General URI Questions

[JacknRum]

After losing Rum and Jack both in less than a week, I am feeling pretty stung. Jack was started on antibiotics before even presenting symptoms.

I am wondering how common URIs are in chinchillas? What is the survival rate? I've seen multiple threads on here with the chin passing, it's a little scary.

Is there anything specific you can do you prevent these aside from proper husbandry? I am 99.9% positive that I didn't do anything obviously wrong (Aspen bedding, only fleece hammocks, KD pine shelving, no sugary treats, pcrs pellets, fresh timothy hay, etc.).

I am going to wait to be sure of my decision, as I'm pretty upset, but I am thinking that I would like to get another chinchilla in the future. I can't imagine not having one after my boys, even with all the trouble we ran into (That's pets for you.). But I want to quarantine the house. Whatever they had was clearly contagious. What is the minimum time that I should wait? I want to be 100% sure whatever infected them is gone.

 

[smhluvsmh]

I woke this morning thinking of posting the exact same question! Any veterans out there with advice on common causes, do's and dont's?

 

[AZChins]

How long did you have the boys?

URIs are usually caused by bacteria, but it is possible for the cause to be viral. When chins are exposed to bacteria or a virus they can become sick regardless of how clean their cages are or the food that they are on. Now, a chin with a stronger immune system may be able to fight off infections better than one with a weakened immune system, of course - a better diet can lead to a better immune system.

As far for the question about how common URIs are...they are very common. It is probably right up there with digestive problems as being one of the things that can make a chin sick or die. We can try to prevent them with cleanliness, hand washing and good diet. Minimize exposure to the chinchillas if you are sick and don't allow others to come into contact with the chins if they have been sick. Good ventilation is extremely important because chinchillas can be weakened if they do not have the air flow and proper ventilation.

Around here we don't have too many cases of respiratory problems, but every year or two an older chin may come down with a upper respiratory infection that needs to be treated. Upper respiratory infections can lead to ear infections and eye infections, so it's important to promptly get them to the vet.

 

[JacknRum]

I had the boys for over a year and they were about ~3. I don't go into petstores very often because I have rats as well, and I'm afraid of tracking in illnesses. I don't have any friends who own chinchillas and I hadn't had contact with any people recently, either.

Aside from the cold front that has just come through, I can't think of a single reason this came on. And it came on FAST. And they were both immediately treated, though one didn't even present symptoms until they were bad and he passed within 24 hours. Jack was on abs before he presented symptoms and still went downhill.

My mother is thinking of adopting a rabbit. Is whatever they had something that could possibly be transferred?

 

[Laurie]

I had a girl develop a URI while she was pregnant with triplets. We didn't know it was triplets at the time only that she was pregnant. She was given baytril for the extreme seriousness of her illness. At the time I had 2 other chinchillas and neither or the other 2 got a URI. A few days after getting her off medication she gave birth to premature triplets. Despite cleaning the cage thoroughly all eventually died. Some chins are able to fight off this infection while others are not. I have owned chinchillas for close to 7 years now and I've only run across a URI once and that was 6 years ago

 

[ticklechin]

The URIs I dealt with were in conjuction with malocclusion, in those cases its because the immune system is knocked down due to the stress on the body. The problem that is happening with fluoroquinolones is the over use by vets has caused resistant bacteria.

 

[Chinmama]

One of my chinchillas had a URI quite a few years ago and he recovered completely after a short course of antibiotics (SMZ TMP). He never stopped eating and did really well. We probably caught it very early, though, and I think that can make a difference. His neighbor, our other chinchilla, never got it.

If you live with your mother and she gets a rabbit and you get another chinchilla (or two), there is a disease that can be spread between the two. It is called Pasturella and rabbits can carry it. It is passed through nasal secretions and affects the upper respiratory system. It can be passed to chinchillas and is deadly.

 

[JacknRum]

I thought we'd caught Jack's URI really early. He had a single sneeze when I put him on the URI, but I guess it was just too strong. :/ Cipro was the strongest antibiotic my vet was comfortable giving him. From my understanding, it's pretty strong.

If I get another chinchilla, it won't be for awhile and I'll likely have moved out from my mother's house again (I moved back in to get back on my feet after splitting with my fiance.). However, if it's something that can be passed from nasal secretion, is it still possible to have a chinchilla and a bunny in the same house if they're in different rooms and hands are washed between playing with each? I never ever let pets of different species play together, so direct contact would be completely unfeasible.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Many people have both. As long as you are careful, like you said, they both should be fine.