Brian123
Well-known member
Last night Missy, one of my two chinchillas, unexpectedly passed away. The two years I've had her went by way too fast and I will miss her. She was between the ages 3-4, very young. This was my first time having pets, as I had none as a kid, so the loss is hitting more than I thought it would today.
As mentioned, this was very sudden, as she seemed fine the day before, nothing unusual yesterday night. I was just out side of a cracked door working and heard nothing unusual. No squeaks, no loud falls, no running and jumping, nothing that caught my attention.
At 11:30pm, I found her laying on her side, tail straight, legs and arms together and outward, eyes open. She was still warm and limp, so it must of been very recent. A few hours later, stiffness set in. A quick inspection showed no visible signs of external injuries, no blood from the nose, but I haven't checked deep in the ears if that's a place I should look. With her being a White Mosaic, any blood should be easy to spot.
The other chin, a beige named Mable, seems fine for the most part. I figure she knows what happened, though, she stayed at the lower level during all this. So I can't say for certain she knows Missy passed away before removing her. Either way, it's probably going to be tough on her
Missy was always the outgoing and curious one, while Mable is generally more reserved, cautious and keeps to herself. They got along perfectly as far back as when they were together at times at the breeder.
Missy seemed healthy and lively most her live. She did come down with a mysterious illness she once battled not long ago. I found her on her side in a corner making lots of squeaks and not moving or eating. An X-Ray and exam never revealed the cause. After a week of hand feeding and antibiotics, she recovered. Though, shortly after I found her with an eye swollen shut, which I then treated for another week. Since then she had been fine. Mable never got sick despite being in the same cage the whole time. I always feared there was an undiagnosed condition that could return at any moment, especially would I heard unusual squeaks.
I called my vet this morning to discuss necropsy and he seemed to not really push doing one, and that he felt they are usually inconclusive. He himself use to own Chinchillas and knows how fragile they are. With the death so sudden, plus no symptoms to work off of, he didn't have high hopes a necropsy would reveal much for the effort/cost. I don't really need to know the exact cause, but the other chin's safety was a concern, which he didn't feel the other chin was too much at rick, but recommended cleaning the cage to be on the safe side.
Some goodbye photos of Missy (White Mosaic)
As mentioned, this was very sudden, as she seemed fine the day before, nothing unusual yesterday night. I was just out side of a cracked door working and heard nothing unusual. No squeaks, no loud falls, no running and jumping, nothing that caught my attention.
At 11:30pm, I found her laying on her side, tail straight, legs and arms together and outward, eyes open. She was still warm and limp, so it must of been very recent. A few hours later, stiffness set in. A quick inspection showed no visible signs of external injuries, no blood from the nose, but I haven't checked deep in the ears if that's a place I should look. With her being a White Mosaic, any blood should be easy to spot.
The other chin, a beige named Mable, seems fine for the most part. I figure she knows what happened, though, she stayed at the lower level during all this. So I can't say for certain she knows Missy passed away before removing her. Either way, it's probably going to be tough on her
Missy was always the outgoing and curious one, while Mable is generally more reserved, cautious and keeps to herself. They got along perfectly as far back as when they were together at times at the breeder.
Missy seemed healthy and lively most her live. She did come down with a mysterious illness she once battled not long ago. I found her on her side in a corner making lots of squeaks and not moving or eating. An X-Ray and exam never revealed the cause. After a week of hand feeding and antibiotics, she recovered. Though, shortly after I found her with an eye swollen shut, which I then treated for another week. Since then she had been fine. Mable never got sick despite being in the same cage the whole time. I always feared there was an undiagnosed condition that could return at any moment, especially would I heard unusual squeaks.
I called my vet this morning to discuss necropsy and he seemed to not really push doing one, and that he felt they are usually inconclusive. He himself use to own Chinchillas and knows how fragile they are. With the death so sudden, plus no symptoms to work off of, he didn't have high hopes a necropsy would reveal much for the effort/cost. I don't really need to know the exact cause, but the other chin's safety was a concern, which he didn't feel the other chin was too much at rick, but recommended cleaning the cage to be on the safe side.
Some goodbye photos of Missy (White Mosaic)
