Scared to death. Praying my baby will be alright.

[ReneeM]

My three month old chin has not been acting like himself the past three days. He was at the vet last night because his penis was stuck out. It was lubed and the problem was resolved. He weighed 280g. I noticed the past couple of days he was acting kinda weird. He was still hoping around but not as hyper as he usually does. I was not sure if he was eating.

He still hoped around when my mom held him last night. Not to far though before I caught him. I was worried so I called the vet today, and they got him in tonight. He had super small poop at the vets office and had lost 4-6g since yesterday. She said because of the weight loss he probably wasn't eating well. That he would need to be syringe fed. He was diagnosed with giardia august 22nd and was on antibiotics for 10 days. Could this be a flair up? I was worried he caught something from my rats. Their cages are separated, but one of my rats throws her poop pretty far. I dont think it got into my boys cage, but now I worry. I'm scared to death for my baby boy. I don't know what is going to happen. He is being hospitalized at the vets office now. So they can start him on meds and start feeding him. He kept hoping out of the cage at the vets office into my arms. I hope it is a good sign that he is still somewhat active. He has just been sleeping alot more. The vet is doing another fecal sample . they may keep him over the weekend as well to take care of him.

I left his cagemate with him so he would not be lonely at the vets office. I'm so scared im crying. He is only three months old. I don't want to lose him. I lost a cat not long ago and know what it feels like to lose a pet. He is so young and I have only had him about a month. He may spend the weekend at the vets hospital depending on how he is tomorrow. If his vet bill goes higher than I can afford I'll have to hit up the bank of mom and dad

 

[StevieP]

No, that doesn't sound like a giardia flair up. He still could test positive for giardia, but it doesn't sound like he is symptomatic. Typically the poop will be squishy and sometimes smelly. 4-6 grams isn't a significant weight loss. It sounds like he was dehydrated or wasn't eating enough, maybe because of the stress of going to the vet. Syringe feeding critical care is a good idea.

Keep us updated.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Renee, you were smart to take his cage mate along with him.

I have had 2 bonded pairs, (Mr. Whiskers and Baby, and then when Baby died, Mr. Whiskers and The Snuggler). I always took them to the vet together, even if one wasn't having a problem, that way, nobody had "vet smell cooties" and no one "owned" the cage when we came home. It has worked out so far...

Good luck with your baby.

 

[AznTiger]

my thoughts to the baby. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Laurie]

It's possible that he wasn't fully weaned when removed from mom. 2 months is still quite young to leave mom and perhaps he just wasn't ready and that's why he wasn't eating well on his own in the month you've had him.

 

[ReneeM]

Thank you everyone. I will call my vet later today to find out how my little guy is doing. I miss him so much. Normally he keeps me up at night bouncing around the cage. It's strange for it to be quiet. These guys are my first chinchillas as an adult. I had two when I was a kid but I did everything wrong back then. My mom got frustrated with me and rehomed then because I didn't take care of them right. Also we Didnt know how high the vet bill cost would be. I was about ten. I realize now how expensive a small pet can be. I was stupid and didn't have a vet fund. Luckily I have a little extra in my student loan fund and I get paid today. I'm going to put that aside to pay his bills. I would do anything for him. I just want him to survive this whatever this is.

 

[caiti]

I hope it's something minor and he perks up with some food and fluids!

 

[VolunteerChin22]

When you treat a chin for anything with antibiotics they will almost always go off their feed - when he was treated with the antibiotics did you hand feed then?

 

[ReneeM]

I did not hand feed when he was on the antibiotics. My vet didn't mention such to me, and he did seem to be eating after he completed the meds. He has just been acting weird the past few days. He did nibble some food out of my hand at the vets yesterday. I called them this morning to see how he was doing. They said he was active and lively. I'm dropping off some more food for them this afternoon if my vet wants to keep them over the weekend. I don't want them feeding him whatever food they have there and upsetting his stomach. I would prefer to bring him home, but if he is sick it might be best to leave him at the vet :/

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Has he been diagnosed with something? What kind of meds are they putting him on? I hope they are not just blindly treating him with antibiotics...

