Lost my Girl yesterday =(

[SmileX3]

I went in to check on my chins as usual and Saturday evening one of my girls was nose to nose with another and just seemed sluggish. She has never been housed with a male. Always with these 2 other girls and there has never been an issue. I picked her up and she was definately lethargic. I checked them all for bite marks or hair loss and found nothing. She couldn't walk real well but was trying. She was kind of falling over and then seemed to perk up a bit and was able to get in her dust bath and attempt to roll around. When I first was examining her the only thing I noticed was a clear discharge from her lower area and I thought it was maybe just her cycle and because she was so weak she couldn't clean it like the others do. There wasn't any swelling and she attempted to grab the shreddie and bite it then throw it down. Her eyes weren't watery and there wasn't any drool. Teeth were a good color. She made it through the night which I didn't expect and I kept getting up with her to give her CC, which she wasn't really taking. Her underneath was all wet from urine around 3am. In the morning she had fallen to her side but was still breathing. I was hoping she would make it till today so I could get her to the vet but she finally passed last night at 9. I was able to get a fecal sample to take to the vet today but they said it probably won't help since it was from Saturday night. It was normal consistency but she didn't go any at all on Sunday. The only thing that had changed was it seemed down by her tail seemed to be a little bigger than a dime size swollen area underneath the skin and I was wondering if it was almost a prolapse but nothing was actually coming out and didn't even look irritated. I'm still taking the sample to the vet today and her body and a fecal sample of the other 2 girls, who fortunately at this time seem fine.

Has this ever happened with anyone or any ideas of what this could've been?

 

[AZChins]

There's several possibilities. She could have had an infection (maybe pyometra?), some type of internal organ failure, a stroke, etc. Without a necropsy it would be really hard to tell you exactly what it was. How old was she?

 

[Jenn]

I'm sorry, I don't have any thoughts as to what happened, but wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss I hope you can find some answers.

 

[SmileX3]

Thank you, Jenn. Susan, she was 2.

 

[rainey]

I'm so sorry you lost her. Maybe getting a necropsy would help for you to understand her death better. I hope your other chins are all healthy!

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

I'm so sorry for your loss. :flowers4:

I, too, recommend a necropsy. Sudden, unexplained deaths are always very hard to cope with and knowing what was the cause of death may help you gain some closure.

 

[dcfluegel]

very sorry for your loss

 

[Pikaia]

I'm sorry for your loss.. RIP little girl

 

[Vyxxin]

Well, first...any seriously lethargic chinchilla should see a vet immediately...not wait two days until your regular vet is in. Lethargy is a BAD sign in chinchillas and needs a vet immediately...even an emergency vet if need be.

With that out of the way, there's no sure way to tell w/o necropsy. Though you should probably have had that done, especially if she was in contact with any other chinchillas as a LOT of major sources for those given symptoms ARE contagious. If her body is not able to be necropsied please keep an eye on the other chinchillas and get them to a vet immediately if they show any signs of illness.

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

I'm so sorry you lost your girl. My thoughts are with you.

 

[GrayChillas]

I'm so sorry for your loss I recently lost my girl chin as well. We think she had a stroke but unsure. I'm not sure what could have happened to your chin but thoughts go out to you.

 

[SmileX3]

Thank you everyone for your kind words. Vyxxin, in my area there is an emergency vet but it won't do any good unless the actual "exotic vet" is in and she was not. I had the necropsy done and it was indeed pyometria =( Poor little girl. She will be missed. I do feel so much better knowing that it wasn't anything contagious to my other 2 girls that shared her cage but I had already bleached it to make sure and took their fecal samples in as well and had floats done as a precaution. They came back negative thankfully. At least my little girl isn't suffering anymore.

 

[Vyxxin]

Sorry for your loss, thanks for the explanation and great job on further preventative measures.

 

[Airyn]

That's just awful! I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Shooper]

My heart breaks for you. Give those other girls some extra lovin' and scritches!