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1

Health / Re: breathing hard

« on: June 10, 2015, 12:56:40 AM »

You'd think it would get obviously worse though.  Usually infections progress rapidly not a bit here, a bit there, maybe it's gone cause there's been nothing for days, was that something?.....  Which is why I'm wondering about allergies instead.  We can go ask the vet again.  If that theory is valid I don't know if they can blood test allergens like they can humans.

2

Health / Re: HELP! I don't know what happened

« on: June 09, 2015, 12:36:24 AM »

Chinchillas will not overeat quality pellets.  There are various mentions of how much chinchillas usually or may eat but these are guidelines to help calculate pellet usage and monitor chinchillas.  Not meant as the restricted amount that should be put in front of them.  The main thing is that it's a quality pellet.  Which is usually oxbow and a couple other possibilities less commonly found in pet stores.  Most pet store pellets are full of sugary junk, especially mixes.  Do not ever feed mixes no matter what you do to try to make them healthier.  Chins will overeat on junk food.  With full pellet dishes all the time we do not have fat chins.  We have some rounder chins and lankier chins but that's a combination of their body type and their coat.  Not fat production.

We easily find no sugar added wheat cereal and give a piece per chin every day without them changing other food intake a noticeable amount.  They get their nightly wheat cereal when we are checking them before bed, partially to test behavior and response time, and then other things without the carb load like a rosehip or a dried flower and sticks throughout the day.

3

Health / Re: breathing hard

« on: June 09, 2015, 12:21:07 AM »

The timeline given by the vet for being careful to keep all inhalants including dust from Sakura has ended inconclusive.  How many or few sneezes, pops heard when listening to her breathing up close that then go away, and amount of short spurts of whistling breath do we use to confirm something is not wrong or something is wrong?  Cause I don't know how long to draw this out before putting her back with others.  She's not worse and she's not breathing odd again.  Yes, she moves when breathing while sitting upright but the difference is she is breathing into her lower lungs with her sides moving and her feet lift up and down.  When I saw the odd breathing she was breathing in her chest so her upper body and feet went sideways (apart and together) instead of up and down.  She's still sneezing daily though.  I am considering an allergy but I'm not sure what and if she's better upstairs than her cage with the others what is not on this level that is on that level.     I could take the risk of putting her back and seeing if she has an episode or goes back to normal.

4

General Chat / Re: Chinchilla Wheel Broke please help

« on: June 09, 2015, 12:11:50 AM »

Shelves are best replaced with wood but you can cover plastic in fleece to make it difficult to chew and unlikely they will try.  It may take creativity though depending on your cage and your chinchillas.  Liner divers like to burrow in the fleece at any loose spot.  Some of my cages have narrow strips of ceramic floor tile down the edges with a couple bricks to weigh the system down so they can't pull up an inch of the fleece edge.  Ferret nations are some of the best cages for adult chins and need the least modification which makes the price a little better compared to modifying and replacing everything in a cheaper cage.  Critter nations are needed for baby chins but the increased horizontal bars are flimsy compared to ferret nations so if you are only having adults a ferret nation will hold up better.  I've got to fix my 3rd critter nation bar to come off the weld.  bassequipment.com sells the metal pans for those cages.  The plastic pans they come with are very easy to wrap in fleece though.  Some people online make fleece covers for the plastic floor and shelf pan that have a fancier design.  I just get enough cut off the bolt to fold in half and tuck around the pan with no modification to the fleece.

5

Health / Re: HELP! I don't know what happened

« on: June 06, 2015, 11:56:59 PM »

The feeder should be big enough they don't run out of pellets between feedings.  There should be no doubt they will have food 24/7.  You should also be feeding unlimited hay so they should have 2 possible food sources 24/7.  I'm am not certain if hay has enough sugar sources to maintain blood sugar very well and how long it might delay things.

I do not agree with keeping young chins inactive.  Maybe there is something different that makes it necessary for some people.    I have found mine gain weight twice as fast having big cages, levels, and out of cage time from the day they are born.  We have lost 1 since starting this and it was in the smallest of cage sizes we are still using with the fewest obstacles.  Ours bound about entire rooms and have wheels as soon as they are steady enough on their feet.  No seizures, no overheating symptoms, none of these supposed blood sugar problems, no injuries....  They are highly athletic quite early, well muscled, fluffy, and like I said gain weight twice as fast as those raised without as many exercise opportunities.  If I was having lots of seizures due to something so simple as basic exercise and there was not an obvious fix like diet changes I would remove those and the related chins from breeding.

6

Health / Re: breathing hard

« on: June 01, 2015, 03:44:55 PM »

Since her symptoms are so minor the vet wants us to try just keeping her isolated in a very clean and dust free cage.  Make sure the humidity is good and wait a week to dust bath.  If she starts getting worse again he will prescribe antibiotics.

