Poop/hay/food change questions.

[corley]

Yeah.. Well it's gonna be a little while, it's daytime now and he isn't exactly pooping (He's passed out). Hahah. There was a lot of poops in there but they weren't fresh enough to do anything with, guess I'll have to go in there and check every once in a while to see if he's accumulated any.

 

[corley]

Called the vet.. Said it'd cost bout $10.50 to run a parasite check.. if he does find Giardia.. What do I do, specifically ask that he prescribe or give me the meds he needs.. There was some arguing in the giardia thread, so what exactly is the best treatment?

 

[Stackie]

Flagyl seems to be the most common treatment for giardia. If he does have a parasite, the vet will probably want to see him so he can get a weight, do an exam, and prescribe the medication. Usually you treat for a few weeks, wait a week, and then do the treatment again. You would have to completely sanitize the cage.

 

[mishellyshel]

take him out for playtime and gather up those poops in a plastic baggie.

no sure about the treatment, i would use the search function for giardia and write everything down so if he is positive you can understand and make sure what your vet is giving you, specifically the doses.

 

[corley]

Alrighty.. just collected a teaspoon or more and baggied em up and took em to the vet... He said to give him a call in bout 45 minutes, he's in surgery.. Guess we'll see what the dealio is

 

[corley]

Alright.. His feces tested negative for giardia.. but he has coccidia... Lovely.. Now to search on the boards for what to treat that with and what else to do.. hmmm...

 

[corley]

Well.. Sounds like the Albon, char shreads, and acidiphilous are going to come in handy when I get them then... Can anyone give me a course of treatment or even help explain what causes it.. The vet was absolutely no help at all in telling me what I should do to get rid of it...

Sorry to keep posting so many posts in here, I just want to knock this thing out. Haha

 

[Stackie]

Parasitic infection can come from giving contaminated water or contact with other animals that have the parasite.

Did the vet not prescribe any medication? If not, you will probably need to take him to the vet to get it. You will obviously need to get an antibiotic for the parasite- either Albon or Sulfa are both known to work. The usual treatment is two weeks on antibiotic, two weeks off, and then two weeks on again. You will need to take everything out of the cage, wash with bleach. I would throw away any wooden shelves and get new ones. You may want to keep him in a different cage than his usual one while treating the parasite so that he does not reinfect his cage while the treatment is going on.

I would also get a high count probiotic..at least 10 billion. It can be a bit expensive but is a useful tool will treating a sick chin. You will need to give it a few hours after the antibiotic so they do not cancel each other out. The probiotic will help repopulate the gut with the beneficial bacteria.

 

[corley]

I don't have much of a vet to work with here, so I am kind of working on my own.. I ordered PB8 Acidophilus: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002BB6W8/ref=oss_T15_product last night and also some Sulfadimethoxine aka "ALBON", some Life line, and some char shreads last night from Dawnna.. What would I need to get prescribed if I already have Albon coming to treat it?

 

[TheNobleFight]

Corley...
What do you mean by not much of a Vet to work with???
Stackie is right! If you have a confirmed infection you should probably get veterinary treatment to make sure this is the only problem.
Please note: If you intend to treat him yourself, you may have read that Albon is a treatment for this organism. The powdered ALBON you ordered is not as strong as prescription based ALBON in suspension. It also has a very bitter taste to it, making it a bit tricky to feed to chins. Where as the prescription form is mixed with a flavor additive. Any veterinarian who has seen the concentration of infection, should be able to prescribe the correct dosage and strength to treat your chinchilla.

Where in Mississippi are you??? Someone here may be able to recommend a good Vet for you.

 

[corley]

I live in central MS, I've asked several people about vets, and I know of one that is an hour and a half away. Right now financially and time wise due to nursing school, I honestly just can not go to a vet that is an hour and a half away.. So I am honestly trying to do as much as I can in order to not have to make that trip.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Speaking from experience, you need to get your chin to vet. I know the drive may seem a bit long and tedious, but so is burying a dead chin. I, too, am in school full time, worry about the cost and have 3 kids ( one of whom is special needs ) and I have a host of other responsibilities and my chin vet is over an hour away but if my chin is sick, I do what I have to.

 

[AZChins]

Albon is a good treatment for coccidia. You can use the powdered Albon to treat it. The problem with it is that if it isn't treated right away and it's allowed to really progress, you can end up with a chin having some serious, lasting, potentially deadly conditions...like going into a full blown toxic shock condition where the bacteria literally poisons the chin with the toxins that it puts off.

It would be better to get the suspension because it's easier to dose out to the chin. It's sweet so it's easier to get the chin to swallow it. The powdered albon can be more difficult. Follow the directions that Dawnna gives for mixing it with water and use a syringe to get it between the back molars so that the chin has to swallow it.

Coccidia is a pretty common cause of diarrhea in chins though. A vet I use says that the chins end up with an overgrowth of it in their intestinal tract mostly due to stress but can also end up with it from dirty conditions. I had a chin with it several years ago and it was probably because we had just moved the herd 1700 miles back to AZ.

 

[corley]

Well I've decided to do the Albon treatment and trying to see if he'll eat it if it is sprinkled on the molasses on a shreddie.. but if not, I have a syringe I can use.. Also I am going to do Life Line as well.. I will keep you guys updated, and if his weight starts dropping tremendously, he starts getting lethargic, or if there is no improvements within a month, I will go the next step and take him to the vet.

Thank you all for your help, I will keep you updated.

 

[AZChins]

I don't know if that would be enough. You need to make sure that he definitely gets the full dose of the Albon. If he doesn't, it's not going to help very much. The Life Line and probiotic will help tremendously to bring the coccidia back under control...but the Albon will clear it up and help tremendously with the diarrhea.

A month is way too long to wait for improvement. This type of diarrhea can go from bad to super-hyper-terrible-deadly worse overnight. You could wake up with parts of the cage soaked in liquid diarrhea. I'm not being overly dramatic here...coccidiosis is a real possibility if he's got an overgrowth of coccidia. He could dehydrate very easily.

Please make sure that he gets a full dose of Albon two to three times a day. He needs it.

 

[corley]

I don't know if that would be enough. You need to make sure that he definitely gets the full dose of the Albon. If he doesn't, it's not going to help very much. The Life Line and probiotic will help tremendously to bring the coccidia back under control...but the Albon will clear it up and help tremendously with the diarrhea.

A month is way too long to wait for improvement. This type of diarrhea can go from bad to super-hyper-terrible-deadly worse overnight. You could wake up with parts of the cage soaked in liquid diarrhea. I'm not being overly dramatic here...coccidiosis is a real possibility if he's got an overgrowth of coccidia. He could dehydrate very easily.

Please make sure that he gets a full dose of Albon two to three times a day. He needs it.

How much Albon per water mix do you recommend? And should I give Life Line just once a day?