Chinchillas and the swine flu

I found out yesterday that Me, my mom and dad somehow have gotten the swine flu. We started on tamiflu last night and have been instructed to stay in bed. I am worried about my chins. Can they get this too? I just looked at one of my chins and his one eye is half closed and looks irritated. I put on a pair of rubber gloves and put some saline solution in his eye. Still no change in his eye. My family has been quarenteed to our home for a few days while on the meds. We arent supposed to go out in to the public since the flu is air -born. What can I do for my chinchilla????

I can't answer your question, I sorry, but I have no idea what can get transmitted to our chins and other pets. I think, in most cases, we don't transmit illness to our pets, but I have no idea about swine flu.

I would like to tell you that I am so sorry you and your family are ill and I hope you recover quickly.

Hopefully your chin's eye is a simple irritation, but he may need medicated eyedrops. Unless someone with more knowledge disagrees, he should probably see a vet. Can someone you trust come over( with mask?) and take your chin to the vet for you? I don't know what else to suggest but to keep a close watch on his eye and look for signs that it is getting worse. Good luck!

I thought about trying to get someone to come here but i doubt anyone would chance it being that my chins live in the same home as us. God knows what could be transmitted from them. I looked at my chin again, he has some eye crud on his eyeball. It looks like the lower lid could be a bit swollen. Should I keep rinsing it or leave it for a while and see if it goes down?


2 years ago another chin I have had an eye injury that was bad ,it was a puncture actually. His eye turned white with pus and he was given antibiotic eye drops that saved his eye. I still have them somewhere if thats what I would need, IF this chin has some type of infection. But I dont want to medicate without speaking to a professional.

Oh no! I don't have any suggestions, but will say a little prayer for all of you! Keep us posted!

My suggestion would be to contact your veterinarian and alert them to your situation and what is going on with your chinchilla. Perhaps you can talk to the vet over the phone and get some good advice regarding swine flu and pets.

Get well soon.

i 2nd kalandra! i dont know where in jersey you are but i can recommend 2 different vets if you want to PM me.

I agree call the Vets. If they can't recomend anything based on swine flu maybe they will atleast mail you some medicated drops. or even a round of antibiotics if you have a scale and can weigh. I would think they would be understanding to your plight

I will call the vet tomorrow morning. In the meantime does it look like he has a cold or somthing? I have never had to deal with a chin cold. What do they usually require?

Hmm.. I do not have much experience with sick chins... but his eye does look irritated. I hope that everything works out- please keep us updated!

Try not to worry too much at the moment. I would rest and get yourself better first! I don't think they eye thing is life threatening. I would not give dust baths for a few days and see if that helps. I know that sometimes with eye injuries or infections, one treatment can be bad if it is not the right one, steroids maybe? So I would not try the drops until you have seen a vet and have an eye stain. I hope you all feel better soon and I will keep you in my prayers!

I will say if the eye drops that you have are from a while ago that they probably should not be used on this chin. No idea as to whether the drops have an expiration, but if the other chin had an infection that this chin does not you can transfer (possibly depending on life of old infection bugs) it and end up with another problem. Although, most bugs do not live outside for very long, it's probably just better to hold off until a vet can take a look. Could you possibly put the chin in a carrier on your front stoop moments before a friend comes to take it to the vet? Your friend can use a mask as well as hand washing to protect themselves, and this way they wouldn't have to have actual contact with you and most likely less chance of getting the flu? It's a tough situation, and I hope that you start feeling better soon. From what I remember most human diseases do not transfer to chins, but there isn't that much known on the H1N1 to determine whether you could get your chin sick from you or not. Is there any discharge coming from it's nose? If it's only the eye, I would lean towards an irritation (which happens with chins anyhow) with the eye more than towards H1N1. Definitely withhold baths, because they are common sources of eye irritation anyhow. Please keep us updated because this whole thing is probably going to happen to someone else out there, and we'd like to know exactly how much we need to worry about our children (chinnies) if we end up getting swine flu. I'd place my bet on eye irritation, but you have a total reason to be a little worried about your baby. I wish you and your family a quick recovery, including your chinny. - Jessica

I agree that it just looks like an irritated eye. It could be conjunctivitis. I dealt with that with MuShu once and it wasn't so bad. I just got her some eye drops and it was gone quickly. It can happen from their dust, or a scratch on their eye.
There isn't any discharge from her nose is there? If there was, that would suggest something differently.
In either case, I would not use eye drops that were 2 years old. Using the saline won't hurt and if it were to gunk up before you can get to the vet the saline may help wash some of the gunk out. Also, when MuShu had her eye infection it was suggested that it also helps to use a warm moist damp cloth and just gently press it on the eye lid. (obviously not soaking wet so you get the chin wet, I rung all the water out of the washcloth just so it's slightly damp and warm) You know how that feels good on yourself if you have an eye irritation. So you can try that as well.
But the sooner you can get your chin to the vet, the better.

Hes eating fine and running on his wheel. No nose discharge. I put saline solution in his eye 3 times today. His eye is fully open now. Still looks a little more swollen than the other eye around the cornea area. He hasnt had a bath since sunday. Only thing I can think of is I used the last of their food this morning and there a little dust-like food in the bowl from it being the end of the bag. Otherwise I am not sure. Should I give it a little more time being that his eye looks better than it did this morning already?

OK Now I am in a big mess. I woke up today and his cagemate has a irritated looking eye. I called my vet and found out that shes retired b/c she just found out she has lung cancer.Not only was she the best chin vet I ever seen but she was the only vet in the area that took care chins and was knowledgable. Im screwed! They obviously have some sort of conjunctivitis. The eyes swollen and red but no runy noses. They are both eating and acting normal. Im the one freaking out here.

I live in Union , NJ does anyone know a chin vet in the area????

(please noone suggest Dr. Cataldi in Clifton. He misdiagnosed my chins when they were babies and made them much sicker than they were before they saw him)

This is how their eyes look today. It looks just irritated and sticky but not enough to keep their eyes shut. My eyes are the same way just a little sticky. NO vet is going to wanna see my chins risking they have the swine flu. Let alone noone is going to wanna take them from my home. I am scared they are going to get sicker and die. I have medicine...they dont.

So I just called 2 different vets in NJ. As soon as they heard swine flu , it went from "when would you like your appointment" to "Im sorry the doctor already left for the day, um I dont think hes in tomorrow. In fact I dont think hell be in til somtime next week, so you might want to try somwhere else".

I'm getting desprite here. :hair:

did you try the Oakhurst animal hospital in Oakhurst. It may be a bit of a hike but they are excellant...........pricey though. http://www.oakhurstvet.com/

i also see dr. janice goode in Lawrenceville, NJ she is not an exotic specialist but she is very good with chins. phone number 609-924-2293, they are on the right outside of princeton.

honestly not too many people are going to want to see someone who has a contagious flu but perhaps another family member can take them?? OR just call and ask for some advice.

Thanks for the info. Everywhere I tried told me A. they have no appointments til next week, I should look elsewhere B. They would rather not see an animal with possible swine flu and/or C. They wont give me eye drops without seeing the animal. I usually get all 3 in one phone call.

My friends and family dont want to come over here. They wont take my chins thinking they are contaminated. Can anyone send me eye drops or somthing. Ill pay for them... I dunno what else to do.

Great I just noticed a chin in another cage is begining to get this too. Thats 3 of my 4 chins now.