Sick Female Chinchilla?

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heyitsmanderzz

New member
Joined
Jun 14, 2017
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1
Hi everyone! I have recently adopted some chinchillas, we first started with 1 2 year old chinchilla, I've done TONS of research before taking her in and since she was housed with other chinchillas we felt bad for separating them so about 1 month later after that (which was 1 week ago) we got 2 more females approximate aged 6 or 7. We had only planned to get 1 additional one but we got 2 instead because they were sisters. Well, now the 2 sisters get along but our first one doesn't. They will fight with fur flying everywhere and our first one got bit and bled some. So we caged them separately but try to keep them close together so they can see and smell each other. We also swap them into each other cages so they eventually will get adapted to being in the 1 big one all together. This has been a week now and they still don't get along and now one of the sisters isn't acting as hyper as she has been since we got her. THIS POTENTIAL EMERGENCY is starting to worry me because she is sleeping all day AND night (they are nocturnal) and usually doesn't like to be cuddled or picked up and as you can see in the photos she is totally the opposite now. Her ears and tail are no longer perked up. She is also making a squeeking noise almost like a sneeze which is different but if there is any advice out there on pairing them and their activity/thus situation please let me know! Thanks so much for reading this!

PS she is now lethargic to where she can barely move. I've been trying to give her Critical Care but she stopped wanting to take that now at 5:30AM. She's maybe had a teaspoon tonight. I am afraid to go to bed as i don't want to wake up to her leaving us :(

I keep them in a 3 story cage, I let them roam around and explore under supervision. I give them Ox Bow pellets and fresh water, I clean the cages once per week as I use fleece liners and provide plenty of chew toys and attention. What went wrong??

No budget really for a vet at this point in time :( Help please!
 
You mentioned photo but there isn't any posted. I wouldn't put them together in the future. I don't know if she went into shock. You do need to get food into her.I am confused if they are all together or sisters and the 1st one is separated since you mention you keep them in a 3 story cage. I would say a vet but you have no money. I hope others can give you better advice.
 
When chinchillas show medical symptoms they are on deaths door since they hide illness well. Without a diagnosis from a vet there is not much advice that can be given.
 
I know this post is a few days old at this point, so hopefully the chin is still alive or has seen a vet. If not hopefully this info will be useful for the future.

Since you have only had them for about a week it's very likely the chin was sick when you got her, and is just now too sick to hide it. So it's possible you didn't do anything wrong in terms of her getting sick. This is a good example of why you should quarantine new chins from your existing for 30 days though. If what she has is contagious you now have 3 chins that could possilbly be sick and need a vet rather then 2 (sick one and her sister).

If she isn't eating you need to get at least 50-60ml (so about 10-12 teaspoons) of food/water mix into her a day just to keep her from losing weight.

Especially since blood was drawn, I would not chance putting them together at this point. Once the fighting gets to the point of blood, that shows intent to kill, and chins will fight to the death if they don't like each other. I also advise against trying to bond 3 together, pairs can switch, they could all end up fighting and needing 3 cages, etc. Bonding chins together takes a lot of time too, anywhere from weeks to months, and if you are willing to stick with it with some, years. Not all chins like all other chins either, just like all humans don't like all other humans, you need to get personalities that mesh.

Another bit of info, chins are not actually nocturnal, they are crepuscular, so they sleep in the middle of the day and middle of the night (during the naturally hottest and coldest parts of the day). They are normally most active in the morning and evening, but do get up throughout the day and night to get a bite to eat or a drink.
 
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