mysterious chinchilla death

[Scoldingice]

hi. so about a week apart both of my girlfriends chinchillas have died. nothing has changed in their room except that the a/c was put in. the first one (tetra) was acting sad and lethargic. then i came home and found him dead under his bridge with blood on his mouth and nose (he was about 3 months old) then today im sitting in the living room watching tv and i hear a noise from the room and rhino (our other one, 2 years) is seizing on a shelf. he was shakeing and kicking his back legs on his side i picked him up and my roomate and i tried to help. it looked like he was gasping for air but his throat and mouth were clear. im very destressed about telling my girlfriend her other chinchilla die. can anyone help me think of what caused this??

 

[ticklechin]

Could the chins have got into something toxic? Are there any electrical wires near the cage? Without a necropsy you will not know the true cause of death, even with one it can be dicey but worth having done since both died.

 

[AZChins]

Maybe some respiratory disease or something? I don't know either. Blood coming out of the nose could be caused by a few different things, but the fact that the older one died so soon after the younger one says that it's either something toxic or a disease.

Did you get the three month old chin and put him right in with the other boy? How long have you had him? It's very possible that the new chin brought in bacteria or a virus with him. Where did the chins come from and how long have you had them?

 

[Scoldingice]

no the 3 month was in the same room for a week then in the same cage after they were friendly with each other. we bought a female at the same time for a friend and she is fine. all 3 chins are from the same breeder and all of her chins are fine. there are on wires or anything toxic near the cage. the only thing new is the a/c. and a new bag of timothy hay but i dont think its that.

 

[Dolyphinm]

i can't say what caused it definitely, but for future knowledge, anytime a chin show lethargy a vet should be involved immediately as chins hide sickness well.

Were they eating normally and pooping normally?

 

[ticklechin]

In the future, quarantine for new chinchillas is 30 days in a separate room and cage. Chinchillas hide illness so well it gives time for anything to show up and for you to moniter food and water intake. More than likely the new chin was harboring something and gave it to your other chin, if both had no outside cage time where they could have got into somthing.

 

[caiti]

Is the AC used? Maybe if it wasn't cleaned properly and had some spores or pathogens on it they could have circulated into the air. I don't know specifically which pathogens you'd run into that affect chins but not humans, though. And I have no idea if this really happens that often. I know ACs have filters on them, so I'm really not sure how probable this is.

My best guess would be either environmental or the young one was sick when you brought him home.