Hello,
I have an 18 year old male chinchilla (soon to be 19 years). We had a visit today at the vet's office. We recently moved to NM and vets with chinchilla experience are incredibly scarce. I was informed today that my chin's heart murmur (which has been a level 2-3 for many, many years) is now a level 4. The vet worked with exotics during schooling, but does not have extensive experiences with chinchillas. She wanted to put him on pimobendan, but it only comes in tablet form. I was curious about what others may possibly use to treat heart murmur conditions? I am open to medications and supplements. I really want to make the remainder of his time comfortable. When I did a Google search, I saw something written from someone who was using enalapril for their chin [they said .09 ml (3 mg) 1X/day]. I wasn't sure if this was something that others use (including dosage)?
Currently, I have been giving him meloxicam (.2 ml) 1X/day in the mornings to treat his arthritis (we did an x-ray about 8 or so years ago and found he had moderate arthritis all over his back). I wanted to see how others treat their chins' arthritis (including meds, supplements, dosage, and frequency).
My little guy has definitely slowed down over the years. He does sleep for most of the day and night and mostly wakes up to eat, drink, use the bathroom, and hop around every once in a while. He has his moments when he is active and wants our attention, but it has reduced over the years. He has a 3-storied cage and can jump up to the top level to get his food without any issues. He is blind, so everything has to be in the right place. He doesn't like coming out to run around in his playpen and wheel, but I have to force him when his cage gets cleaned out and he may run for a little while in the wheel. I was reading lots of forums and will get him an anti-pill fleece bed tonight so he has something softer to sleep in. He eats Oxbow timothy hay, Oxbow chinchilla alfalfa pellets 1x/day (small amount), and green leaf lettuce in the mornings. I have reduced extra treats due to him not being so active and to prevent weight gain.
I would greatly appreciate any additional information about things to consider to help him feel comfortable and to attend to his needs. I apologize for the long post. It's hard getting help when living in a rural area.
I have an 18 year old male chinchilla (soon to be 19 years). We had a visit today at the vet's office. We recently moved to NM and vets with chinchilla experience are incredibly scarce. I was informed today that my chin's heart murmur (which has been a level 2-3 for many, many years) is now a level 4. The vet worked with exotics during schooling, but does not have extensive experiences with chinchillas. She wanted to put him on pimobendan, but it only comes in tablet form. I was curious about what others may possibly use to treat heart murmur conditions? I am open to medications and supplements. I really want to make the remainder of his time comfortable. When I did a Google search, I saw something written from someone who was using enalapril for their chin [they said .09 ml (3 mg) 1X/day]. I wasn't sure if this was something that others use (including dosage)?
Currently, I have been giving him meloxicam (.2 ml) 1X/day in the mornings to treat his arthritis (we did an x-ray about 8 or so years ago and found he had moderate arthritis all over his back). I wanted to see how others treat their chins' arthritis (including meds, supplements, dosage, and frequency).
My little guy has definitely slowed down over the years. He does sleep for most of the day and night and mostly wakes up to eat, drink, use the bathroom, and hop around every once in a while. He has his moments when he is active and wants our attention, but it has reduced over the years. He has a 3-storied cage and can jump up to the top level to get his food without any issues. He is blind, so everything has to be in the right place. He doesn't like coming out to run around in his playpen and wheel, but I have to force him when his cage gets cleaned out and he may run for a little while in the wheel. I was reading lots of forums and will get him an anti-pill fleece bed tonight so he has something softer to sleep in. He eats Oxbow timothy hay, Oxbow chinchilla alfalfa pellets 1x/day (small amount), and green leaf lettuce in the mornings. I have reduced extra treats due to him not being so active and to prevent weight gain.
I would greatly appreciate any additional information about things to consider to help him feel comfortable and to attend to his needs. I apologize for the long post. It's hard getting help when living in a rural area.
