my poor poor chinny :(

[erin1818]

so i got a new chinchilla yesterday and my brother called me while i was at work and said its been weezing. i took her to the vet and they said its an upper respitory infection and gave me medicine. im just nervous because the sounds shes making dont sound good at all and i read on here of an owner whose chin died from the same thing. did anyone else have this problem and how long did it take for the chin to get better. im giving her .05 of something (it doesnt say on the bottle) and just started right before i wrote this. also im worried that since shes so new, shes probably stressed out from me holding and trying to force something in her mouth cuz a little fur is coming out!

one more thing, i have another chinchilla that i just moved to my brothers room temporarily until my little girl gets better, but the cages were right next to eachother all day yesterday. you dont think that would have got my other one sick, right? my one i had for awhile was attacking here yesterday and thats why i bought a new cage. would it be because she is sick or shes just not used to other chins?

help!

 

[Stackie]

Call the vet and find out what the medication is. It is essential that you use a good antibiotic when treating a URI. Baytril is the drug of choice. Anything else is usually not strong enough to cure the URI. Most often ill chins go anorexic- in that case you will need to start handfeeding Critical Care or Essentials of Life, at the very least mashed up pellets with water. If they do not eat, their entire GI system shuts down and that is deadly.

It's very possible your other chinchilla could get sick. That is why quarantining new animals is imperative. 30 days of being completely separate from your other animals- different room, different cage, etc. Keep a very close eye on your other chin and take her to the vet at the first sign of any illness- lethargy, loss of appetite, little/no poops, wheezing, etc.

Your other chin was probably attacking her because chinchillas are territorial. You can not just put two chins together and expect them to get along right off the bat. It can take days/weeks/months of introductions before they will even get along. Even then, they may never get along. Chins have been known to fight to the death.

 

[erin1818]

im nervous about my healthy chin now because she has a veryyy little chunk of hair gone from her nose...

 

[Anna]

i've never heard of a fur slip being correlated to a URI.
but yes, URIs are serious, I dealt with a bad one a few years ago. My advice would be to:
Double check to make sure the medication is Baytril, or enrofloxacin. If it isn't, request it.
To aid the loss of appetite give Acidophilus probiotic a few hours after/before giving the Baytril.
Make sure you are handfeeding Critical Care. Even if the chin is still eating, I would still hand feed.

good luck!

 

[ticklechin]

I use baytril and trimeth-sulfate when fighting URIs, hand feeding carefully is very important.