Stasis? Seizure? Not happy with vet, frustrated…

[honeybear99]

Hello, my chin started acting a bit unusual on Saturday night when I noticed he wasn’t trying to play or greet me and jump around like he normally does, but I figured he was just tired. Sunday morning I knew something was wrong since he was just staying in the corner of his cage, lethargic and not really eating. He’d eat a few of his pellets out of my hands but mostly was not interested in eating, and drank minimal water. Little to no, poops as well. I noticed his balance was off and I saw he kept stretching too, so I figured it was gas and gave him a dose of gas drops. I massaged his belly a bit which felt soft to the touch and took him to the vet on Monday morning under the fear that it was stasis/bloat, since it was over a day before I could get him to the vet. Now this is the part where I’m a bit upset at, since I wasn’t given a straightforward answer. Long story short, they checked him out, his teeth (said that the front teeth were okay, no idea on the back teeth since “his tongue kept getting in the way”), checked his belly (no hardness detected), and basically kept all his check ups very surface level from what it seems because he was “upset” and “angry”? They offered two treatment options, a “pain shot” and IV hydration, or “heavy sedation” to get x rays and bloodwork done. I obviously went with the first option, as the second seems like overkill and honestly just terrifying, IMO. With the first option, he would be getting meloxicam and critical care to take home. At no point did they mention the possibility of gas, I had to bring it up, but “stasis” kept getting brought up. I asked if gas drops should be kept in the routine, and was told “if you want to, they won’t hurt”. As a side note, I was not able to be in the same room as him during the check up or during going over treatment options, which is very strange to me, but I digress. They go back in to wherever they had him, presumably to administer his shot and IV. They come back an hour later and ask me if there’s any other pets in my house, to which I answer no. Apparently his skin seemed dry and they wanted to administer mite treatment (I think it was a revolution shot, but not entirely sure). I agreed as we did have a mouse get inside the house a while back, don’t think he was in contact with it, but just to be sure. They said he ate some hay he was given and was pooping, which I thought was a good sign.

I bring him home after the visit and let him settle back into his cage. Not much changed, as to be expected immediately after some treatment though. I continue giving him gas drops, and he seems to be eating a bit of hay throughout the day, still little poop movement and he still seems very lethargic. Tuesday morning I try to start him on critical care, and he had zero interest in it, and was even turning his whole body away from it. I made it into a paste, I watered it down, I put a bit of raisin at the tip of the syringe, I swaddled him. Nothing. I see him eat a bit more on his own so I’m not super concerned at this point. I give him the meloxicam and let him be for a bit as I assume he’s probably stressed after everything. Around the afternoon, I sit by his cage just to monitor him, and put a bit more fresh hay in his bowl when I noticed he hadn’t really moved from his tunnel. He hears me adding more hay and pokes his head out a bit, I go to pet under his chin and can feel he is shivering, to which I start to freak out about, and then his face freezes in place and I could see he starts leaning over one side until his back legs, from what it seems like, give out on him. Now, he has had a case of “seizures” once or twice in the past due to changing his pellets to mazuri (my guess) and letting him run on a wheel as a baby. I gave him a raisin on the second instance it happened, which I did again this time after I picked him up and held him until it subsided. I have been scared to give him his regular dose of pellets so he’s only been eating hay mainly, I’m hoping that’s what caused this issue, but I’m not sure. I kept trying to offer him hay and a tiny bit of pellets from my hand and more critical care, but he was still very lethargic and ate a bit of hay here and there. I haven’t seen him drink water. I remembered I had a stack of alfalfa hay which he loves, and sure enough, he ate a little bunch out of my hand immediately, and quickly too so I’m hoping he actually is hungry and maybe just a bit scared to eat. I crushed up some alfalfa and sprinkled it over his hay in hopes that he would eat that as well. I do notice about a dozen poops so there is digestive movement, but still not back to normalcy. I know it’s not an immediate process. I got new gas drops from Walmart and he seems to get a bit hungrier immediately after the drops for a bit, but I still saw him stretching.

And to top it all off, I can’t be entirely sure if it’s smaller squeaks, or sneezes, which is worrying me. He doesn’t have any discharge from his nose or eyes, but I’m worried it could be a respiratory infection.

I know that the next step at this vet would be something I’m not comfortable with, which is sedation, X-rays and bloodwork, so I’m hoping it’s just gas, but it seems to be affecting him a lot more than I imagine gas would. I don’t know if I should go to a different vet, because the exotic vets I’ve been to in my area (Houston) are not very knowledgeable when in comes to chinchillas, or so it seems. I’ve been checking on my chin pretty much every hour, so my lack of sleep might make me sound a bit more harsh or whiny than I’d like to sound, my apologies, I just don’t know what to do now. Any insight would mean a lot, thank you for reading.

 

[Amethyst]

It might not be a bad idea to get a second opinion if you can find another vet. X-rays would be a good idea, that can help rule out if there is gas or a blockage in the gut.

Raisins are not a good idea, unless you know for sure the reason for the seizure was low blood sugar, giving sugary treats like that can cause seizures. I'm not sure what you normally feed, just trying to narrow down would could be the cause. For treats but chins should not have ANY fruits or veggies, even dried since that only removes the water not the sugar. Also things like the "edible" houses and some of those shaped hay treats are not safe either since they are often held together with honey and/or starch. There are also chews and treats that contain grains (wheat, oats, barley, rice, etc), starches, and/or grain flour, I know people have given them for years but for some chins they can be gassy, and some chins are just more prone to gas then others, so it's good to just avoid them. Hay is generally not nutritionally complete, so you do risk malnutrition if you give only hay for more then a few days (less time if it's a kit), so I would offer pellets if he will eat them. Unless you are feeding one of the unhealthy treat filled foods they shouldn't cause issues. If you are still feeding Mazuri though, oats are high in the ingredient list and those can cause gas.

I think revolution is ok for chins for mites, so long as it's the proper dosage (no idea what that is). The odds the chin has mites though is pretty slim unless you have other animals that are infected or you have wild mice actually getting into the cage with him or getting into the hay that you put in the cage. Dry skin is normally caused by giving too many dust baths when it's dry out.