7

Health / Re: breathing hard

« on: June 01, 2015, 01:10:10 PM »

The heavy breathing continued after changing her posture and getting her out of the cage though.  Today her breathing now sounds what I think is normal even after some activity.  She sneezed 2 or 3 times while out for maybe 5mins and I occasionally hear a sneeze or cough in her cage so we are still going to the vet.

8

Health / Re: breathing hard

« on: May 31, 2015, 12:56:38 PM »

We are calling the vet early tomorrow.  I moved her in to a small cage away from the others in a more temp stable room.  She inhaled her hay last night and chewed up her sticks.  Drank her water.  Tried to eat her cage.  She's not looking for space to bounce around in but she's still acting normal otherwise. 

9

Health / breathing hard

« on: May 29, 2015, 06:05:13 PM »

I think I started this on the other computer and got interrupted so try again.

Sakura has been less active lately.  She's spent several months with a male and is a big round fluffy ball of a chinchilla so we thought it was just pregnancy.  I was watching her sitting partially upright and she breathed in so hard her feet would push apart with each breath.  I listened to her and there was a whoosh sound when breathing but no clicking or anything besides sounding like a large amount of regular air.  I wasn't sure normal chinchilla breathing but Aime you can't even really hear with just your ear against her.  Sakura has been otherwise normal.  Eating, drinking, normal stool, taking treats, interacting with the male, her eyes are clear and alert, her coat is clean and fluffy...  She's just spending more time sitting in this one corner and she's slower to come to the bars.  How concerning is it?

10

Health / Re: Chinchilla with swollen, red finger

« on: April 07, 2015, 12:06:34 AM »

It would be best to wait for the vet.  If it becomes necessary to clean it the best mix is betadine with warm water to a weak tea color and then apply to the foot.  Usually you squirt it in the wound or across an infection but it might work best to soak something in the solution and then hold it on the foot.  Betadine is nontoxic and does not sting.  Chlorhexadine can also be used.  Other non prescription antiseptics risk being toxic if ingested (most creams) or damaging to healthy tissue (alcohol or peroxide).  The vet should have better options and oral antibiotics will likely be required if it's infected since there isn't much surface area to open an abcess for cleaning.  Antibiotics are rough on chins.  You will need to pay extra attention to food and water intake, whether normal poop is coming out, give a probiotic, and be ready to treat for digestive problems.  I like to keep critical care on hand at all times for handfeeding if necessary.  Many experienced chinchilla vets now keep critical care available and it's good to ask because oxbow will not sell it directly to customers.  You have to go through a vet or an online veterinary supply. 

11

Health / Re: Bronchitis

« on: March 30, 2015, 11:22:13 PM »

Virus do not usually pass between human and animal.  It's quite common though to develop a bacterial infection as well when you have a long lasting cough.  Bacteria are not so picky.

12

General Chat / Re: Rabbits and chinchillas

« on: March 30, 2015, 01:35:36 PM »

I have rabbits and chins but we do not house them in the same room and nothing that has touched the rabbits in the past 24hrs (the lifespan outside the body of the worst respiratory illnesses) goes near the chins.  I don't know exactly what the risk level is but it's been years with no problems.  A lot of people keep guinea pigs and chins and guinea pigs can carry the same illness if they've been around rabbits themselves.  They never show symptoms though and it doesn't spread well without snotty noses or some other method of travel.  I would actually be more concerned with pet quality rabbits than breeding rabbits.  Breeders have to be careful to keep the lines healthy and resistant to falling ill when exposed at shows and by other breeders.  Many also practice a closed rabbitry once they get enough rabbits to establish their breeding program so nothing new that could be carrying a new strain or weak enough to succumb to illness is brought in to the rabbitry.

13

Breeding 101 / Re: Preparing for kits

« on: March 28, 2015, 12:26:16 PM »

The male is not usually a danger to the kits but the female may go after him and he will breed her immediately after giving birth which can be hard on the female.  Plus you'll just be in the same situation another 4 months later.

Some color combinations will create kits that can't survive.  If you have 2 velvets or 2 whites be prepared that the kits may not be viable after birth.

14

Other Pets / Re: guinea pig pups

« on: March 24, 2015, 09:26:31 PM »

They are so easy to handle and durable compared to chinchillas.     I missed having guinea pigs.  My husband didn't want them in the condo.  I steal a pup most evenings to watch tv with me.  After some complaining that mom is not around they will flop on me to sleep for an hour or 2.  It will be sad when they are gone.  Iroiro is my tamest adult but the adults have the downside of pooping their own body weight while out.

15

Other Pets / Re: guinea pig pups

« on: March 24, 2015, 12:58:51 PM »

We got a very colorful litter