Squinty eyes, urinated on me, drooling and briefly unresponsive

[smiyata12]

Hi, I have two male chinchillas that I adopted about 5 months ago. Recently, I was transporting the cage with the chinchillas in it to a friend's house who was to look after them while I was out of town. When I got the cage into the truck, I noticed that one of the chins was cramped in the corner of the cage. Initially worried that I may have pinched him with the walls, I poked him through the cage and he didn't move. Then I noticed a clear liquid running down his nose/mouth. Immediately I opened the cage and picked him up, then he seemed to snap out of it and carried on running around the cage.

Now the chins are back home and recently, my husband brought the chin to visit me while sitting on the couch. I was holding him and suddenly he started backing up. I put my hand behind his bum, but he kept trying to push backwards. His eyes went squinty and he made a strange face (kind of crumbled up his face) and then stopped moving with his bum backed into the palm of my hand. Then he urinated on my leg and clear liquid started running down his nose/mouth. He sat motionless for about 30 seconds and then snapped out of it.

Does anyone know what could be going on here?? Should I be really worried?? Is this a mild seizure?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Dolyphinm]

It kind of sounds like this guy had a seizure.

 

[Chub_Chub]

It does sound like a seizure about the backing up/freezing and painful face, but I would be concerned about the fluids, both the peeing and the nose/mouth liquid... I have a chin who has seized a couple different times, and there was no fluids and I don't recall anyone else on here saying they had fluids come out when their chin seized. I hope some more knowledgeable folks can put their 2 cents in. Has he seized since that time?

 

[leni]

Has he been eating, drinking, pooing and peeing normally?

 

[Laurie]

It sounds like a seizure. Chins can be prone to seizures especially if they overheat. If it's not a case of overheating you'll want to keep a log of how often you notice this happening and will want to see a vet for a assessment

 

[saphire]

not knowing how often this happens to him, but squinty eyes, cramping up, strange face and then peeing and drooling.

This may be far fetched but, and I would be curious of more opinions. Is it possible he is trying to pass a stone and it is so painful that he squints, cramps makes a weird face and then manages to pee and has him drool out off pain?


If both your boys are in the same cage, I would separate him and make sure that he is eating, drinking, pooring and urinating well.

Personally, I would have him checked at the vet for stones.

 

[jamanalo]

Stones can be a possibility and so can a seizure. I had one of my rescues pass on me back in 2006 due to a seizure. She didnt have nasal discharge though. She did pee but Im not sure if it occurred during the seizure, or because she passed away.
When he was cramped in the corner of the cage what type of position was he in? When chins seize the slump towards the ground, almost sprawled out. They are also very tense with squinted, almost like a deep daydream.
Regardless of what members post, your best bet is to get him to a vet to have him checked. The longer you wait for replies, that more horrifying this story can end.

 

[smiyata12]

Thanks everyone for your posts!
I don't think he's had an episode like this since the last one, but that was only 2 days ago. We will be sure to monitor his intake and excretion. I'm not 100% sure whether its all normal at the moment because he is in the cage with the other chin. I'm certain he's not overheating. But I will keep a log of the occurrences. If anyone else has had a similar experience it would be great to hear from you!

 

[smiyata12]

Oh and when he had the episode in the cage he was wedged in between the house and the cage wall so he was somewhat sitting upright, not slouched over. When he had the episode on my lap he was sitting upright, almost leaning back on his bum. But it did seem like he was off in his own world lost deep in thought.