So worried about my chin

Fairyloveheart · Apr 7, 2013

Hi - I am so worried about my nine year old chinny.

From yesterday afternoon she stopped eating and drinking and started behaving oddly, so lethargic and not moving, it is breaking my heart. She doesn't normally enjoy being handled but now let me pick her up and hold her without flinching r trying to jump away like she normally would. She looks so forlorn.

I took her to the emergency vets this morning, but the vet had never seen a chinchilla before

so was v unhelpful. She took her temperature, and felt her, and then gave her an injection of antibiotic and said bring her back tomorrow if no improvement, there is no improvement. She checked her teeth and said they are fine,

She ate a raisin as I offered her one as a last resort. She seems to so far be poo-ing as normal. I tried a syringe of water and she had a small amount. I just don't know what to do. It came on so suddenly.

I can't find a vet that seems to advertise knowing about chins. I have never needed to take her in her 9 years. I had her and her sister from 4 months old. Her sister got stuck behind some drawers 5 years ago after escaping from their cage one night and she coped with that just fine, and she has been happy since, enjoying her daily free play and I have always been careful with her diet.

I can't bear to think of her not being in my life.

I don't know what to do, she is so unhappy....should I try and persevere with a syringe and crushed pellet mix? - or is that unfair?

What could be wrong?

Basket_of_Chinchillas · Apr 7, 2013

Do you have access to Critical Care? If your chin is not eating you need to be hand feeding her, at least 60 mls of CC a day more if you can (if you don't have CC, a crushed pellet mix is your next option, add in lifeline if you have access to it). You need to find a competent chin vet who can do a full set of x-rays to show if there if gas/bloating is an issue, if stasis is a concern, or if there are tooth problems (a vet who has never seen a chin before is not going to be able to tell you if your chin has teeth problems and root elongation would only show up on an x-ray)

tunes · Apr 7, 2013

You might want to contact Claire on here, she's a forum buddy. She's in the UK and may be able to help you with a vet in your area and also point you to supplies you may need.

I'm not telling you anything new when I tell you your chin is in dire need of vet care. We just need to get you with a vet who can help.

Fairyloveheart · Apr 8, 2013

Thank you for your replies. I rang round and found a vet this morning as she seemed to have worsened over night. The vet was much better informed and I felt confident that he knew what he was doing. He said she had one tooth spur but he didn't think that was making her so poorly as she seemed to change so suddenly and was not drooling and it wasn't very big, He gave the two options of admitting her to the hospital and then they would feed her and try and get her strength up for 48 hours as he would need to give her an anaesthetic eo he could review her mouth more thoroughly, and couldn't do so when she was so weak, or euthanasia. After much deliberation and cuddles I had to let her go, he said he was not sure she would come round from the exploratory anaesthetic and she was so weak that we had to think about how she would cope if an operation was needed.

I am beside myself. I can't believe she has gone, I had her back and buried her next to her sister

. She was so precious to me. I am now worrying it was something we did - with her teeth but up until Saturday there were no signs, she was her usual self, eating and playing and running and jumping. I wonder whether there was something else going on inside, as I don't understand how she could go downhill so quickly.

I am now worrying I have done the wrong thing, should I have let her go to the hospital. I just couldn't bear the thought of her suffering as the outcome seemed likely to be the same. I wanted her at peace. He said he would have to kick start her digestion and give her some pain killers in the hospital.

I am a wreck

Thank you for listening x

becky12883 · Apr 8, 2013

So sorry for your loss. It is a very hard decision to make, but she is not suffering anymore.

MyzarandGemma · Apr 8, 2013

I am so sorry for your loss. Yours is not a decision I ever want to have to make. Know that we are here for you and mourn with you, but know that she has crossed the rainbow bridge and is at peace on the other side.

Cuddlebug · Apr 10, 2013

Considering her condition and what it would take just to find out what might be wrong, I think you made the best choice. Like already stated, she is no longer suffering. We are here for you.

landrk11 · Apr 10, 2013

My heart breaks for you. I am so very sorry for your loss. Be at peace with your decision. Your beloved companion was cared for by a loving person...you.

tunes · Apr 10, 2013

I am so sorry for your loss. We can spend forever trying to figure out what we did wrong, but sometimes life just happens. You did the best you could.