Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[afkwarrior]

Hi!
I just got a lovely pair of boys this week, they're about 14 weeks old.
These chinchillas are the first ever pets that I have ever had.
 
Whilst researching proper care, I spent hours looking at the various illnesses and things chins can get.
It's making me feel really paranoid about my babies, thinking they could get sick very easily!
 
How susceptible are chinchillas to getting sick?
Are they quite hardy? Like, how many times might your chin get ill over their lifetime?
 
Also, how specifically do they get ringworm...? Nowhere seems to say specifically how it happens.
I've heard they can get it through athlete's foot from humans, and I'm worried cause I have that at the moment.
 
Am I just being silly? Please help!! 

[kageri]

Their thick coats can provide a good environment for fungus but it's pretty easy to avoid.  Don't let them get wet and give regular dust baths.  You probably should take a little extra care not to spread the athlete's foot fungus but it's much the same as not spreading it to another human.  Tinea fungus that is the group which cause athlete's foot and ringworm are very hard to kill completely in the environment if you spread it around.

Without other ill animals/humans in the house the odds of sick chins is pretty low.  They might suffer a minor injury because of their active, bouncy nature (Katsu has sprained his leg twice) and small animals are sensitive to respiratory infections, certain beddings like cedar and fresh pine can bring this on, so they may end up on antibiotics or pain meds once or twice in their life.  You won't find many animals that survive 15-20years without some injury or illness at some point.  With a few precautions and proper care such as the dust baths, safe shelf materials, no ramps (they tend to miss when turning on to a ramp and injure a leg), air conditioning if necessary to maintain proper temps, and other husbandry details like diet that you can find articles on they don't get sick too often.  Since they have limited contact to other chinchillas or possibly other animals completely they don't spread things like humans do to each other.  The illness has to come from somewhere.

[afkwarrior]

Their thick coats can provide a good environment for fungus but it's pretty easy to avoid.  Don't let them get wet and give regular dust baths.  You probably should take a little extra care not to spread the athlete's foot fungus but it's much the same as not spreading it to another human.  Tinea fungus that is the group which cause athlete's foot and ringworm are very hard to kill completely in the environment if you spread it around.

Without other ill animals/humans in the house the odds of sick chins is pretty low.  They might suffer a minor injury because of their active, bouncy nature (Katsu has sprained his leg twice) and small animals are sensitive to respiratory infections, certain beddings like cedar and fresh pine can bring this on, so they may end up on antibiotics or pain meds once or twice in their life.  You won't find many animals that survive 15-20years without some injury or illness at some point.  With a few precautions and proper care such as the dust baths, safe shelf materials, no ramps (they tend to miss when turning on to a ramp and injure a leg), air conditioning if necessary to maintain proper temps, and other husbandry details like diet that you can find articles on they don't get sick too often.  Since they have limited contact to other chinchillas or possibly other animals completely they don't spread things like humans do to each other.  The illness has to come from somewhere.

Thanks so much for your reply, I definitely feel somewhat relieved now.
I'm pretty certain their cage environment is fine, and they have dust baths 3 or 4 times a week.
They're all happy and fine, the fungus was the main thing that terrified me, as it seems extremely hard to get rid of.
Thanks a lot for your informative reply! 

[GrayRodent]

(I actually wrote this last night but didn't click the send button... oh well here is what I would have said: )
It's easy to get paranoid when studying illnesses for just about anything. It's not being silly because the truth is that something disastrous could happen anytime without warning with animals and sickness and death is an invetible part of life. It is good to know what can happen and good to take steps to avoid the common preventable things but being paranoid about it doesn't do anyone any good and can take the enjoyment out of having pets if you focus on those issues.

Keep in mind too that forums like this one is a place where people go who have problems so you're going to see an unusually high concentration including worst case scenarios and incompetent owners who are unable to save their pets from often treatable illnesses that have been allowed to turn into something serious. This is immensely helpful for learning but not so great to calm your nerves.

