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[vasi]

Hello! my chinchilla has had diarrhea for almost a month! I am from Greece, and as you may well know, there are no exotic vets here. I took him to a regular vet and she found no parasites. So she suggested that I give him "florentero",a medicine controlling the normal flora of the intestine and the antibacterial medicine "baytril". They did not work, so she prescribed "baktrimel" that deals with coccidia. She was not sure though that the problem was coccidia but we tried the medicine because these parasites could not be detected by a usual microscope. Please help me! I do not know what else to do. I am afraid for my chin. Thank you!

[GrayRodent]

Sounds like your chinchilla is in trouble. I hope you can find the right treatment soon.

Here is an excerpt from a recent Chinchilla Club newsletter. It is from an article, "MY PERSONAL TIPS FOR CHINCHILLA FIRST AID
By - Lori Earle"

The Children's Kaopectate has helped me calm many minor cases of diarrhea with chins. When one of my chins has the runs I put them on a hay only diet for a day or so, and give them 2 doses of Kaopectate/day(.75 cc). If their tummy is gassy, I give them a drop of simethicone also. I also give them some acidophilus (I empty a capsule of the lactose free acidophillus,and mix it with some juice that they like) to help them get their digestive system back on track.

I've never done this myself but Kaopectate be worth a try. It is possible that the antibiotics have successfully killed the infection but may have killed the good microbes in the gut which sometimes does happen with Baytril. If the diarrhea itself is not treated the good bacteria get flushed out before they can re-colonize. I think you need to medicate with something that will slow the motility of the gut long enough for the microbes to catch up. There is a danger of doing this and that is constipation or gas that can cause a fatal bowel obstruction so it must be given at the right doses and times. You might want to ask your vet about this.

I also recommend restricting the diet to hay only for a few days and giving no treats until the feces return to normal. Pelleted diets can make the feces softer.
Perhaps someone who has experienced this can comment soon.

[vasi]

Thank you sooooo much! I'll see what I can do...

[vasi]

Let me add that A-N-Y opinions are acceptable! As you can imagine, I am very desperate..Thank you again...

[chinclub]

Did your vet check for Giardia? She would have needed to check a sample he produced in the office not some you brought in from the cage.

[vasi]

Yes she did.. She examined a sample taken from his cage and a sample she took the moment I and my chin were in her office..

[vasi]

I have read that in order to help his "good" flora of the intestine to came back, it would be good to give him some probiotics. Can I give him probiotics by myself without a medical prescription? I forgot to mention that the vet said that my chin has gases, I don't know if it is of any importance, but I mention it anyway. I am very nervous about his illness since he is my first pet and I am very much in love with him..

[GrayRodent]

I'm not sure what you mean by "has gasses". Is this the same thing as bloat?
Also what kind of pelleted diet have you been feeding? Sometimes chinchilla owners get into trouble when they feed diets that have fruits and nuts in them.
Are there any signs of mold or moisture in the pellets or hay you are feeding?

There is no need to get a prescription for a probiotic although prescriptions are available. Acidophilus is said to work by some. It appears he has been prescribed a probiotic (Florentero) but it is for dogs and may not have the cultures the chinchilla needs. In the US bene-bac for herbivores is usually prescribed. The problem with these is that they may not have any real effect because the cultures that are in them are rarely the same ones that are actually growing in the gut. Theoretically they do no harm so it can't hurt. (However we did have a parrot who went off his food after getting bene-bac for no apparent reason so beware)

What would be better is a prebiotic which does not have active microbial cultures in it but instead is nutrients that help the good ones to take hold. These are already found in regular chinchilla pelleted diet so it gets them when it eats pellets. I still recommend restricting the diet to hay only too see if there is improvement and then introduce pellets slowly.

Lori Earle in her article I quoted in the previous post did recommend giving one drop of simethicone for gas. t might help with the bloat if you are noticing distention. Also it should get nothing with sugar in it. Sugar will make it worse. You may want to try find another vet that specializes in rodents or rabbits and not necessarily "exotics". Chinchillas are closer to rabbits than cats and dogs.

I hope you see improvement soon.

[vasi]

The vet I went to was supposed to be specialized in rodents and small animals. The thing is that no vet in my country knows much about small animals in general. I have been giving him different food at times (I did not know that this change was disturbing to his health). When I found out about this, I decided on "Charlie", which I have been told that is of bad quality, so I think I will gradually replace it with Science Selective. What do you think about this food? What about Emotion by Vitakraft?The hay is fine but there are no supplies for chinchillas. There is no variety of food, only 2 or 3 options from which a chinchilla owner can select. I have made a research on food and the ingredients that benefit a chinchilla and I have found some good brands which ,however, are not available here. You've been a great help!

[GrayRodent]

Your vet is probably pretty knowledgeable then. The big difference with chinchillas is that they are much sensitive than rabbits to problems.

I looked up "Emotion Vitacraft" for chinchillas and found thier "Emotion Beauty Chinchilla" diet. They have some strange stuff in it like artichokes and rosehips. Rosehips are usually used for treats. It seems to indicate artichokes are used for fiber but I think soy is probably safer. I think you want something simpler than this.
Selective Science appears to be your best option. I wonder about why they put plantain in it though.
What kind of rabbit foods do you have access to? Certain high quality rabbit foods can be very good diets.

[vasi]

There is a bigger variety in rabbit food..Do you have anything to suggest? I am thinking of giving him some probiotics since he has taken  too many medicines. Which do you think is the most beneficial and safe for my Mickey(other than Bene-Bac because I do not think it will be available)? I think I am going crazy..pfff...

[GrayRodent]

Lori Earle recommends grinding up one tablet of lactose free acidophillus dissolved in juice. (I wonder how she dispenses it. Maybe you can put in it in a syringe and let the chin lick it up. Also it should be sugar free whatever you use). I suspect that's a one dose only kind of deal.
Yogurt (sugar free, plain) is another good one but you'll probably have to syringe feed it because most chins don't like it. Maybe 1 teaspoon two times a day spread apart. You can do this once every other day.
This is what others have recommended. Another option might be a partial serving of Oxbow Critical Care which is probably something you'd have to get at the vet. Critical care is a special diet for sick chinchillas that are not eating enough. It is syringe fed but a chinchilla that is still eating on its own may eat it if you put it in a dish. It has prebiotics in it and is very dense in nutrients. You do not want to feed him too much of it because you want him to keep eating his hay.

I recommend Purina Rabbit Show rabbit food if you have that. That is used by reputable breeders. You'd have to ask about others because that's the only one I'm familiar with. The wrong type of rabbit food can be very unhealthy.

[vasi]

Ok, I see..My Mickey eats much,though, I do not know if Oxbow Critical Help would be necessary but I'll give it a try since I do not have many options..I think the rabbit food you recommended exists here, but I'll check it out! I couldn't thank you more! Really!

[GrayRodent]

Your welcome. Just don't try everything all at once or you might cause some damage!

[vasi]

Yes, of course! I'll check everything closely and I'll go for the best and safest option!