Young chinchilla very ill, can find no vet to help

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drtobe
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
18
Hi. It's my first post here and I came across the forum after frantic research online for something that might help my chinchilla.

I have a 1,5 year old male chinchilla.
Two weeks ago I had to leave the city and I left him at a relative. This relative is thoroughly informed about the care of my chinchilla -I took care of it myself and made sure she paid attention. She had kept him a year ago as well (for a couple of weeks when I was away) and I got him back safe and sound.

However, one week later I went to take him back and she told me he hasn't been eating much. I was surprised because my chinchilla loves eating and he always had great appetite. I took him back just to find out one or two days later that he hasn't been touching his food at all.

He was 'down' and without energy. Just sitting in some place in his cage and wouldn't move, even late at night when he usually jumps around and makes happy noises and stuff. He didn't do anything like this. He didn't even want to eat treats or hay.

I took him to three vets already, but they said that they can't make a diagnosis. They had no equipment to examine his teeth thoroughly but from what they saw/touched they said he doesn't seem to have a problem. I asked for blood test/stool work but they all refused to do even if I paid more. I don't know why. Vets here aren't really informed about chinchillas from what I can tell and I've been having a hard time.

Finally I found a vet that prescribed some wide spectrum antibiotic which by the way I found out was for POULTRY (what the heck) and Primperan syrup. The first day he took an injection of antibiotic. The second day I gave him the antibiotic and Primperan as ordered and I handfed him with some babyfood the vet told me to take. I also had to give him water because he didn't drink AT ALL. He doesn't pee or poop, only too little. He isn't moving much and the day I took him to the vet (before I took him to get the injection) I noticed his head was a bit shaky. He looks very sad and I don't know what to do. The vet said it might be an infection or abscess near some tooth or a bezoar in his stomach but he's not getting better with medication and now (second day of medication and handfeeding) he isn't eating anything solid (no pellets no hay), he doesn't drink water (YES I have measured the water and it's intact), he isn't moving around, his eyes have lost the curious expression and he doesn't pee or poop. I'm afraid I will lose him and I won't have offered him proper medical care.

I don't know what to do. If he has some liver issue then the antibiotic will be murder. If he has some internal fungus infection, same. There are no equipped vets to look at his teeth or do some internal viewing with MRI or XRays or whatever (I'm a Medicine student and I'm ENRAGED with what's going on) because he might have Giardia or whatever other bacteria/parasite and we will never know unless we make some... TESTS? **** :/

He doesn't want to eat or take his medicine and today while trying to feed him he got his fur dirty. I tried to wipe the stuff away with some cotton little handkerchief but he's still dirty and it's making him more uncomfortable.

I can't stand to see my Avvy so sad and ill, please help :(
 
First off, good for you for doing research and WELCOME to the forum! Unfortunately, sometimes, there are no exotic vets in the area with experience with chinchillas. Can you post where you live and someone can try to find an experienced vet within two hours of you?

Usually when a chinchilla goes off their feed it's not a parasite and infections don't just pop up out of nowhere. He could be in GI stasis and/or he could have bloat. Stop giving the baby food, unless it's pure pumpkin, it's not good for the chin.

What are you feeding?
Does he get filtered water?
Were his poops ever soft or did they squish to his shelves easily?
Does he get hay?
Is he eating anything at all at this point?
What do you give in the way of treats?

If you can answer those questions, it'll help members of the forum be able to try and help your chin. Many of us on here have more experience with chinchillas than veterinarians and we can send you to a good vet in your area. ;)
 
Well unfortunately I live in Europe (Greece) so I highly doubt I'll find some equipped vet even 2hs away from my city (unless I go to Athens which is a 5hour drive to say the least and with all that heat I think it would be awful to put my chinchilla through all this)...

I give him filtered water, pellets, hay. For treat one raisin every two weeks approximately, sometimes dried apple or a little bit of fresh apple (washed and peeled of course).
I also used to give him some Vitamin supplement (it contained many vitamins and micronutrients) after a vet's advice in his water but then I was told to stop since he was normal with his weight and stuff, so now no supplement in the water. Also he has a 'rock' to scratch and bite with Calcium and Vitamin C supplement.
I keep him clean (clean up the cage every week), give him ash bath twice a week, take him out to walk and run and play (supervised around the house, and I've made sure he hasn't eaten anything weird or so) and I always make sure he's not too hot (because generally here temperatures are about 30°C outside but we have clima control inside the house). His water is fresh (renew twice a day) and his food as well.

