Baytril Effects on Chinchilla Behavior

[Kalachichan]

Okay, so I really need some help here.

A little over two weeks ago I took my chinchilla, Boo, to the vet because he was doing some strange stretching, I was worried it was bloat and so I had him looked at by an emergency late night vet, who later told me it was simply and ear infection. Boo was prescribed .02 ml of oral Baytril twice a day for 7 days. This vet however failed to mention to me that the antibiotic needed to be refrigerated, and that probiotics were to be administered along with the antibiotic. Boo went off his feed while he was on these antibiotics and of course I freaked out. I had no idea oral baytril would cause this. So on the last two days of his treatment I overnighted Critical Care and began to force feed as best as I could. When the antibiotic regiment was over, he began to do the weird stretching again. I called the same vet, and she basically told me that she couldn't help, and that they honestly knew nothing about chinchillas.

The following week I took Boo to a vet who gave him a full look over. I told him about the stretching and my concerns of bloat in Boo, and after a long exam and my poor chinchilla going into shock, he told me that Boo did, indeed,
have an ear infection. So this vet prescribed .01 ml of oral Baytril twice a day for 10 days, along with probiotics. He gave Boo fluids through an IV, and sent us home with a follow up appointment the following week.

Boo's follow up appointment was on Monday 12/29/14, and the vet told me that he looked great, he hadn't lost any weight, and he seemed to be fine. Boo had been more active the week of his new treatment with antibiotic and probiotic, and on Sunday night even enjoyed a long playtime with me, showing no signs of his weird stretching and dropping lots of poops.

But then Monday night after his appointment Boo began acting very lethargic and spending nearly all his time in his hut. We take him out to administer his medicine and Critical Care, and he doesn't want to play like usual, instead he simply cuddles in our arms and falls asleep. He has never stopped pooping and I do see him eat on his own sometimes, but I am very worried.

I am hoping this is just a side effect of the oral baytril and he will bounce back once the regiment is done, but some advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Stackie]

The stretching makes me think bloat as well which is a GI issue. Generally ear infections cause loss of balance and head tilt, not stretching. I'm concerned there may be an issue in the GI tract, and the baytril may have done more harm than good. Chins have good bacteria that live in their digestive systems that help them digest their high fiber food. The baytril can kill off this bacteria, causing bigger issues, not to mention it absolutely kills their appetite.

Lethargy is definitely not a good sign and means the chin is really sick. I know you have been juggling vets but it sounds like both of them are questionable. Where are you located? We can try to help you find a vet that has a good reputation with chins. In the mean time I honestly would stop the baytril, keep up with the probiotic and the critical care. How much CC are you able to get in him?

 

[Kalachichan]

I am in Bakersfield California. We are able to get at least a tablespoon of Critical Care in him a day, I haven't tried more because up until now he has still been eating a bit on his own. Also since I thought it was bloat, I didn't want to force too much into him all at once.

I am having another issue here though. My husband and I are leaving on a four day trip tomorrow that we have been planning all year and can't reschedule. I am thinking I need to put Boo up in some sort of care facilities whIle we are gone, but don't know how any of that works.

He is my first chinchilla and I love him very much, just want him to get better

 

[ticklechin]

If this chinchilla indeed has a inner ear infection, baytril alone does not work well, I use chloramphenicol and baytril concurrently along with benadryl for nausea. Inner ear infections make them feel dizzy and sick, so to prevent injury I also limit the chin to one level.