I do have a lot of experience with pets from small birds, cats, dogs, horses, rats, hamsters, etc. So if I were to rate a chinchilla on a sliding scale I'd say I think chinchillas are more fragile than animals like cats or chickens, can be injured more easily than rats or hamsters, but are not near as fragile as most small birds or small parrots. I would put them at about the same as a large parrot in terms of fragility and health threats. This means you have to be careful their specific need are met or you will have problems. But keep in mind too the average life expectancy of a pet chinchilla is about 10 years and the average owner doesn't always give their pets the best care. (Yes they can live to be 15 or 20 years if they are well cared for and stay in good health. As with any animal end-of-life care is usually difficult)

Although I'm somewhat new to chinchillas (about 2 years) I have had issues. My first chinchilla was not cared for properly before I got him and was at high risk for malocclusion but I didn't realize it until some days after I got him. His diet was very poor and he did not have access to wood toys and hay like he should have. His breeding was highly questionable as well. I ended up putting him down about 6 months later after he stopped eating. My second chinchilla had coccidiosis but was well cared for and well bred. In retrospect I should have taken him to the vet the first month I had him but the breeder was not convinced anything was wrong. About 6 months later he had an episode of very loose stools but he responded rapidly to treatment with antibiotics and has had no problems since. Unfortunately that does put him at risk for the infection to re-occur but my vet gave me extra meds so I could take care of it if it does. It is not a big deal but it's something specific to my pet. The fact is that chinchillas can carry coccidiosis or giardia and these can become a problem under conditions of stress. They are usually passed chinchilla to chinchilla. (Including ringworm). I really don't expect anything bad to happen for the next 10 years but who knows? It seems like some years are better than others no matter what kind of animals you have. I don't worry about it but I do monitor his health and food and weight several times a week and if I notice anything way out of the ordinary I'll take him to the vet and go from there.

As far as ringworm goes I would be careful. Wash your hands well before you handle your pet and try to minimize contact until your symptoms start clearing up. Ringworm is one of those things that's difficult to treat (lots of washing the cage and decontamination) but it's usually not dangerous unless you leave it untreated and allow it to spread to the point of becoming a big problem. I've yet to see a case of ringworm that hasn't been cured and some cases have been pretty bad. (Except for one on the board where the animal was neglected and it may have died from the infection spreading into its urethra)

I think the most common problems I see here include minor injuries, ringworm, and respiratory infections. From those can stem bad reactions to antibiotics which start with anorexia and end up with GI stasis and death if not handled promptly. I think respiratory infections usually come from excessive stress, poor diet, or other things that cause a chinchilla to stop eating and lose too much weight. I also feel that bowel obstructions are to blame for some cases but I can't prove it. These are caused by having inappropriate things in your pet's cage that can be swallowed and are fatal. Of these problems respiratory infections are the most dangerous and hardest to prevent and once diagnosed recovery is iffy.

I didn't mean to write a book but I want people to know that having a pet chinchilla is a big responsibility but shouldn't expect their animals to get sick without good cause and should definately not let worry outweigh the pleasure of keeping chinchillas as pets.

[afkwarrior]

I didn't mean to write a book but I want people to know that having a pet chinchilla is a big responsibility but shouldn't expect their animals to get sick without good cause and should definately not let worry outweigh the pleasure of keeping chinchillas as pets.

With something like chinchillas, especially as they are  my first pet, of course I've done a lot of research on proper care and things. I know that they are quite prone to respiratory illnesses, and have delicate digestive systems.
The problem is, when you are learning, no one does tend to tell you how likely any of it is. It makes it sounds like the possibility for those things are very high.
I'm sorry to hear about your chinchilla, that must have been horrible for you. 
I'm especially worried because they get to live to such a long age, and I know my heart would break if anything happened to them, even now. They're so beautiful, with great personalities.
My boyfriend own degus, so I at least have a little experience with exotic animals. Your comparison with other animals was really helpful, so thanks a lot for that! ^_^

I read your whole response, and I have no problems with "book-like". That's exactly what I need!
Thank you so much for your really detailed and informative response, I am largely reassured.
Like I said, I am confident about their living environment, it was mainly the ringworm thing, as I can only get to the doctor this friday.

Thanks again, I am very very very grateful that you bothered to type out something that long. It's very helpful!