His stool was never soft. Always nice shaped and stuff, then just became small and almost disappeared.

He only eats the baby food now -it's some 6fruit thing by Nestlé and the vet told me exactly which one to take, but if I stop with the baby food then he won't be eating at all.

The instructions I get/find online are conflicting and I can't know what is good and what not after all. Should I go on with the metoclopramide? It relaxes the human digestive system and sometimes eases with constipation so I guess that's why the vet suggested it.

Any solutions regarding his dirty fur under the chin and on his chest? He really dislikes the situation and I've read that putting water on him is bad. I gave him his ash tray to bathe, he did (only his chin and chest, he didn't spin like he always does) but it doesn't clean up apparently.

Thanks a lot for the rapid reply. =)
 
Put the chins tummy up to your ear in a quiet room and listen, do you hear loud popping noises, soft gurgling or silence? I would try and find simethicone-its baby gas drops and give that while the diagnosis is being done, one full dropper every 3-4 hours. The meto (reglan) is a good idea at this point, it will keep the digestive tract contracting. You need to start hand feeding with a syringe-grind up pellets to a powder, add water and something for flavor like black strap molasses or pumpkin and feed at least 60ml a day broke up into several feedings.
 
I don't know the doses or where exactly you can get it, but there is a supplement widely used for chinchillas in the UK. It's called Beaphar and you can contact Claire_D about it. http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/member.php?u=255 That's a link to her profile. Since we are in the US, there is not much we can do for helping since I, personally, don't know the feed that is readily available over there.

Giardia or other internal parasites are not common in chinchillas. Since you're giving filtered water, check to see if it filters out giardia. Since his feces were never soft, the chances of giardia or coccidia are very low. They CAN occur without presenting loose stools, but it is highly unlikely.

I would do as Dawn (Ticklechin) mentioned. The chins tend to like the pumpkin a lot, but make sure it is real pumpkin and not just a mix or pie filler. You can also get syringes from a vet office, if you don't have them and you'll have to syringe feed him to get him to eat.
 
The fruit mix will cause more problems...

Is he pooping at all now?

You can make a food replacer until you can find some. You need your pellets, a coffee grinder or blender, and acidophilus ( pharmacy should carry it )

Grind up the pellets until they are a powder, add acidophilus, mix with water to feed. Add black strap ( only this kind due to sugar issues ) molasses if needed to sweeten it.

There is a reason it's called force feeding, so wrap him up like a burrito in a towel, and be patient. Put it in his mouth, eventually it will have to go one way or another.

Also do as Dawn said. Listen for sounds and report back and get the gas drops.

If you rub his tummy how does it feel? Squishy, hard, normal?
 
No, no weird motions. Just his unstable head and his eyes that seem sleepy -they aren't weirdly wet or anything though. He opens his eyes completely but then returns to this 'tired' look -I guess that's being lethargic.

I always wrap him in a towel and I am very patient and I feed him until he's gotten all of the amount of food the vet told me, but it happened to be absent on one feed and my parents (father also a doctor) took over and they sort of messed his fur up because they might have been a bit impatient.

I will look for the supplements. There is no way I can find molasses or pumpkin here though, I've searched the world for baking/cooking and never came across anything like this.

He is steady but not improving. Also, if he is constipated then why would pellets help? They are fibers and fibers in human constipation cause bowel irritation... anyway even if I go for grinded pellets I have nothing from the mentioned to add, so it would have to be pellets and water :/

He is not pooping, eating or drinking at all. Not peeing either.
Not peeing isn't a sign of kidney issue? I gave him some water by force today because he's not drinking.

Tomorrow is the day 3 of medication. I don't think he will get any better.
The vets told me to go to the University to ask for expert help but the University is CLOSED until September and if this situation goes on, he won't last until September that's for sure.


I am really grateful for your responses.
 
Chinchillas and humans do not have the same digestive systems, chins are built for high fiber and low energy diets-meaning low protein and fat. They need fiber to have a healthy digestive tract and the fruit supplement you are feeding is going to make him sicker-chins use bacteria to digest food-adding sugar to a chins diet causes the bacteria to multiply and the byproduct is gas and harmful bacteia flourish. He needs fiber now, I would grind up the pellets and soak the powder in water until softened and you end up with a milkshake consistany and feed him that. Be very careful force feeding water-I would rather you make the pellet mixture more runny rather than forcing water-you risk aspiration which leads to pneumonia and death. He is a very sick chin, you really need to follow the directions of feeding the pellet mixture at least 60ml a day, you should massage the tummy to try to keep things moving every couple of hours for as long as he will take it, give the reglan to keep motility, get him movng around in a chin safe area to help things move and even with all that he still should see a vet-we do not know if he has a impaction, has gas, is in stasis or what since we cannot see him in person, we are basing our advice on symptoms listed and IMO it is showing he has bloat or is in stasis . The outcome with agressive care with the vet and owner working together is fair, without vet care the prognosis is not good.

