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[PepperLilly]

Hi. My name Jade - I live in South Africa.
My 5 year old male chinchilla, Peppers, has just died and i am convinced the Vet diagnosed and treated him incorrectly.
The Vet openly admitted to me that she does not know much about chinchillas.
His symptoms included;
Lethargic and no energy
Unresponsive and not moving
Not eating - not even his favourite treats
Not drinking
Not pooping
Weight loss
Not social to other chinchillas
Hard little clumps in his tummy
Little spurts of breath
Hunched over

I noticed he was not himself on Thursday the 17th of September. Friday morning I was convinced he was ill as he looked a bit worse. I fed him about 2mls of full cream yogurt with a syringe and left for work. I was reluctant to take him to the vet as our vets here where I live are a bit uneducated in exotic critters and animals. I continued to feed Peppers when I got home with full cream yogurt every 2 hours and then increased it to 4mls at a time along with water – as I was hoping to help him gain weight and I know plain yogurt is really good for bacteria and is a natural into-biotic.
 Saturday morning (the 19th of September) I could not take it any longer so I fed him more yogurt and I went to vet. The vet openly admitted to me that she does not know much about chinchillas so it will be difficult for her. I was really doubtful and extremely worried after that.
 After feeling his tummy and also noticed that he has small clumps, she took a tiny blood sample to examine under the microscope and said his white blood cells have enlarged and his body was fighting something, but she was still uncertain. After doing an x-ray, she said his lining of his lungs were irregular and he looked constipated. She diagnosed him with a lung infection and slightly constipated. I strongly believe that he had a case of Gostrointenstinal dilation/tummy ulcer/kidney infection as I could feel hard little clumps in his stomach and it was uncomfortable for him when I felt them – and I told her that, yet she said it was his lungs. He was not eating and grinding his teeth a little. He did not pass any stools for a really long time. He also lost about 50grams of body weight (he was a small chinchilla to begin with – his weight was about 480-500 grams). She checked him temperature and it was average. Then she said she will give him 0.04mls of Baytril (which I was not happy about) 0.04mls of Catosol (vitamin B) and 0.04ml of Lacson Syrup (animal laxative). She also gave me an animal electrolyte sachet and said it will be safe for him. She advised that I give him 0.01ml every 2 hours. Off we went home and I nursed him every 2 hours and gave him copious amounts of love and snuggles as I already feared the worst.
Sunday the 20th of September I took him for a follow up appointment. I told the vet he was a bit bouncy this morning and that was the only bit of good news I had, other than that, I said I didn’t notice any deterioration or great increase. So overall – I felt he was the same. I told her he still hasn’t passed any poops and he still has hard clumps in his tummy and I’m not happy that. As she was examining him again, he passed a tiny (under average size) poop. It was really smelly, hard on the one end and really squishy and slimy on the other. I told her that he has a problem with his tummy. It seemed as though she did not acknowledge what I was trying to tell her as she proceeded to tell me that she will continue with the Baytril treatment. She gave him another dose of Baytril, Lacson Syrup and Catosol.
I took home the Baytril injections to administer at home (to save the cost of the vet bills) and also because I have a huge passion for animals and rescuing them etc – I wanted to become a vet but did not have the opportunity to study. I had had a lot of experience first had in this particular situation, so I was very confident in this.
I continued my nursing skills and gave Peppers a lot of attention and continued with all his medication and feeding.
Monday morning the 21st of September – I woke up at 4am. Spent a lot time with Peppers and fed him and kept him warm close to my chest with a blanket over him and rubbing his head softly and kissing his nose bridge and ears and talking softly to him. I gave him his Baytril injection (in his groin just under the skin) and I knew it did properly and was confident after I did it. I was due for work at 8am and I knew I could not leave him at home as I needed to continue feeding him. My office is very quiet and I see no customers so I knew he would be fine and not stressed out. I packed up my cat carrier with blankets and hot water bottles (not too hot at all – just enough to keep him warm) and wrapped them in blankets etc and he snug and safe and packed a cooler bag for all his little yogurts and electrolytes and vitamin c paste. I got to work at 8 am. Did some work and I was due to feed him at about 9.30am.
I prepped him syringes took him out the carrier with a blanket and held him and examined him. He was not well. In fact he was deteriorating. His breathing pattern was very short and his pulse was down. That’s when I knew… I felt his pulse and it had decreased to about 60pulses a minute. And after about every 5 breaths, he would gasp for air. At this point I knew there was nothing I could do except blow air towards his mouth. I called my husband and told him Peppers did not have long to go. I was crying so much. I was holding him and rubbing his ribs and talking to him. I knew I could not feed him anything as he was battling to breathe. So I gave him a drop of water instead. His eyes were changing shape and I could see the pain and suffering in his eyes. I knew he was waiting for his dad to say good-bye. I was rocking him like a baby wrapped up in a blanket and crying because I never imagined he would go so soon.
My husband arrived. He stood opposite me and kissed Peppers and rubbed him while I was holding him. Peppers was very limb at this stage. My husband held me and kissed my forehead and we said good-bye to Peppers and told him we love him and will see you soon. I was holding his chest with my fingers and slowly felt his pulse fade away. I closed his eyes, held him close to my face and sobbed like a child…
I’ll never hear him squeak and chirp again, watch him dust bath and see him wag his tail out excitement or fell him nibble my fingers excitedly when I pick him up. I’ll never be able to pick him up! My heart is shattered to say the least.
Later that day when we buried him, I noticed he didn’t pass any poop or liquid. I know that rodents or animals pass something when they die. This is alarming and making me realise more and more that there was definitely something wrong inside his tummy.
Do you think the Vet did diagnose him incorrectly and do you think she gave him the correct medication?
P.S: I have previously had 4 x gerbils and 2 x dumbo rats – all of them have died after been given Baytril  by the Vets an antibiotic following having been diagnosed with a ‘respiratory infection’. The pattern I am seeing here is uncanny and really frustrating for me as I have gone through the same heart ache 7 times.
I just need peace of mind so my husband and I can have closure.
I miss you Peppers and I will always be your mom. I love you more than life itself

