Chinchillas and Bunnies?

[mk94]

It seems that my baby has been so lonely ever since my other baby (his mate) died this last July. We have thought about finding him a new friend. However, instead of looking at chinchillas, my husband has been looking a little bunnies. I think it has something to do with this bunny he saw a few years ago that was up for adoption at the humane society. So I was wondering... would a chinchilla and a rabbit get along? I'm not saying keep them in the same cage, but maybe they could come out and play together. Since my chin is so passive about everything, I'm sure he probably wouldn't mind (he doesn't mind other animals, like our dog). But a rabbit... I don't know how they would react. Has anyone ever had a chinchilla and a bunny that were friends?

 

[Dragonflye]

Combining species (even for playtime) is really not a good idea, whether it be chins and bunnies, cats, gerbils or whatever. Rabbits can carry (and most do) a bacterium called Pasteurella multocida which can cause respiratory issues or "snuffles". It would not be good to expose a chinchilla to that organism.

Aside from that, you never know whether they will get along and a rabbit could very possibly hurt a chin.

 

[mk94]

OMG! I've never heard of this. If this is true, then why are they kept in close proximity to one another in pet stores? Not that I would buy one from a pet store, but you'd think they wouldn't want that getting spread among the animals. And what about rabbits and guinea pigs? They seem to be kept together all the time.

BTW, my chins were with our cat (he's gone now, we had him put to sleep in April because he had advanced cancer) all the time. They would come out to play and the cat would be in the area since he had free run of the house. And they were exposed to my dog all the time. She LOVES chinchillas and would stick her nose on them any chance she got. We still have absolutely no clue why our one chin died. Could she have gotten sick from one of our other animals?

 

[Ash]

It's possible, but without a necropsy, you can never be sure. Most pet stores don't care enough to research what they should do to properly care for their animals, and it's why, 9 times out of 10 when you purchase an animal from a pet store, it's already sick.

Also, various people have multiple species living harmoniously together in the same home/rooms, but it's not recommended. Most people who have chins are advised to keep buns and cats out of the room due to their carrying the bacteria. Doesn't mean they can't live in the same house, but in the same proximity isn't a good idea.

 

[AZChins]

I agree...it's mostly the close proximity that can cause the transmission of diseases from other animals to chinchillas. It's definitely best to keep the rabbits in another room at least. Wash hands thoroughly before touching chins after you have touched other animals and everything should be alright.

 

[mk94]

It's possible, but without a necropsy, you can never be sure. Most pet stores don't care enough to research what they should do to properly care for their animals, and it's why, 9 times out of 10 when you purchase an animal from a pet store, it's already sick.

Also, various people have multiple species living harmoniously together in the same home/rooms, but it's not recommended. Most people who have chins are advised to keep buns and cats out of the room due to their carrying the bacteria. Doesn't mean they can't live in the same house, but in the same proximity isn't a good idea.

I understand about necropsy thing. Unfortunately we have no idea where to take her body to have it done. I mentioned before that the vet we took them to went out of business suddenly. Would a regular vet be able to do it? Or would they not know enough about chins to make any real diagnosis?

As for the cat, he was in the room all the time. We weren't aware of any danger with cats and chinchillas. I thought that they could only get parasites if they were allowed outside and he was an indoor only cat. Now I feel really awful about it.

 

[nibblesmama]

Dale lived with bunnies for years before I got him. The one bunny was his bestest friend and lived in the cage with him. Although I'm sure is was the exception and it's one of those things to be cautious of.

 

[mk94]

Can the bunny be tested for the bacteria? If they don't have it and they are inside your house, can they still get it?

 

[Ash]

They can be tested, but if I remember correctly, pasteurella often brings about many false negatives. Most vets can do a necropsy or will know where to send the body for once, but a necropsy can only be done within a small window of time, so it's likely too late to have one done now.

nibblesmama - Your case was definitely the rarity and shouldn't be risked.

 

[mk94]

They can be tested, but if I remember correctly, pasteurella often brings about many false negatives. Most vets can do a necropsy or will know where to send the body for once, but a necropsy can only be done within a small window of time, so it's likely too late to have one done now.

nibblesmama - Your case was definitely the rarity and shouldn't be risked.

Okay, this is going to sound really bad but... uh, she's sorta frozen at the moment. I put her in a shoe box and put her in the "mouse" freezer (it was originally used to house reptile food). We were in the middle of digging all this stuff up around our house and I didn't want to risk burying her outside. So then I thought, well I can keep her until we are done. Or I could always have her cremated. I'm sorry, I know that sounds awful.

 

[tunes]

I doubt anything will show up now that she's been frozen. Usually you need to refrigerate because freezing causes too much damage to the tissue to get an accurate diagnosis.

 

[mk94]

Well I guess there isn't any reason to hold on to her then. We'll have to find a good place for her since we're having the foundation of our house fixed.
So I guess this means my husband won't be getting his bunny. He's not going to want them completely isolated from one another. He was planning on having them in the same room.