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[Jo Ann]

... Also, I am not sure how this could be a contagious illness, the chins have not been exposed to anything that they could catch it from. It's not like they recently came from a pet store or breeder or even visited an animal hospital. So how could they catch a contagious condition that I'd have to worry about them passing on to others? When one of them was sick a few years back, a vet brought up that same point to me. I don't know if that's true, but I guess you never know.

Never say never or impossible ... there are to many variables ... take for instant the common house fly ... it can and will often be a carrier of potential transmission of pathogens (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes) associated with the fly. Pathogenic organisms are picked up by flies from garbage, sewage and other sources of filth, and then transferred on their mouthparts, through their vomitus, feces and contaminated external body parts to human and animal food.  {Such as the fly poop deposited on the wood frame you mentioned she likes to chew on on occasions.}  Serious health problems can develop, especially if there are outdoor food markets, hospitals, or slaughter houses nearby. Among the pathogens commonly transmitted by house flies are Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Escherichia, Enterococcus, Chlamydia, and many other species that cause illness. These flies are most commonly linked to outbreaks of diarrhea and shigellosis, but also are implicated in transmission of food poisoning, typhoid fever, dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, ophthalmia, and parasitic worms.    

   Other things can be brought in your home on the bottom of your shoes and clothing.  Some parasites can live 600 days in the soil if the temperature does not go under freezing during this time period.  

   Ringworm and feline distemper is easily passed from animal or human via clothing or minor contact with an infected animal OR even the ground/surface they have recently walked over.

      Are you still as certain that your chin could not have a a contagious illness?

   Jo Ann

[zukitchi]

       Are you still as certain that your chin could not have a a contagious illness?

Well, it's been a good week now since she first became symptomatic. I never separated her cagemate from her, nor did I move my other chin's cage out of the same room, so if it is contagious, it's sure taking it's sweet time. Not sure if you saw the other board with my updates on her. Her droppings are completely normal as far as color, moisture and texture go. They are probably on the small side of normal in size, but that might just be normal for her. They have doubled in size from when she was at her worst, but average to be 1/2 to 3/4 of the size of my two healthy chin's droppings. I am still giving her the papaya/pineapple treatment, but now only doing it once a day instead of twice. She picks at her timothy hay throughout the day, but seems to eat her pellets less than she used to. Although perhaps this is because she is more full due to the unlimited supply of timothy hay (I used to only feed it to them in the evening) and the pineapple/papaya feedings. Her energy level is not what it used to be prior to all of this, but she is much better than when she was at her worst. The biggest changes are the fact that she doesn't run in her wheel anymore and she doesn't dash around the cage, bouncing off the walls. But if I let her run around the bathroom to play she will jump on and off of the hamper which is 2 feet off the ground and maybe after 20 minutes she'll start to do little wall jumps. My biggest concern though is her lack of chewing. When she went to the vet on Saturday the vet did not see any malocclusion or spurring when she put that little scope in her mouth to look at her teeth, however, an xray was NOT done, so we don't know about her roots. But I bought some new wood chews, both soft and hard wood, and she won't touch them. Normally she'd devour them within hours. Yesterday I got some pumice stone chews and she did nibble on those a little bit, but not like she would have in the past. She does still enjoy her timothy cubes, and gets excited for dust baths.

[Jo Ann]

    Glad to hear she is doing much better.    I've been slower at getting to different things on the computer for the last two months ... I usually spend 6 to 8 hours a day on the computer ... I have not spent that much time, total, in the last 7 weeks ... Sorry, I didn't read the other post until after I had already posted on this one.    
Hint:  {Sometimes it's best to try to keep posts on the same chin all together, that way it is not as confusing and all comments/help/responces are all in the same place for those reading them.   }

My main reason for the question:  "       Are you still as certain that your chin could not have a contagious illness?"  was due to the statement made by you:

... the chins have not been exposed to anything that they could catch it from ... It's not like they recently came from a pet store or breeder or even visited an animal hospital. So how could they catch a contagious condition that I'd have to worry about them passing on to others? ... a vet brought up that same point to me.

As you become a little more use to my posts, you will see not to take them aimed at you personally. That I will often take a "blanket statement" or a general question (like yours) and comment on it in a "here are the reasons you might want to consider the possibility".   (If you took it personally, I do apologize, it was not meant that way.  My intent on my posts are always to try to help all chinchillas, and try not to hurt anyone's feelings.)  My answers are directed to everyone ... not just the one posting the particular thread or a post within the thread. ... Check at the top and see how many times each thread you read has been see by others, 107 on this one alone.  Others are often looking for the same answer or have that same question in mind, but be to shy to ask/post.  

Or, on the other hand, one might take the statement you made to mean that there is no other way for a chin to get sick, other than by being somewhere other than in your home, as being the absolute truth, especially since you state a vet posed that question to you, as one that would/might make new chin owners be less aware/deligent about their chin's possibility of being exposed to things that might affect it's health.  All our homes, regardless of how clean they are, do have germs, parasites and such entering the home every day.

  Please, do not take any of  my responses in a personal way, it was just to make others/newbies/all who do not already know, aware there are things in the home, or that can be brought into the home, in the most innocent of ways, that can be contagious or make our little ones sick, that can pass germs, parasites and cotangents on to a chinchilla from the outside of the home on a daily basis.  

   Jo Ann

[zukitchi]

Oh, I didn't take it personally or as being mean. I didn't mean to come across as sarcastic in my reply if that's what you thought. I just meant that after all this time, if it was a contagious condition, the other chins would have been showing symptoms by now, and they're doing great (except now poor Bowser has a cut on his hand - when I was cleaning I temporarily pushed their cages closer together than usual. Bowser took this opportunity to try to interact with the other chins and Chachi was not going to have it, so he chomped into Bowser's paw pad on his left hand. Bones appear intact and no fingers missing, just a little blood at first and some skin missing, but a scab is already forming. Cleaning it a couple times a day and applying antibiotic ointment. No point to bandage it because he will just eat the band-aid off.)