Pneumonia/Heart Murmur

[firebugems]

Hi my name is Katie and my chin Gizzy (female) is about 7 months old. On April 18th I noticed she was very sick and took her to the Vet ER where they had an exotic animals specialist. They diagnosed her there with pneumonia and I was given Probiocin 1 click every 24 hrs, Batril 0.6 mls every 12 hrs, and some critical care food to give her. She was so sick that it was easy to catch her and give her the meds by syringe. Then she started feeling better and we had to trick her into going into her dust bath house then emptying her into a crate then catching her with a towel. The doc came back and said it may also be a valve problem and to add Lasix 0.15 ml every 12 hours as well. She drastically improved 12 hours after we first gave that. Now she won't let us catch her AT ALL and won't trust the dust bath if we are near it. She hasn't had her medicine in 3 days. The vet is looking into a long term cardiac medicine for her that may possibly come in a treat compound. But now she isn't eating any pellets, though still drinking and eating hay. She lets us pet her and give her treats but we can't catch her. She sprayed us for the first time too. I don't want to stress her little heart out by chasing her. Do you know of any medicine that would work that I could suggest to my vet? I see on here you often suggest weighing her but she won't let us catch her... If I sit on the floor she jumps in my lap so she likes us and is friendly... just doesn't want to be held. Help please.

 

[ticklechin]

I am going to assume the chin is in congestive heart failure hense the lasix? Heart failure chins can be treated with lisinopril long term for this condition with the lasix and both should be able to be compounded with orasweet to taste better. What class murmur does the chin have? At 7 months it must be a 5 or above to have symptoms so young.

 

[firebugems]

thanks

Thanks Dawn. The doc said she couldn't hear one. That's why we at first treated her for pneumonia. It was after the xray got sent out to a specialist that they said it could possibly be a heart valve problem. Now I'm a Paramedic so I understand the heart and all the health problems very well. What I need the most help with is that I can't catch her anymore. Does that medicine come in treat form because using a syringe is not an option. I think the Baytril was cherry flavored and she took that well but now that she knows what were doing we can't catch her anymore.

 

[AZChins]

You can have the meds compounded with the same flavor as the baytril since she liked the cherry flavor. If the vet doesn't have it on hand flavored for you or can't mix it up at the office, you could definitely try a compounding pharmacy to get something she will want to take.

 

[firebugems]

But not a liquid form, right? Treat form? I even tried injecting it into a raisin and she wouldn't take it.

 

[ticklechin]

Does she come to you to investigate when you offer her something through the cage wire? Some chins take things from a syringe right through the cage wire, and like I said in my past post, the vet or pharmacy can compound the meds with orasweet to make it taste good. Also, if the cage has two doors can you shoosh her from one level to another and out the door into a carrier?

 

[firebugems]

I can close her into half the cage, top or bottom, but we can't catch her. She does get curious when I put it thru the doors but she won't take it. I even put some on her stick she chews on. She's either too smart or very stubborn...

 

[ticklechin]

If you can close off one part of the cage and toss a towel over her then scoop her up if there is enough room in the cage to do that, she will need the meds and as far as I know there is no solid form of the meds.

 

[firebugems]

That's what I was afraid of. She's not letting us do that right now. She sprayed husband is on the attack.

*Sprayed us and is on the attack. She got her meds tonight for the first time in 3 days. I think she's getting weaker.

 

[Newt]

Yeah it's awful when you cant catch them for their meds. Chins are so darn fast, and smart too! The towel idea is a good one. Does she have a hiding place, like a nest box, that you could chase her into, and then put your hand in to get her?

She'll need some Critical Care feeds if she's not eating enough. You could mix in some probiotics too, to offset the effect of the baytril. Some chins will take Critical Care off a spoon rather than needing to be syringe fed. Hopefully she'll be one of the easy ones

best wishes from me and Rosey xxxxx


oh and I just meant to say, dont let the spraying put you off.... dont let her think that that tactic is going to work!

 

[firebugems]

I tried the spoon and at first she was eating the critical care off of it. I got so excited that I jumped up and mixed in the meds and she won't come near it. So I mixed up another one without meds and she won't go near that either. So I left both spoons in the cage. I think I got the most stubborn chinchilla ever...and the vet won't get back to me.

 

[Claire D]

Do you have sugar free Ribena there or something similar?

I the UK some poeple have found putting a little bit 0.1ml or less sugar free Ribena with the meds to make it more palatable.

 

[Zoaea]

Get a small holding cage for her, keep her in that till your med courses are done. Make sure the door is wide or the top pops off so that you can take her out easy. You can't really give and not give those type of meds without bad side effects. Call the vet again till they give you answers they should be getting to you same day!

You need to practice the burrito wrap, I sucked at it with my chin but after a few days of fighting I got better at it. Shove the syringe in the corner of her mouth, and push in the med. If its a larger dose you might have to give it in multiple pushes so that it doesn't flood out of her mouth. Usually if you can pin them good and force it for a few days they stop fighting so hard. Also, if she isnt eating you can force feed the critical care in a syringe too, but it clogs normal syringes. I used a J hooked syringe with the tip trimmed back a bit and made it a little more soupy and it worked. http://www.vetdepot.com/syringe-12-cc-curved-tipped-monoject-one.html There is an example of one, your vet should have some to give you if you need to force feed her the CC. With the long tip you can trim off part of the end but still have an inch to use.

Until you can pin her by your self, I also found it easier when my husband held the chinchilla, one hand for the body one to hold the head still, and then I injected the meds in her mouth.