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[Ceilingaquarium]

I purchased a chinchilla in December from Petsmart. She is my second chinchilla. She is a female beige chinchilla with dark red and blue eyes named Marzipan. She currently does not share a cage with my one year old grey chin, Olivia.
The day I bought her, I noticed that she had extremely fowl smelling urine compared to my grey chinchilla. The smell is noticeable from a distance instantly after she urinates.  I thought at first it could be due to stress or whatever food was being fed to her at Petsmart. However, after all this time the smell has not gone away. She pees frequently and her stools are also large and soft.
She does not behave as if she is ill in any way. She is very sweet, curious, and active. She drinks large amounts of water in comparison to my grey chin as well. Her water bottle appears to be about a 12oz glass bottle and I refill it sometimes twice a day. I feed both of my chinchillas Oxbow pellets and Oxbow timothy hay. My chinchillas do not receive any treats other than occasional bits of oatmeal or shredded wheat. She lives in the two story critter nation cage. The plastic pans in her cage are covered with fleece.
 I have taken Marzipan to a small animal vet, but it turned out that she was actually the first chinchilla he had ever seen. Unfortunately, he was not able to suggest anything. I had her stools tested for parasites. She tested negative.  I have had no luck finding a small animal vet that has experience with chinchillas in my city.
I am afraid that my sweet chin is having internal problems that I am not aware of. I have tried researching what her issue may be but have had little luck. I have considered that perhaps she has endocrine problems since she does have a recessive fur and eye coloration.

Any suggestions for what could be wrong with her?

Thanks!

[GrayRodent]

You might want to look for vets at some distance or even veterinary teaching hospitals and get a second opinion from an exotics experts. The fact the eye is blue is kind of strange and may be indicative of cataracts which can indicate diabetes. What tests have been done?

[Ceilingaquarium]

It seems I am probably going to end up having to travel to get her treated. I had a hope that someone would have had the same experience and it could be fixed by changing something simple like her diet...
Anyway, about her eyes. The vet did mention that she does have an incomplete iris. He also said he is not sure if that is normal for chinchillas (I don't know either). I have read though that it is normal for a dark beige chin to have dark red eyes.
Here's a pic:



The image is kind of dark, but her eyes are dark red with a light blue ring around her pupil. I guess the incomplete iris observation by the vet was in reference to her having a light blue iris and the rest of her eye not having pigment causing it to appear dark red.

The only test I had done on her was the stool sample test to see if she had parasites. The results were negative.
The vet recommended other tests, but I'd rather find a vet who has more experience work with her.

[GrayRodent]

That's cool. I don't think the incomplete iris thing is common. I'm glad it's not cataracts which is something you hear about but sometimes is related to other problems. It is true that beiges have red (ruby colored) eyes since their irises are not pigmented.

You may want to have another stool sample done by the other vet as some types of intestinal parasites are hard to detect and it's hit and miss. It's likely that the soft stool is parasitic and that the foul smelling urine is a bladder infection. These are both fairly common problems which is why I say likely but the vet is going to need to do those tests to make a diagnosis. Loose stools in chinchillas can be a sign of stress as well from having another problem. Their digestive systems are very sensitive to any changes.

It sounds like you're probably feeding the same diet that I do (Oxbow chinchilla deluxe) that does not have any fruits or other things in the mix (which any chinchilla mix should not) and since your other chin is not having the same problem it's probably not diet.

I do want to warn you that if your vet prescribes antibiotics you need to make sure your pet does not loose interest in food. Sometimes medications can cause anorexia and that leads to bowel stasis which is fatal if not caught and treated early. I've seen this happen too many times so just be prepared to syringe feed and keep track of input and output. Also keep close track of water intake. Make sure your chinchilla does not go more than 24 hours without eating before you syringe feed.

I pray everything goes well for you.

[Ceilingaquarium]

Thank you very much for the advice!

I have one more questions...
 Due to Marzipan's issue she often has sticky fur on her bottom from her urine... Any suggestions as to how I can keep her clean? The sand bath doesn't help too much in this situation... 

[GrayRodent]

I still recommend getting her seen by an exotic specialist vet and getting that area checked out. I can't think of any good way to clean it other than manually going in with a damp rag as the need arises. One possibility and I really don't want to mention it because it has not been diagnosed, is the possibility of infection of the female parts, which can also present in this way. The worst case is pyometra, or infection of the uterus, which in chinchillas, I understand is a terminal illness. The sticky stuff may be pus and not urine but I cannot make that determination. Whatever it is IMO these symptoms ought to be properly diagnosed so you can know how to manage it and prevent it from getting worse if it's some kind of infection.

[Ceilingaquarium]

Oh no... I really hope it isn't an infection. I think I'll just return to the same vet and have a urine sample tested.

[GrayRodent]

I recommend having the area examined and doing a visual check for infection as well. If you have a veterinarian who sees rabbits frequently that is going to be your next best option.

[Ceilingaquarium]

I found an exotic vet! The vet rules out a uterine infection because my chin is only a few months old. I am now getting antibiotics to see if they help. She has a possible uti.

[GrayRodent]

Excellent. Thanks for the update on that. I'm not sure if you noticed but there was another chinchilla on the board at about the same time with a vaginal infection being treated with antibiotics and apparently the meds are affecting its appetite which does happen from time to time and when it does it can be quite dangerous. I recommend reviewing this thread in case that happens to you. Hopefully, if it does, your vet will be more helpful.

http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,4386.0.html

One thing I do know is that if there is a situation where there is abnormal hip anatomy that can prevent the bladder from emptying completely out and raising the risk of UTIs.

[Ceilingaquarium]

Thanks for the link. My chinchilla is actually taking baytril as well. I'll be sure to read the forum. Your advice has been very helpful! 

[Ceilingaquarium]

So my chinchilla had stopped eating. She also doesn't like strawberry yogurt... How should I get her to eat?

[GrayRodent]

You will need to syringe feed critical care. I recommend you contact your vet ASAP for specific instructions. If you don't have critical care see if you can get it from a 24 hour clinic.
You can find more information here: http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,4386.0.html if you can't get a hold of your vet.
If all else fails and you have no options you can try to grind pelleted diet up, mix it with warm (not hot) water and see if you can spoon feed at least a teaspoon tonight.

[Ceilingaquarium]

So I was able to syringe Feed her some pellets last night. I offered her a shredded wheat square and she ate it quickly. So it seems like she just isn't eating pellets, but doesn't have a complete lack of appetite... I drew a line at the water level of her bottle and she drank a small amount of water. I'm hoping she's just feeling a little sick... Her infection is definitely gone.

[GrayRodent]

That's great. Please do not take her off the baytril until the prescribed dose is complete. Although the infection appears gone you don't know always know what's going on at the microscopic level. It is a mistake I've seen made here more than once and can result in the infection returning and with antibiotic resistance.