Dehydration at this point is very real, he should have sub-q fluids given by a vet. As the digestive system shuts down the body robs the digestive tract of water, whatever mass is in the digestive tract dries out and stalls, this causes a impaction, impaction care and stasis care are different, just repeating why a vet visit is important since what he has can lead to more complications and treatment with out x-rays or a ultrasound is dicey.
 
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Will do.

I highly doubt I will manage to get x-ray or ultrasound for him on time but I will follow all instructions and contact some other vet tomorrow first thing in the morning (it's 23:30 here atm).

Oh well. I'm hoping for a miracle.
 
If he is in that bad a shape, and he's barely eating with no poops at all, I would take him straight to the vet no matter what time it was, get some motility drugs in him. Him being lethargic is not normal, and I wouldnt wait to get an x-ray done.
 
Have you tried to locate simethicone? Its baby human gas drops and you should be able to find it at your pharmacy (chemist?). This will help break up gas bubbles in the stomach and cecum to relieve gas.
 
Yes, I already got that maybe 5 hours ago. Used it according to instructions. As of now, no results.

There are no vets doing a night shift and I've really paid a lot and contacted many and they keep telling me it's of no use or that they do not have the proper equipment or knowledge. Of course I would take him to the vet... if there was one available. I'm in the second largest city of Greece and all vets I've contacted are totally inexperienced with chinchillas.
 
Simethicone takes time to work, a few doses are needed and it can take a day or so for gas to go away . Have you listened to the tummy, can you tell me what you hear?
 
Also, I understand your frustration about vets, even here in the USA many of our vets do not know chins.
 
I am just wracking my brain here,..but if this posters father is a doctor would it bve possible for him to get ahold of the gut motility drugs needed to give this chinnie a chance?.....
 
His belly is hard today. That's not good is it. Until now it wasn't.

From what I hear, there are no sounds from his belly. If I put the auditory device from my (human) manometer to his belly and listen to him, I hear heart beat and when moving it to the front what could come out as normal respiratory sounds but no GI sounds.

Still no pooping or peeing, no eating, no drinking. Still lethargic. I asked a bunch of vets around and none could help -the more they said was the antibiotic & metoclopramide combination.

I have access to any medication available here, but if there is a GI stasis or some paralysis of the GIT then it seems to me like metoclopramide is the best solution. IV metoclopramide is used to cure ileum and similar situations in terminal status and well it's effective. Of course, I give my chinchilla metoclopramide orally.
 
Are you giving the metoclopramide? Can you gain access to cisapride also? Both these drugs increase motility and work as a team, the reglan works primarily on the upper GI tract, the propulsid on the lower. Can you also gain access for metecam for pain?

No gut sounds and hard belly is stasis and bloat, can you please tell me exactly what is your treatment regiment right now, what you are doing for this chin, every detail? I have successfully treated stasis twice on two chins and bloat more times that I can remember but it was working closely with a vet so let me know what you are doing and see if I can help share my experience.
 
I've been giving my chinchilla metoclopramide 5mg/5ml syrup at a dosage of 0,3ml three times a day (vet said so), the simethicone five times a day and I've been feeding him about 30ml of grinded pellets mixed with water.

Still no pooping, no peeing, no GI sounds. Today he looks even more lethargic even when I'm holding him and trying to give him medicine or food.

I called a local organism for pet owners just to find out there are no vets specialized to exotic pets in the city, only in the University where, as mentioned, they are absent since the University is closed until September.

It doesn't need to be an expert to know that if an obstructive ileum (or stasis) remains it leads to death. And judging from my chinchilla's condition, it won't last much. I keep feeding him but nothing comes out so sooner or later he's going to fall into multiorgan failure.

I keep doing the above, it's the most I can offer now, and I will try to make any outcome the most comfortable for him.
 
I have not read the whole thread, but has it been mentionned to gently massage his little stomach starting from the rib cage all the way down to the anus. (circular montion)

One has also used a sock with rice and warmed it in the microwave and put it in his stomach.
I will try to find the link.
 
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