Why Chins and Rabbits should be kept seperate!

So I am not too happy..

I have my chinchillas (Current number 5..looking for 2 more) and 2 rabbits.

I have had my chinchillas for a long time, long before I had my rabbits, but my rabbits have taken over my life, I now show my rabbit in national shows, work with a rabbit rescue, ect.

When I got my first rabbit, I did RESEARCH. Its a funny thing to do before you buy a pet. I understood that rabbits carried pasteurella dormat possibly and that it can be deadly to chins.

What did I do? I probably could have NOT got the rabbit, but I really wanted to. Realizing the needs of the rabbit (high excersice, ect) I made my 2nd bedroom into a rabbit room. My bunnies get free range in the room and get to play.

What did I do to my chinchillas? Well I keep them in an entirely seperate part of the house.
We sometimes let the rabbits roam the house, but the chin area is fenced off COMPLETLEY.
I also wash my hands and change my clothing (Although I don't ever handle them at the same time usually)

Why am I telling you this?

I just got a call from a friend of mine who works at a exotic hospital who says she has a case of 4 chinchillas dead because of pasteruella due to the fact the rabbit owner not only housed them near each other, but they had playtime together!

How the chinchillad never got physically hurt (or vice versa) from this, I don't know, but when 3 of her chinchillas became seriously ill she waited until the last minute to take them to the vet. It is possible her other chinchilla (the 5th) has it too but isn't showing signs yet.

I see this all the time..when people think its a good idea to keep different animals together. It is not okay. Niether is guinie pigs and rabbits.

And now there are 4 dead chinchillas whom I am sewing burial liners for when a little bit of research could have prevented this!

Just a warning to other members of C'H who have multiple species of pets!

That is really sad...

I tell people all the time to keep them separate...but no one ever listens to me. Because most people know so much better than I do about chins...I mean, what would I know?

That's very sad and it makes me angry. Letting the chins play with the rabbits is a bad idea in so many respects.

I think so too. I mean I have one very large rabbit, and one dwarf, but even my dwarf could really do some damage to a chinchilla, being as fragile as they are. I put a report in with the SPCA about her 5th chinchilla who is still "healthy" as of now to be removed or her be citited with abuse (Which may sound harsh, but apparently the vet WARNED her about this, and they have it on file, and now it is considerd abuse)

Are they in bad conditions? She did seek veterinary care, so they probably wouldn't cite her with abuse, would they?

All the rabbit people that I know keep the chins and rabbits separate because they are well aware of problems.

She brought 3 of them in deceased, and the fourth died within the day it was brought. She was warned of this, but she did it anyways, which to me is enough to maybe think she shouldn't posses the 5th chinchilla (if it is healthy) because she doesn't understand.
2 of her chinchillas have also had broken bones (Shh I am not supposed to know that I wasn't allowed full access of her records but my friend let me in) that were taken care of but were never investiaged into as why they had broken bones (One was a broke foot, and another had a dislocated tail joints, if that makes sense)

Honestly, she will probably just get a warning. I have done this for too long to know better.

That's sad with such a relatively small number of chins! Was this over the course of years or things that happened very recently?

I just got the call yesterday. I just started volunteerign with the SPCA with exotics so reporting is a new thing for me, although i have done rehabilitaion for this hospital and others for about almost 5 years now.

I just linked this to a user on LJ that thinks it's okay for her bunny kit to play with her fully-grown adult chinchilla. They also apparently enjoy sharing their occasionally divided fishtank "cage". I did *not* turn the air blue trying to correct the notion; someone else with a much calmer demeanor got their first and tried to explain. I can only hope it sinks in before both of her animals end up needing an E-vet.

That is pretty sad. I used to have a rabbit until last year. I would take a shower and get clean clothes whenever I would handle him before I worked with my chins. There are times I would take 3 showers a day.

Are there any other animals that are unsafe to house near chins? I have a hedgehog in the same room....

This is why I told my son No about him getting a rabbit. He may be 13 but I have trouble getting him to remember to take a shower and put on deodorant, so I an imagine him forgetting to wash his hands and change clothes when working with the chins and rabbit.

Back when I first got Chi Chi, I didn't know any better and let him play with my rabbit, but it was supervised. I was not, however, aware of the possible diseases at the time. I guess I learned, you can never do too much research. Luckily, I realized before it was too late to keep them separate. It's been over 3 years ago though, so I know he's fine.

This is absolutely a heartbreaking story, I hope the other chin makes it.

Gizmo24 said:

Are there any other animals that are unsafe to house near chins? I have a hedgehog in the same room....

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Even if it is safe for them to be in the same room I wouldn't put them in the same room. They have different temperature requirements and I don't think either of them would be comfortable at the others temperature.

Peep_erz said:

Even if it is safe for them to be in the same room I wouldn't put them in the same room. They have different temperature requirements and I don't think either of them would be comfortable at the others temperature.

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Exactly. Hedgies need heat, are intolerant of anything below 70 (If I remember right) and Chins need to be under 70.

Hedgehogs are illegal in AZ so I don't have any experiance with them so I can't tell you.

I keep my hedgehog in a seperate room now bc of winter, the reason I ask, is because I was told not even to keep rabbits in the same house because pasturella is airborn. Just curiouse about other species.

Technically any other animals that you allow to be around the chins could potentially make them sick. Cats and dogs can carry harmful bacteria...but so can humans for that matter. I like to keep all other species out of contact with the chins. Mostly it has to do with how close a chin is kept to another animal, the cleanliness level and ventilation. The closer the proximity a chin is to a rabbit or another animal, the more concentrated anything airborne is going to be, of course. I think it's just important to use good judgment and keep things nice.

With that being said...I'd never let anyone bring a rabbit into my house. Everyone is asked, "do you have other pets?" when they come in because I want to make sure we don't have anything coming in. And, Purell is my best friend.

Gizmo24 said:

I keep my hedgehog in a seperate room now bc of winter, the reason I ask, is because I was told not even to keep rabbits in the same house because pasturella is airborn. Just curiouse about other species.

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It is not airborne, at least not that I have EVER heard of. It is spread by close contact. I have had my rabbits and chins for awhile, and I have had no problems.

I can be spread through aerosol dispersion of mucous from a sneeze by a rabbit with snuffles, up to 6 feet away.

ticklechin said:

I can be spread through aerosol dispersion of mucous from a sneeze by a rabbit with snuffles, up to 6 feet away.

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If your rabbit has snuffles, it should be quarentine completley seperate anyways as snuffles is very contagious and quite dangerous.
I would be sure the Chinchilla would catch the cold before pasturlla.
But were talking 'airborne' as if having them in the same house (Considering all are healthy)