Skinny chinchilla, I can feel her bones. What's wrong?

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

He said he was assigning TMS because its easier on the chinchillas tummy. Yuki ate some pellets today when we got home. That's a good thing right? Considering he wasn't eating a lot yesterday.

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

Since Yuki is 4 and a half months old

 

[Essentia]

This may sound harsh, and for that I am sorry, but I am being honest. If you leave him on TMS, you will likely have another dead chinchilla. TMS is a good mild antibiotic, used for mild illnesses and infections. URI's quickly kill chinchillas and are far from mild.

Oral baytril can, and often does, make a chinchilla stop eating, but that's what hand feeding is for. You can also get injectable Baytril and some chinchillas will continue to eat on their own.

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

We are calling the vet right now

 

[Sycamore Chins]

It all depends on the susceptibility of the bacteria causing the infection. If they are susceptible, TMS can certainly work. There are cases where TMS would be preferred and be more appropriate for the animal involved. No one but the owners and the vet have personally seen and examined the chin. If this is a chin-competent vet prescribing the antibiotics, why say it's a death sentence?

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

Can u buy Baytril @ the store??

 

[ticklechin]

4 months old, that is most likely why he did not prescribe baytril, chin is still growing and baytril can effect growth and kill off the still populating bacteria in the digestive tract from what I was told since I don't do kits. Your only choice IMO is the TMS. Keep the chin fed and hydrated, give him the TMS as prescribed and hope for the best, it sounds like it was caught early but be prepared for the worst. I am sending healing thoughts to your chin, keep us updated on the progress and if you have any questions don't hesitate to call Dr. Nakamura and ask for his voice mail, he always returns calls.

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

Maybe he prescribed TMS because he thought it was a mild infection since his nose is no longer running and he's eating and drinking. His nose is still stuffed up though, just not running.

 

[ticklechin]

The chin is too young for the baytril from what I have been told and more than likely why it was not prescribed, you only have the TMS to work with due to age. IMO no URI infection is mild, they are VERY often deadly even with heroic efforts and caught early. Don't be fooled, keep a very close eye on this chin.

 

[ticklechin]

Oh and a few videos on handfeeding of mine and what the CC should look like mixed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfRkg5sJ2QU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lva6ovCKvv0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojnhTOu43dk

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

And when we went to the vet, he tried to get a sample of the snot,but had a hard time getting a sample of it since his nose had stopped running. He told me "I couldn't see much,but from what I could see it looks like he has a little respiratory infection."

 

[ticklechin]

Little ones become big ones in a blink of a eye, like I said before please keep a close eye on this chin, feed it at least 60ml of CC a day broken up into 3-4 feedings, make sure water is being consumed and give the chin the antibiotics when prescribed for the time they were prescribed, if you see and change in the condition for the worse such as heaving chest, lethargy, yellow goo from the mouth, weeping eyes, loose watery poo, sunken appearance of the skin call the vet back ASAP and advise.

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

will do. We have the CC and we called the vet back to ask about Baytril,but we just got his voice mail. We also found a chinchilla vet in SF. Right now Yuki is sleeping. We feel bad since his nose is stuffed up and you can hear the squeak of air going in and out of his nose. We haven't given him a bath because we don't want the dust getting ij his nose. He is separated from his bestest friend Haru. He must feel lonely. When would it be ok to let him have a bath?

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

i also had a quick question about the CC directions. What does one part CC two parts water mean? In measurements I mean. Like 2 tablespoons of water or 2 teaspoons or what?

 

[ticklechin]

I don't bath mine when dealing with URI's, its just my opinion. The measurement it just that one part CC to one part water, depends on how much you are going to mix at a time. 1 tsp cc to 1sp water, 1 tbsp to 1 tbsp water etc. Look at my video to see the consistancy you are looking for, it does not have to be exact, just like a really thick milkshake. I mix enough for a days feedings.

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

Ok. Thank you. My bf and I got literally no sleep last night as we were too afraid of Yuki suddenly getting sick. We were very happy and relieved when the vet prescribed TMS,but now after reading all these posts saying prepare for the worst we are worried sick again. We cannot even think about 2 chins dying in less than a month. My bf is still very upset about Corky and cries often. He is very afraid of something happening to Yuki.He said he couldn't handle it if something happened. I couldn't either.

 

[ticklechin]

URIs are rough, you seem to have caught it early so the chances are better since it does not sound like it made it to the lungs yet, but we just want you to know that if the worst happens its not because of what you did or did not do, its just a bad thing that happens to chinchillas and don't beat yourself up, you are doing all you can do so now its just a waiting and praying game.

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

Here he is. He is verry tired.

he is still cute though. lol.

 

[ticklechin]

OHHH he is adorable! Give him a scritchie for me please!

 

[Marshmallowcloudbeanie]

His best friend (Haru) is an ebony



My bf is beating himself up a lot about Corky. Saying he should have taken her to the vet asap, but I told him she died like less than an hour after she started looking really sick. We are both praying Yuki makes it through this.