ACK I think my chinnie is SICK!

[Jo Ann]

How's your little one doing?  Haven't heard from you for a few days.

 
Jo Ann

[jmrothermel]

Jo Ann, he is doing well, I will be SURE to post an update today, I'm sorry I didn't get to it my son got hit in the head and had to for stitches, and my other son is having problems in school....so yea its been crazy here the past few days.  I promise I will get to it today though!

Jacqui

[Jo Ann]

Oh, my goodness! ... Definitely good reasons to stay off the computer for a time. 

What with and how did your little one get hit in the head???  That can be very scary!

The other son having 'problems' in school ... grade-wise in general, acting out, being bullied or learning difficulty in a particular subject? 

I grew up in a family of 5 kids ... one of us was always getting into something or having a problem with something ... nothing bad ... but anything multiplied by 5 can get to you.   I often wonder how my parents kept their sanity.   

Try to look on the good side ... the kids were kind enough to wait for your chin-emergency to clear up. 

Hope all is calm for a little while for you.    

 
Jo Ann

[jmrothermel]

Jo Ann, he is acting out in school, and it's sudden and unexpected.  And now he is doing it at home too.  Its getting very frustrating just because I don't know where this behavior is coming from....

As for my little guy, he is doing WONDERFUL.  He has been weaned off hand feedings and now eating all on his own.  I am mixing a little CC with his food just because he lost so much weight the vet thought it would be beneficial to increase his caloric intake for awhile until he is back up to his original weight.

Other than that he is acting normal, his poops are normal now, and everything seems to be getting better!  After only getting a 40% chance to live, I just am so amazed that we made it through this.  Definately someone was looking out for him

I will keep you updated.  Here's a picture of him peering at me wondering why I take so many pictures...LOL

(NOTE: For those who don't know this is not his ordinary cage, I put him in here while he was suffering from the worms since it was ALOT easier to boil/bleach plastic to disinfect from the worms then it is the pine shelves in his normal cage.  He is now back in his regular cage.)


Jacqui

[Summer]

He is Adorable.

[Jenova]

Aww. Bless. He looks adorable and I'm so glad he's much better.

I hope you can figure out how to help your son. Perhaps something he doesn't want to talk about and is finding other ways to express it? I'm studying psychology at the moment and although I am by no means an expert I would always be willing to help if I could.

[Jo Ann]

Hi Jacqui,
Just a thought ...
Sometimes we can't see the forrest for the trees ... especially when things are going crazy all around us.
You've been focused on your "As for my little guy" (your chin) who has been sick for over a week ... then your son that has a bad cut on his head ... with stitches ... trip to the hospital/doctors ...
Could another little someone be feeling ignored or pushed aside?   
At school, he is just one part of the whole class ... might he be acting out to try to get attention there? 
Even if it's bad attention.

We often focus on the thing at hand that needs our immediate attention and inadvertently ignore something that needs just the "normal" attention, but is not getting it.

One time Bill and I were out for coffee and a friend of ours ask what we had been doing lately ...
Bill said, "Just the normal things for me ... but, till now, I haven't seen Jo Ann in 4 days." 
A not-so-subtle hint ... I had been feeding a our first set of quads ... every hour on the hour around the clock for 4 days and nights ... napping in a computer chair beside the chin's cage.
Totally ignoring my husband ...      It's easy to do without realizing it.


 
Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Aww Jacqui, I'm so glad the you little chin is doing better.
I have never heard of a chin with worms before
I know the cut will heal, and hope your son with the problem lets you in on what's causing his behavior.
Maybe his guidance councilor can help?
Seems us Moms/females always have a full plate.

[Jo Ann]

I talked to Lani (California Chins) the other day about the different things that have been showing up in chinchillas since they are becoming more and more popular in the pet world and they are being exposed to so much more.  She said they are finding out more and more the chins are susceptible to almost everything other domesticated animals can get.   
        As if we didn't have enough to worry about with them.        Keeping this in mind, also keep in mind that they hide their illnesses better and can "go down" (die) much faster than most of the other pets we may have.
     They can get the same worms that the cats and dogs get ... sooooo ... if you bring a new puppy or kitten into your home ... remember, they often need to be d-wormed.  Do so immediately and until you are sure they are completely gone ... do not let your chins play in the same areas as your other pets.
     If your other animals play or go outside, remember that they can pick up things (germs, viruses, parasites) out there and bring them inside with them.
     Hookworms are one of the worst and are usually treated with panacur.  Panacur kills the worms, but, to many times the dead worms stay inside and can set up septicemia (sp).  This is often treated with an antibiotic.
     Andibiotics do NOT know the difference between the good bacteria (the one that digest the chins food) and the bad bacteria (the ones that can kill) ... so it (the antibiotic) kills all bacteria, good and bad.
     It is extremely important to keep the system moving and replenish it with good bacteria that is used to digest the food and process wastes (IE those dead worms) out of the body.  For this ... critical care (homemade or from your vet) /yogurt (most grocery stores) /"Superfood Wheatgrass" (healthfood store - mix with baby bananas or baby applesauce)/ "Odwalla Drink" (healthfood store)/ pidealyte, for re-hydrating (most grocery stores)--- ALL of these MUST be refrigerated after opening! 
IMPORTANT: Those things being used to replace the good bacteria must be used at least 3 hours before OR after the antibiotic is given.  If you give them to close together, they will cancel each other out, as if you are doing nothing for your little chin.

 
Jo Ann

[jmrothermel]

And both what Lani and Jo Ann said is extremely true.  He had hookworms, and was on the Panacur, and those worms almost killed him.  I took him to the vet when he was diagnosed, and then he didn't seem to get better so I took him BACK to the vet a second time and he was pretty badly dehydrated, wouldn't respond to the food they were giving him (didn't want to swallow), they gave him SQ fluids, and he didn't even perk up from that.  His body temperature was only 94degrees, which is from him not having enough food in him to produce the metabolisim (sp?) to maintain it.  And that was from not eating enough, it was a downward spiral.  At that point they put him under heat lights and FORCED him (even though he didn't want to swallow it) to eat, and he as in there under supportive care for about 2 hours, when they called me in and told me that I really needed to realize where this was going.  He was doing terrible, and he had about a 40% chance of making it through.  She said he was just dying, and if he didn't turn around in 24 hours after all this treatment then I really neeeded to think about if I was just prolonging the inevitable.  You know your chinny is not doing well when he just layes there on the table - not wanting to run away, not wanting to hop, nothing.  Just lying there.

Well it was at that point that I called Jo Ann AGAIN (lol) and she talked to Lani about it.  Basically she told me not to give up, that since he was still eating he hadn't given up either.  And she was right!  He kept going and kept eating, and taking his medicines like he was supposed to, and by some God sent miracle, he pulled through.  He's still a little lighter then before all this started, but he has pretty much made a full comeback.

It went like this from the night before I took him to the vet the first time, and ya know why I thought something was wrong?  He wouldn't take a raisin.  Can you imagine if I would have waited for him to look sick?  I would have been wayyyyyyyyyyyy to late.

So - I guess its just a long story with a short point - Anytime you think something's wrong, GO WITH YOUR GUT! 

Jacqui

[Debbie.nl.ca]

GO WITH YOUR GUT!

Aways the best advice!