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 <3
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 <3
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