[GrayRodent]

I'm very sorry for your loss. It sounds like you have done everything reasonable but unfortunately sometimes if you do everything right you still can't save your pet.

I think there are several things going on. I think in this case it started as a respiratory infection considering a high leukocyte count and observed lung deterioration. Pneumonia is a very common cause of death in chinchillas. The baytril likely contributed to digestive failure. This combination appears to be the cause of death for many chinchillas that I've seen on this board. I am not saying baytril should not be used because it also has a high rate of success regardless of its risk. It is the best treatment for respiratory infection that can kill in a matter of days or even hours if left untreated.

Unfortunately GI-stasis is a is a common side effect of baytril and the risk of fatality is high, especially if it is given at too high of a dose. This is easy to do because chinchillas seem to be especially sensitive to it. Injections are preferable to oral but any antibiotic can have deleterious effects on the digestive system.

GI stasis can account for undigested stomach contents, constipation, and abnormal stool, and death can also result from subsequent starvation. It might not have been the baytril that caused it but severe infection, pain, or anorexia caused by the infection (eating becomes difficult with a URI) can all cause stasis in chinchillas, or even the systemic effects of the infection itself.

The best treatment is hand feeding a recovery diet such as Oxbow critical care in small doses and even intervals and prevention of stasis by close and careful monitoring of your pet's food and water intake and fecal output. Stimulants can sometimes help if stasis is identified.

[PepperLilly]

Hey GrayRodent,

Thank you so much for your reply and advice. I've noticed after reading a lot of forms, you are quite clued up on chins and help where you can.

I think you may be quite right on this. I have been doing a lot of research since Monday and looking at the anatomy of a chinchilla and also looking at different x-rays. I will have a look around in South Africa for stores that sell this Oxbow range - i don't hold much hope for this place as people who specialize in exotics are few and far between. But i will do the best i can.

I phoned the vet who treated Peppers and spoke to her about the situation and told her i needed closure. I also asked if i could have a copy of the x-rays and results for my own keeping. She suggested that i should have done a postmortem, and i would have probably had better closure and we would have known for sure if the medication was the right one and see cause of death. She is right, it was the first thing i thought of when Peppers died but i was fearing that it would be expensive and not only that, i would not have any body to bury - it was too heart breaking.

I know Peppers was a below average size for a male chinchilla and i suspect his immune system was not as strong as what i originally thought - im just grateful that he lasted as long as 5 years. He was really unique and he understood a lot of what i said and he would talk back to me, he was amazing!

I have 2 females left (Peppers partner, Lilly and their daughter, Neela)
I'll keep a close eye on them and make sure that they dont get ill - but i know they are really tough girls and are big as well. So im sure i will have them for long time still *holding thumbs*

Ive just introduced the girls again as they were separate for a few months. it was quite a story as im sure you could imagine. But after 4 days and enough fur to make up a baby chin kit, they are now cuddling and grooming each other just like old times! 

Thank you once again for your guidance, and i will continue to support this page as i feel so comfortable reading other people stories and learning from other chin owners - its wonderful because i don't feel alone.

Happy reading & see you around