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Health / A lonely chinchilla (complete with sad story)
« on: March 15, 2011, 03:16:38 PM »
Hey guys,
I'm new to this forum and basically joined to ask advice on this subject because I'm concerned for my chinchilla's wellbeing. Long story short, I started with 2 chinchillas who I was told were males, however one was a female and they had 2 baby girls. We had the male neutered and they lived together for a few years. One of the daughters passed away at around the age of 6 due to pneumonia. This was about 5 years ago. The mother died last year from an ongoing struggle with tooth problems (she was on critical care for over a year and it was really a miracle we were even able to keep her alive for that long). The remaining daughter and the father were together for a while until the dad died just a few days ago from what the vet said was intestinal blockage and perforation which is to my understanding 100% fatal (he at least lived a long and otherwise healthy life. he was about 12 when he died). It was very sudden in that he was fine, 24 hours later he seemed weak and short of breath, we rushed him to the vet and she recommended he be put down to prevent suffering. Now we are left with just one of the daughters. My question is this: Is the the apparent loneliness really going to get to this chinchilla? Should we consider giving her up for adoption to a loving family with other chinchillas? She has been around other chins her entire life and I am especially worried about her. She seemed distressed each time another chinchilla was lost, especially after her father who was the last to go.
Any advice/help/information on chinchilla loneliness would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rob.
I'm new to this forum and basically joined to ask advice on this subject because I'm concerned for my chinchilla's wellbeing. Long story short, I started with 2 chinchillas who I was told were males, however one was a female and they had 2 baby girls. We had the male neutered and they lived together for a few years. One of the daughters passed away at around the age of 6 due to pneumonia. This was about 5 years ago. The mother died last year from an ongoing struggle with tooth problems (she was on critical care for over a year and it was really a miracle we were even able to keep her alive for that long). The remaining daughter and the father were together for a while until the dad died just a few days ago from what the vet said was intestinal blockage and perforation which is to my understanding 100% fatal (he at least lived a long and otherwise healthy life. he was about 12 when he died). It was very sudden in that he was fine, 24 hours later he seemed weak and short of breath, we rushed him to the vet and she recommended he be put down to prevent suffering. Now we are left with just one of the daughters. My question is this: Is the the apparent loneliness really going to get to this chinchilla? Should we consider giving her up for adoption to a loving family with other chinchillas? She has been around other chins her entire life and I am especially worried about her. She seemed distressed each time another chinchilla was lost, especially after her father who was the last to go.
Any advice/help/information on chinchilla loneliness would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rob.