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[jennat629]

Hi everyone. I am new here. I have a chinchilla named Spike, and my other chinchilla Diesel just passed away this morning    I am having such a hard time with it. We noticed he was being weird the other day (Saturday night), so we called and made an appt (Monday) with a vet who was 45 minutes away. We don't have any vets close to us that specialize in these little guys. We drove sooo fast, because at that point he wasn't doing well at all. He was panting very heavily, kept making a hiccuping motion, lethargic, could barely move. We couldn't get him in a day sooner cuz it was a Sunday, and no one was open, or had emergency weekend hours. He wasn't eating or drinking. He didn't poop at all. I knew it was bad, and the vet said it was a respiratory infection and an infection in his stomach. They told us in a nice way that it might have been to late to help him get better. They gave us the Oxbow food to force feed him with, and 3 different medications. I was starting to feel better, because he seemed more energetic and his color looked better. While at the vet, he was in an oxygen tank thing, and got an IV full of water. When it was time to feed him again, he completely fought it and spit it up. When it seemed like he did swallow some of it, he made a gagging motion, and it was horrible to watch. He was able to take his medicine alright, and swallowed it, but still seemed to struggle. His body looked bloated from the gas buildup, and he still didn't have a single poop in his cage. When my dad woke up this morning, he went to check on him and give him more medicine. Diesel freaked out, and when the medicine went into his mouth, he just passed away in my dads arms. It was like he couldn't handle anything going into his body. Even liquids. I just wonder how long this was going on for, and we just noticed the symptoms by the time it was too late.

I keep blaming myself, and my dad does too. Even though I know we shouldn't. My dad was saying that if he didn't give him the medicine, he wouldn't have passed away. But I keep telling myself it would have happened eventually, especially since he couldn't drink anything. We did everything we could, and did what the Vet told us. Has anyone else's chinchilla gone through this problem? My other chinchilla is perfectly fine and full of energy. It's so sad and I can't stop thinking that if I did something differently, that he wouldn't have gotten so sick. But we have no idea when his body started breaking down. So many questions, I am just thankful that he is not suffering anymore.

I don't have many people to talk to, especially since they don't understand the bond that chinchillas and their owners have. People are making fun of my brother because he is upset at work. It's horrible. It's the same as having a dog pass away, but people don't understand.

Thank you guys for being so understanding!

[GrayRodent]

I'm so sorry to hear that. It is a very sad thing to loose a pet that you care so much about.

Chinchillas hide their sickness as best as they can and when symptoms show up sometimes it is too late to save them. This is often the case with respiratory illnesses and even if treated early survival rates are not that good because their lungs are very delicate.

Force feeding in your case was the only chance it had of surviving but you were also fighting against another condition common to chinchillas that stop eating. Basically if food stops flowing the the stomach and intestines the digestive system shuts down and it can be very difficult to start the flow back up. A chinchilla that stops eating and cannot make it to the vet that day to determine the cause should be fed a recovery diet at least twice a day to prevent this kind of GI stasis and that can lead to complications and starvation. It is something to keep in mind when keeping chinchillas.

I think the circumstances you describe is typical of death by pneumonia which IMO was present the day you went to the vet. I think he was responding mostly to the oxygen from what you describe.

I think the best way to keep track of your chinchilla's health is weigh him regularly about once a week. Log how much his healthy weight is and compare it each week. If you see a change of 15% of his normal weight it is time to see a vet even when there are no other symptoms. I recommend you start this with your other chinchilla and maybe get him checked out by the vet as well to make sure he didn't contract anything from his cage mate. You may notice Spike getting depressed and going off his food which is not uncommon for chinchillas that loose their mate. Make sure he is eating at least one tablespoon of pellets a day with his regular hay. Most chinchillas eat about two. Mine does and he weighs about 470g. If you notice a dramatic change in his output you may want to supplement with critical care to treat this psychological depression issue. If that happens please let us know as there are people who have dealt with that on this board.

I highly recommend cleaning your cage and metal accessories with bleach and water solution and replace the food and hay in the cage. Of course DO NOT use bleach around your chinchilla and make sure everything is dry and fume-free before you let him back in. You should replace any wood in the cage. You can disinfect by heating it in an oven. Also smell the food and hay you have just to make sure there are no signs of dampness or mold.

As far as blame goes I wouldn't point any fingers. I have cared for many kinds of animals in my life and fatal respiratory infections are things that you'll sometimes run into. It is just another aspect of keeping animals, and, like I said earlier, some animals don't survive even if you do everything right. Rodents, rabbits, and birds are notorious for dying of respiratory illness such as what you have witnessed. It is not unusual no matter how skilled you are so don't blame anyone.

I hope you feel better soon,

God bless!