When it comes to respiratory infections in chinchillas - prevention is always the best cure.
Respiratory infections in chinchillas are rare but you do hear about them from time to time. When they do occur they can advance rapidly and turn into fatal pneumonia in a matter of days and sometimes hours. Antibiotics are always advised when a respiratory infection is diagnosed and vet visit is always advised when a respiratory infection is suspected. I think it is rare and not something that the average pet owner needs to be worried about but I write this hoping to help with understanding its causes and factors.
From my experience here on the boards I've come to the conclusion that there are two archetypal scenarios for infections; Spontaneous, and concurrent infections.
1. Spontaneous infections
Some chinchillas develop respiratory infections out of the blue. This is very rare but it does happen. When it happens symptoms are usually runny eyes or nose, breathing that you can hear, which is always abnormal, and sometimes loss of appetite. Spontaneous infections are not always preventable or survivable even in the best conditions, but early detection and treatment can and does work.
2. Concurrent infections with immunodeficiency
I think most respiratory infections are concurrent with something else. It could be a parasitic infection in the intestines, or low weight caused by improper diet. Low weight and malnutrition caused by dental problems seem to lead to respiratory illness. The link may have something to do with involvement of the tooth roots and sinuses but I think overall it takes out the immune system.
Low weight and malnutrition kills. Monitor your pet's weight and food consumption regularly. Get its healthy baseline weight you can compare its other weights to. If your chin is less than six months old you should see a slightly upwards trend every week. If it's over a year old you should not see a steep drop in weight, more than 10% of normal at any time. Not all respiratory illnesses present with watery eyes and outward symptoms. Sometimes weight is the only clue you're going to have that your pet needs to be seen by the vet and once symptoms appear it may be quite advanced. Sick chinchillas usually go off their food and may require syringe feeding (at the direction of your veterinarian) to survive.
Malnutrition can also be caused by improper diets. You would be amazed that at pet stores you can have on the same shelf a diet that is very good, and another diet that is known to cause irreparable harm both marketed to chinchillas.
Please ask questions about pelleted diets. Believe me we are in the know. We are not conspiracy theorist health nuts who think everything is going to kill and only recommend the prohibitively expensive quack diets. Chinchillas have very basic, although specific dietary needs and good food isn't extremely expensive or hard to find.
Always, always, always have loose hay or hay cubes available in addition to the pellets to keep those teeth healthy. Pelleted diets will keep weight stable and keep it up. Too many treats can be a big problem with some owners. Treats have little or no use to chinchillas and when they fill up on junk they won't eat their normal food in proper amounts. This often leads to tooth overgrowth, malnutrition, and that deadly low-weight and immune compromised condition. If in doubt just don't feeding any treats. Ironically, your pet will thank for it.
Healthy pets that develop spontaneous respiratory infections have much greater chances of recovering from it. But if your pet's weight is low fatality is almost guaranteed if a respiratory infection occurs.
Sometimes eye infections that are not treated can spread into the sinuses and take hold before spreading into the lungs. Once in the lungs survival rates are minuscule. Eye infections can't always be prevented but they can be monitored and treated. So if you suspect an eye infection, call your vet, ask questions, and get involved in its care and monitoring. It doesn't have to spread and become a gigantic problem.
3. Environment
Although this isn't a main cause it can become one if your pet is kept in conditions that are too hot. Heat (Above 73 degrees F) can have long term effects. One of them is depression, lazy eating and chewing which causes dental overgrowth, and that dangerous malnutrition and low weight. In extreme cases you have acute hyperthermia, organ failure, and seizures to deal with. This is a highly preventable problem but in the long run you are going have an compromised animal with a high risk of contracting any kind of infection.
I think in some cases bowel obstruction is a factor. Plastic in the cage that is ingested (plastic should never be used with chinchillas), paper bedding, or ingestion of fleece pads (some pets are incompatible with using fleece in the cage) can cause a physical obstruction. There is no cure for this and depending on where this happens starvation, and respiratory illness may manifest right at the end.
4. One thing to mention is quarantine. If you have a chinchilla and you bring a new one home please keep them in separate rooms for 3-4 weeks and watch for changes. If your new chinchilla is infected it will take about that much time to manifest symptoms. Respiratory infection is the biggest reason to quarantine. It typically a disease that is not spontaneous but passed from chinchilla to chinchilla. This is a huge prevention measure.
5. Accute illness must be treated properly
In many cases chinchillas get sick with something treatable, then stop eating. The owner feeds treats because that is the only thing the pet eats. I cannot emphasize how deadly this is. If you look at our cases this is a recurring theme and it never ends well. Have recovery diet on hand. Establish a relationship with a local veterinarian experienced with chinchillas. Feed at your vet's direction if you have to wait for an appointment. A day or two can mean the difference between life and death.
Antibiotics are mandatory to treat a respiratory infection. Unfortunately there are risk associated with meds and sometimes chinchillas can die from the meds. But they'll always die of pneumonia if they don't get them. Understand the biggest risk of antibiotics is intestinal stasis, but this can be minimized with syringe feeding the correct prescribed diet. Sometimes it requires additional stimulants or hospitalization at your vet clinic. If you manage its food intake chances are you won't have to. Any time you are sent home with oral antibiotics express your concerns with your vet. Learn all you can about methods of identifying, preventing, and treating that condition. It could save you time, money, and a whole lot of heartbreak if you are one of the few who have encountered this.
