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Author Topic: Sick Chinchilla  (Read 2302 times)

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AdaMaria

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Sick Chinchilla
« on: March 09, 2018, 12:05:32 PM »

Hello guys! I need help with my chinchilla and maybe some of you can help me or give me some advice. In my country I didn't find a vet that know what to do with this type of pet.

Yesterday my mom let my Chinchilla to play in the bathroom for half an hour, and when she returned my chin stood still which was very weird for her. She leaned to one side, almost fainted. Later she was trembling and having spasms. 

She tried to jump in her cage like usual but she could not jump or orientate at all.

I took her to the vet and he gave her some vitamins. She seems better now but she eats very little. What happened to her? This is the first time she has something like this. :(
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GrayRodent

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    • Chris Hamilton
Re: Sick Chinchilla
« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2018, 04:15:28 PM »

I'm sorry to hear you are having this kind of problem with your pet.

My first thought is your chinchilla got extremely overheated. If the room temperature was 63C or above it might be too hot for your chinchilla to play and get a lot of exercise. Overheating is known to cause seizures and brain injury and unfortunately in some cases it is not reversible, but it may improve over time.

My second thought is that some breeders of chinchillas do not exercise good judgment in breeding and their chinchillas may be born with genetic defects, such as epilepsy. Chinchillas with epilepsy can have these kinds of seizures.

My third though is that it could be related to a diabetic or blood sugar problem. This would require further investigation. If the chinchilla has dental problems it could be caused my malnutrition.

Without having a proper veterinary exam with the proper tests all we can do is make some guesses. If you cannot keep the temps lower than 63 then you should not let your pet out for exercise. Even at normal temps 30 minutes may be too long for chinchillas. They do not require that kind of activity so it's not going to hurt your pet to cease letting letting it out.

How long have you had your pet? How old it it? How often have you been letting it out like that? Is it at a healthy weight? Are you keeping track of its weight? The only way to really know if it's not eating properly is to keep track there. I recommend once a week for a while until you can figure out what's going on.
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AdaMaria

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Re: Sick Chinchilla
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2018, 05:04:26 AM »

Thank you for the reply! I will take into consideration all the factors that could have caused this.  :'(
Mooki is 5 years old and we let her out like this since she was little. Because she mostly spends her time in the cage, we taught that she will love to play around sometimes.
Her weight is 660 grams. She is better now, she is playing again, but she kind of lost her appetite. I guess she needs a few days to fully recover.
I feed her Cavie GrandMix, Hay, and my mom gives her often some treats(raisins,dehydrated fruits,almonds,nuts or dried flowers).
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GrayRodent

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Re: Sick Chinchilla
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2018, 10:15:46 AM »

I'm sorry to say but I'm out of ideas. Something did change. A chinchilla that has had no problems with seizures or exercise for years should not develop them suddenly unless the room temperature is too high.

I do know that feeding a lot of treats can have a serious impact on a chinchilla's health. If you are going to feed dried fruit as a treat is should be no more than two raisins a day, or dried fruit of the same mass as a day. Dried flowers such as rose hips are better than fruit (should be no more than one a day and only for a healthy chinchilla) because they have lower sugar content.

Nuts should not be given. They are high in fat and the liver is sensitive to disease from that. My own chinchillas do not get treats. They just are not healthy and a good pelleted diet plus loose timothy hay diet is all they need and is ideal. They are very social animals and crave attention and they usually are very active at night and bounce around their cages.

I can't seem to find any information on your pelleted diet. A chinchilla should have plain alfalfa-based pellets and there should be no fruits or nuts mixed into the pellets. Chinchillas on a diet high in fruits and nut typically develop dental and liver problems over time. If your pet has been fed the wrong diet all of its life you may be experiencing problems from this. The best thing you can do is transition to a different diet. Do not change it all at once, but mix in the proper pellets over time and add loose hay over a couple of weeks.
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Flint

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Re: Sick Chinchilla
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2018, 02:17:13 PM »

To be blunt, chinchillas should not be fed fruit or veg, fresh or dried at all. Raisins are high in sugar, which a chinchilla cannot process, and the texture of a raisin can lead to serious teeth issues. Are you feeding your chinchilla a guinea pig pellet? If so, please change to a chinchilla pellet asap. It would be better to give your chinchilla a bland diet of good quality hay and fresh water for two or three days, while you sort out the correct pellets.
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AdaMaria

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Re: Sick Chinchilla
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2018, 07:54:51 AM »

I think my mom has exaggerated with the treats. She used to give her a lot of treats. I warned her about it and now she does not give her anymore.
I will also change her diet. Thank you guys!! :)
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