If it were me, unless there was a compelling reason for him to stay at the vet's, I would want him home to keep an eye on him and reduce the stress of the vet experience - was there a specific reason they wanted to keep him over the weekend? Is he on some kind of IV fluids or meds? If it's just to hand feed him, you can easily do that yourself and honestly everyone should know how to do that for just this reason. I would hate for them to be racking up charges on you for just handfeeding - not saying this is what's happening but perhaps. If it makes you feel better to have him in the vet's care that's your decision.

Also, is your vet also giving benebac or some other version of acidophilous to replace good bacteria in the gut? That is very important when you have given or are giving antibiotics to keep the gut functioning properly - my vet is adament about this for all creatures, but especially chinchillas since their digestive system is so sensitive.

 

[ticklechin]

What is the diagnosis that needs a extended vet stay?

 

[ReneeM]

They sent them home yesterday with the little one on flagyl. He still doesn't seem like himself, a little bit listless. I bought a bag of critical care. They don't know why he lost .8 grams. They said they saw him eating. The fecal is pending. They wanted me to make sure the older chin wasn't keeping him from eating. I added a second food bowl just in case. Should I be feeding him critical care? If so how often and how much? He is three months old and about 275 grams. I did see him munching and the food dish last night but only for a few moments. He isn't hoping around the cage at night as much as he used to, but he still hops around a little. I'm going to keep an eye on him.

 

[ticklechin]

Again, what is the diagnosis?

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Very well could be getting bullied from the food dish. That has happened to others before. Are they seperated? I would seperate them immediately and see if the little one improves and also so you can know who's poos are whose to keep an eye on that. You need to weigh the bowl with the pellets to see if he is eating once a day. i would also be marking the water bottle. There likely won't be a "cure" for the bullying so you will likely need to seperate them permanently if that is in fact what is happening. You also need to be weighing the chin daily to monitor weight gain/loss - get a gram kitchen scale (walmart) if you don't already have one.

Flagyl is an antibiotic - even if you don't know the diagnosis you need to know why they put him on an antibiotic - small animals, especially chinchillas are very sensitive to medications and as I said before they almost always go off their feed on antibiotics. Going off their feed opens you up to a whole bunch of other problem possibilities, like stasis.

275g at three months is underweight IMO - most of my kits are above 300gs at that point. Yes, you should be feeding him critical care (it's a food source) if he is not eating on his own. The listlessness worries me. That's not normal.

I am torn on recommending handfeeding at this point since we don't really know what is going on, but if he has dropped anymore weight over the last two days I would definately start. I would try feeding him every 3-4 hours as much as he will take. You can mix the critical care with a little filtered water to pull it up into a syringe. I also add a little bit of lifeline (available from Dawn at Chocolate Chinchillas) to my mix and acidophilous powder. It's easier to feed them if you "burrito" or bundle them in a small handtowel to keep them still.

 

[ReneeM]

The diagnosis was giardia. I'm happy to report that he is doing much better. He weighs over 300g now. He has stopped the flagyl. He is his bright happy self again. His poops are normal again, and I see him at the food dish all the time

 

[ticklechin]

Giardia usually does not go away that fast nor is the antibiotic use that short.

 

[ReneeM]

They had been treated for it a couple of weeks ago, my little guy really didn't need to be on the flagyl I think. It's what the vet told me. The second fecal came back positive but showed no cyst. I'm honestly a little confused about the whole thing. It was the other vet in the practice I saw, not the vet I prefer. But I do trust them both. I have been using this exotics vet for over ten years for my rodents and my dogs. She went into a long explanation of why my chinchillas were okay, stating that all chinchillas have it on some level. I'm trying my best in this situation and have been listening to my vet. She is also currently treating a rat of mine with an absess. Chins are so much easier to medicate! Rats fight you when taking it, my chins just stood in my hand and lapped the syringe!