Help! Should I go to the emergency vet?

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ReneeM

ReneeM

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Sep 3, 2011
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My boy Phillip has been sleeping quite a bit the past few days. I thought he was just tired. I took him out tonight and he was more lethargic than normal. I weighed him, he was about 450 grams. I have not weighed him recently, so I'm not sure if he has lost weight.

He has discharge from his nose, and sounds congested. He still tried to run away from me tonight.

I was on vacation until last Sunday, so I'm not sure how long this has been going on.

I'm not even sure how he would have gotten sick, can it just happen?

I can be ready to go to the emergency vet in a moment's notice.

My regular vet opens at 8am.
 
I'm not experienced or anything, but I would simply because you said he's being lethargic. That's never a good sign!
 
Have to agree - lethargy is never a good sign. With the discharge, your chin could have developed a URI. I'm the type, better safe than sorry. I would go.

And they can just randomly get sick, unfortunately. We once had one chin, out of 25, randomly develop a URI. Why that one? Dunno. Why not all 25? Couldn't tell you. But he was fine one day, sneezing and discharge the next.
 
I'm getting ready to leave the house. Thank god I have an emergency small animal vet within 30 miles.
 
He is breathing really heavily. They put him on oxygen. They said his abdomen was distended as well. They offered to hospitalize him but want $700-$800 to do it. They are putting him on antibiotics and probiotics. Im getting critical care as well. I'm going to take him home with me for right now, and call my own vet when they open at 8 am. They are also giving him a nebulizer treatment.

I'm scared to death I'm going to lose him. I feel like this is my fault. I don't know if it is something I did or not.

I might have to take out another credit card :p I just put out $2,000 on my dog :(
 
Try to see if you can get a culture done on the discharge, to find out if he has a URI or not.
I might recommend baytril (not orally but injection.) - if he is found to have a URI.

It works best for upper respiratory tract infections(if he has that. Usually discharge from the nose or wheezing means an infection - not always though.).

Depending on what exactly he has and how long he may have had it, this can "just happen".

Sometimes they can get URI's from other animals or pets. It is also possible it is a secondary infection (sometimes chinchillas can get pneumonia as a secondary infection when their immune systems are fighting another infection or illness going on.) or something else entirely different.

Best thing to do is culture the discharge and run tests to find out.

A link to some info on different strains of upper respiratory tract infections in chinchillas : http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171504.htm

Don't blame yourself. :(

I hope things work out.

I wish you and him luck and hope he gets better soon.
 
I took him into my regular vet this morning. They are hospitalizing him. He will be getting oxygen and nebulizing treatments. They will be doing xrays as well. Hand feeding is included in hospitalization.

He may not have xrays until tomorrow, they want to stabilize his breathing first. They have all of his medications from the emergency vet as well.

I'm praying that he pulls through. The vet said he still has a chance, and wouldn't give up on him yet.

I signed up for credit care several months ago but vowed not to use it. I'm happy I signed up for it. The emergency vet used my card :)

My regular vet doesn't take it though. My mom is putting me on payments to pay her back though :p
 
You make sure you go in and see him and take something familiar, a pillow, a hammock, something that smells like home. I would say that 99.99% of the time, a chins survival depends on their will to live. I have had chins who have been attacked who have nothing more than one bite who give up and die and others who look like raw hamburger who survive because they refuse to die. He's in a strange environment, he's sick, and there are strange people handling him. He needs his mom to go in and hold him and let him know he's not alone.

I'm not kidding. It could make all the difference in the world smelling you, hearing your voice, and feeling you.
 
He's in a strange environment, he's sick, and there are strange people handling him. He needs his mom to go in and hold him and let him know he's not alone.

I'm not kidding. It could make all the difference in the world smelling you, hearing your voice, and feeling you.
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I couldn't agree more with this. I had to hand feed my chin for over a month due to his dental issues as well as his URI. It was very scary as I thought I was going to lose him at one point but I was luck he pulled through.

Good luck with your chinnie.
 
I will take some things up for him. I'm just afraid he needs the care they are providing. He was breathing so heavily, it seemed like he was gasping. Would it be better to bring him home?

I didn't take his cage mate with him, I was told they should be separated because Phillip is sick?

Would it be better to insist they stay together?
 
No, you don;t want Phillip getting some other illness from everything floating around the vet's office. He sounds like he needs to stay there until he is stabilized with his breathing. But bringing him a soft toy or blankie that smells like home will surely help.
 
Thanks guys :)

I'm just scared to death I'm going to lose Phillip. I hate not having him home. His cage mate, Terrance, is glaring at me through the cage bars.

I'm praying he pulls through. He is only a year old :(.
 
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I hope he pulls through with minimal suffering. He's lucky to have a mom that's so caring.
 
It's a tough call on the cagemate. If they are closely bonded, then having him there would comfort Phillip. I have seen cagemates hover over their ill buddies, lying on them, around them, being protective of them. I've yet to have a URI go from one cagemate to another, but I've only dealt with a couple. I think the chins that had them did better because their buddies were there and it helped alleviate the loneliness.

That's a call you'll have to make and you'll have to check with your vet on whether he would allow it or not. As far as bringing him home, if he needs nebulizers and oxygen, you can't provide that at home. You can go in and hand feed him and spend time with him though, and that's very important.
 
If the URI is that advanced he's already been exposed... so I don't see what the concern is from passing it from one chin to the other. A good vet should let you spend time with him there, and should appreciate it.
 
I just called the vet. I was told there is not enough room in the oxygen chamber for two chins.

She said he does not really seem to be doing better, but is not worse. Could it be the meds have not kicked in yet? I was told that even when off the oxygen he looks about the same, not worse.

I was told he could go to another vet overnight with oxygen, or come home with me this evening, and I could bring him back first thing in the morning for oxygen and nebulizing treatment.

I don't really want to stress him out by going to yet another vet :(

Would it be safer to bring him home with me tonight? I'll be able to try feeding him, and if something happens I'll be here. I was going to put him back in with Terrance.

Should I move my girls out of my room? Phillip is in the same room they are.
 
ReneeM said:
She said he does not really seem to be doing better, but is not worse. Could it be the meds have not kicked in yet? I was told that even when off the oxygen he looks about the same, not worse.
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What meds do they have him on? In more advanced URIs, I remember Dawn saying there is something they can give in conjunction with Baytril. Don't remember what it was. Hopefully someone on here will know.

Sending good thoughts to you and your boy.
 
The vet has his meds. It was to early for me to medicate him when I dropped him off. He had his first dose at 3am at the emergency clinic.

I forgot to mention the vet is treating it like severe pneumonia. she wants to get x-rays, but is afraid to do them until his breathing improves.
 
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