I made a profile years ago but never posted. I wish my first post was more light hearted.
My chinchilla Feeny passed away suddenly over the weekend. He was around 11 years old. He was the first and only chinchilla I had. I got him for an ex-girlfriend and kept him when we broke up. He was my absolute world. Literally everything I did inside my house, I did with him in mind. He slept in our bedroom. He had another cage in our living room for when were downstairs watching TV. I am absolutely devastated. I didn't see it coming. I thought I had so much more time with him.
I let him out Friday night around midnight before my wife and I went to bed. He seemed completely fine. We woke up around 6:30am on Saturday and started doing some things around the house. I checked on him at 11:00am and I immediately knew something was wrong. He was laying on his side which he would do sometimes when he was sleeping but it was just different. I tried to give him a rose hip and he wouldn't eat it. I tried to take him out of his cage to see if that helped. It didn't.
The local exotic animal clinic had no availabile appointments so I took him to an emergency vet 30 minutes away. I waited in the lobby for an hour or two before the vet called me. I figured it was GI stasis which he had a couple of years ago. However the vet told me it wasn't because he was pooping even though they were smaller pellets than usual. He was hooked up to oxygen and was having trouble breathing. He was being kept in a warm room because his body temperature was very low. I was shocked. I ended up paying $2,600 to keep him there overnight despite the vet telling me he had a 20% chance of making it through the night. I couldn't give up on him. No chance. I stayed until they closed at 4:30pm. A few minutes after I left, I got a call from the vet telling me that he was taking his last breaths. By the time I got there, he had already passed.
Because he was in such bad shape, they weren't able to run any tests. After he passed, I just wanted to go home with him and grieve. The vet said it could have been a heart issue but didn't know for sure.
I know I did a great job taking care of him. But I still blamed myself for his passing and started questioning what I could hage done different. I was either told by someone or read somewhere that the average lifespan of a chinchilla is 10-20 years. I thought we had many years left together.
I know since chinchillas are prey animals they tend to hide their weakness or illness. I'd like to think that's what happened with Feeny. If that's the case, he did a great job of hiding it.
Today I called the local vet who I had taken him to over the years and talked to a vet. She told me that its more like 10-13 years. It put my mind at ease. I still wish I had a couple of months or years with him. I wasn't ready to say goodbye.
Sorry to ramble. I guess my question is does anyone else have a similar experience with a chinchilla passing suddenly? How long have everyone else's chinchillas lived?
My chinchilla Feeny passed away suddenly over the weekend. He was around 11 years old. He was the first and only chinchilla I had. I got him for an ex-girlfriend and kept him when we broke up. He was my absolute world. Literally everything I did inside my house, I did with him in mind. He slept in our bedroom. He had another cage in our living room for when were downstairs watching TV. I am absolutely devastated. I didn't see it coming. I thought I had so much more time with him.
I let him out Friday night around midnight before my wife and I went to bed. He seemed completely fine. We woke up around 6:30am on Saturday and started doing some things around the house. I checked on him at 11:00am and I immediately knew something was wrong. He was laying on his side which he would do sometimes when he was sleeping but it was just different. I tried to give him a rose hip and he wouldn't eat it. I tried to take him out of his cage to see if that helped. It didn't.
The local exotic animal clinic had no availabile appointments so I took him to an emergency vet 30 minutes away. I waited in the lobby for an hour or two before the vet called me. I figured it was GI stasis which he had a couple of years ago. However the vet told me it wasn't because he was pooping even though they were smaller pellets than usual. He was hooked up to oxygen and was having trouble breathing. He was being kept in a warm room because his body temperature was very low. I was shocked. I ended up paying $2,600 to keep him there overnight despite the vet telling me he had a 20% chance of making it through the night. I couldn't give up on him. No chance. I stayed until they closed at 4:30pm. A few minutes after I left, I got a call from the vet telling me that he was taking his last breaths. By the time I got there, he had already passed.
Because he was in such bad shape, they weren't able to run any tests. After he passed, I just wanted to go home with him and grieve. The vet said it could have been a heart issue but didn't know for sure.
I know I did a great job taking care of him. But I still blamed myself for his passing and started questioning what I could hage done different. I was either told by someone or read somewhere that the average lifespan of a chinchilla is 10-20 years. I thought we had many years left together.
I know since chinchillas are prey animals they tend to hide their weakness or illness. I'd like to think that's what happened with Feeny. If that's the case, he did a great job of hiding it.
Today I called the local vet who I had taken him to over the years and talked to a vet. She told me that its more like 10-13 years. It put my mind at ease. I still wish I had a couple of months or years with him. I wasn't ready to say goodbye.
Sorry to ramble. I guess my question is does anyone else have a similar experience with a chinchilla passing suddenly? How long have everyone else's chinchillas lived?
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It sounds like you did everything right, you took excellent care of him and got him medical attention as soon as you noticed something was wrong. His passing wasn't your fault, sometimes these things just happen, despite all our best efforts. At 11 years old, he was definitely in his senior years. As others said above, while chins can live 20+ years, most unfortunately don't. Him not making it to his second decade is no reflection on you. 
