us posted on his progress. Fingers crossed you caught him quickly after he fell in & he's just a bit stinky.

 

[Claire D]

I would try to give him a water bath to try and get the smell off him......

Nope - this is not the time for getting the chin wet again. Being stinky is the least of his (potential) problems so it is further down the priority list. For now he needs careful monitoring to check that he did not inhale water & is not in shock.

 

[toma]

He seems to be doing well he's eating popping and peeing he was stressed when Bo Bo was chasing him but there separated for now. Will they be ok being separated for a while, it doesn't break the bond more between them?
Would you recommend vanilla essential oil?? What does this do, does it take the wee smell away.
Will keep you all posted and thankyou for your replys don't know what I'd do if I lost him.

 

[SpaceChinnie]

I dont think Vanilla essential oil is a good idea. What 3csmommy meant was a dab of vanilla extract, like the kind you would use in baking. It's non-toxic and chin safe. I would put a drop or two on a paper towel and then gently dab the vanilla extract on the base of the tail.

But all of the above would be done after Nico checks out OK.
Good luck!

 

[Stackie]

He seems to be doing well he's eating popping and peeing he was stressed when Bo Bo was chasing him but there separated for now. Will they be ok being separated for a while, it doesn't break the bond more between them?
.

It's very possible that the bond between them is broken and you will need to go through the whole introduction process again. They could get along again, or they may never get along again. It's hard to tell with chins.

And I know it's been said but it can't be stressed enough: you must always supervise chins, no matter how chin safe the area they play in is. If you can't watch them every second, don't let them out. Chins don't need playtime.

 

[Laurie]

offer a dust bath a day to help Nico get clean and get the urine smell off of him. In the future yes do not allow chins playtime unless supervised. Also I would tell your rude guests to flush the toilet when they are done using it--that is quite gross.

You can try a dab of vanilla--not an oil, but the baking vanilla on the nose of BoBo to help mask the scent.

You can also try to clip BoBo's whiskers and see if that helps too.

You need to get the smell of human urine off of him, I'm sure that is what's setting BoBo off--as I said do a dust a bath for a few days, try to the vanilla and then reintroduce. Be prepared though that the boys may never get along again and will have to be permanently separated.

 

[Claire D]

You're jumping the gun, Toma. Please, please wait & monitor Nico for at least 10 days before even thinking about trying to do anything else. If he has swallowed or inhaled water from the toilet bowl then it may take a couple of days or more to show up.
Chins can have delayed shock, decrease in eating leading to reduced poop amount can take 24-48 hours to show, respiratory infections can take 3 days or so to become apparent. Bacteria in the urine or toilet bowl can lead to gut infection (enteritis) which may also take a couple of days to show - watch for diarrhoea or bloating.


The key here is to watch (very closely) & wait.


I will repeat, getting these chins back together is (should be) the least of your concerns at the moment.
Dust baths are fine & you can add add a few drops of vanilla essence (3-4) into the dust if you really want - add the drops in a few places, wait until the dust dries & then crumble the clumps into the rest of the dust so the vanilla is evenly distributed.

Remember though that urine odour will be very strong to the chins & it may take weeks for it to be completely removed from his fur - he was soaking in it so the smell will have penetrated to his skin.

 

[Laurie]

Thank you Claire, I hadn't even thought of the chin inhaling water--only that the urine smell should get off of him via dust baths. Excellent advise as always Claire!

 

[toma]

Please don't say they won't get along again, I couldn't bear that!! It's just horrible thinking just the other day they were snuggling up and falling asleep together and now they could be separate,
Nico is his acting his mormal self. Just worry so much about them.

 

[toma]

Thankyou Clare, just so worried about it all, just sad how things were ok the day before. Thankyou for you post.

 

[AZChins]

I'd wait a few days before you put them together to monitor him. If that happened here, I'd probably dust the chin at least daily...maybe put some corn starch in the dust.

Definitely be worried about the bacteria in the toilet bowl and watch closely. That's just nasty that this happened.

He'll probably be just fine, but watch him closely like everyone has said.

 

[addictedtochins]

Perhaps put a box of hay for him to lay in, it could also help with his pee odor

 

[monarch]

How did someone pee in the toilet and not flush it? Did they not see that there were loose chinchillas in the bathroom? That must have been quite the party indeed....

 

[toma]

Excuse me!!! Don't put coments like that when you don't know the full situation!!

 

[Claire D]

How is Nico doing?

 

[toma]

He's doing fine, well he wont take a beetroot trwat but he eats hes normal food and takes pinapple, he loved those beetroot treats ?? thank you for asking. He's being his normal self, getting some wire mesh today to divide the cage up so they are separated but still together. It's just a bit chaotic with Christmas and all. I'm just so glad he's ok, still worry though. Thanks again for asking how he is.