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Author Topic: giardia in chinchilla  (Read 3198 times)

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Alise1986

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giardia in chinchilla
« on: June 23, 2012, 05:55:51 PM »

Hello,

I'm new to this message board .  I have 2 chinchillas. 1 is a standard grey male rescue (about 9 years old) that I got from a chinchilla rescue 3 years ago.  Since I adore him I ended up buying another chinchilla (about 6 month old male black velvet) on June 11.  Upon bringing him home I noticed his poops were wet and smooshed so I took him to the vet that evening.  He was diagnosed with giardia and he was on Fenbendazole for 4 days.  He finished taking that on June 17th.  Throughout the week his poop pretty much looked the same as when I got him so I called the vet back yesterday and he said to give it another week to see improvement.  This morning his poop appears slightly worse than it was to begin with.  I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced giardia in their chinchilla(s).  And how long did it take to clear up?
Since it looks worse today I called this evening and left a message on the vet's voicemail so I'm waiting to hear back from him.
I'm really worried about my new little guy and would appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with or has more knowledge of giardia.

Lauren Alise

P.S. Beethoven (My 9 year old rescue is being kept in a separate room).
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GrayRodent

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Re: giardia in chinchilla
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2012, 06:19:00 PM »

To help us better help you please provide this info:
How long have you had chinchillas? What diet are you using? Are you giving it treats, if so what kind? Is it eating regularly? Are you using probiotics such as bene-bac in conjuction with the fenbendazole?
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Alise1986

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Re: giardia in chinchilla
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2012, 06:38:25 PM »

I had my 1st chinchilla for 3 years.  My newest chinchilla who's sick with giardia has only been with me for almost 2 weeks.   I have not given the new chinchilla any treats (only food and timothy hay).  The food is chinchilla forti-diet pro health.  The new chinchilla is eating and drinking and seems active in his cage.  The only way to know there is something wrong is by looking at the poop.  I haven't given him any pro-biotics. I'm not even sure what they are.
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GrayRodent

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Re: giardia in chinchilla
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2012, 07:33:42 PM »

Looks like your doing everything right. There are actually probiotics in the pellets you're using. These are bacterial cultures that help the guts produce good bacteria which is necessary for digestion and this is a good thing. The fact you are not feeding treats is very good and the diet looks good too.

I hope someone will comment soon who knows how to answer since I do not and have no experience with this. I am not an expert or chinchilla owner.

The best thing you can do for now is make sure your chinchilla does not go off of its food. A regular eating schedule is necessary to prevent diarrhea.

If it starts looking liquidy or sloppy you will need to take emergency measures to stop it. This is done by giving a piece of burnt toast about 1 tablespoon in size. It needs to be very dark almost burned. This treatment is known to effective but to be used only in emergency.

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lilchinchilla

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Re: giardia in chinchilla
« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2012, 09:21:05 PM »

I would suggest getting your chinchilla re tested and ensuring it is clear of the giardia. I have not personally dealt with it ever, but I have heard it is really hard to get rid of. You have to use a bleach/water solution to clean and disinfect their cages, you have to toss any toys or anything that the chin may have come in contact with, etc...

Try re testing the chin to see if they still have it. As far as I know, the fenbendazole is the correct medication to give. If the chinchilla is cleared of giardia but still having wet droppings, you can also ask your vet about using chloramphenicol to correct the diarrhea (if other options are not working like burnt toast or activated charcoal.). It works really quick on clearing up diarrhea.

For the meantime, always feed and care for your healthy chinchilla first, and your chin with giardia, last...to prevent passing anything onto your other chinchilla. I am not sure on the diet you're using, so will have to look that up. Using acidophilus can help though with the diarrhea and tummy troubles, though. You can give that in between giving medication to your chin. Say if you treat every 12 hours, give it at every 6 hours after treated with medication. This might help with the diarrhea too. Wish I knew more about it, but maybe someone else who has personally dealt with giardia can help you more so.

Alise1986

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Re: giardia in chinchilla
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2012, 10:25:05 AM »

Thank you for the replies.  I'm still dealing with squishy droppings so the vet sent the sample out yesterday to retest for giardia.  However, I will not get the results until sometime Monday.  : (
I have been cleaning the cage daily.  I also tried the burnt toast idea.  My chinchilla loved it (He ripped it out of my hands to eat it) but it didn't clear up the stools.
Thanks for the chloramphenicol idea!  I'm going to ask the vet about it this Monday depending on what he suggests after we get the test results back.
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lilchinchilla

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Re: giardia in chinchilla
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2012, 11:27:17 PM »

If he is clear of giardia, the chloramphenicol can often help with treating just persistent diarrhea. If he has giardia, still, you might need to try another round of fenbendazole. I hope things work out. I've heard from others before, on how tough it is to get rid of giardia.  :-\

Debbie.nl.ca

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Re: giardia in chinchilla
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2012, 07:46:13 PM »

It can take a couple of treatments to clear up especially if the chin is still stressed. 2 weeks is not very long.
A bit of burnt toast never hurts.
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