Over the past two months, my previously extremely healthy 13-year old chinchilla, Willow, has battled some baffling health issues. During that time I lurked in the forums, but I didn't see a lot that pertained to her situation or some of her medicines. Now that she is 95% back to herself, I've decided to share our experience. Hopefully someone else will benefit from it.
One morning in mid-September, I noticed that Willow wasn't quite herself. She was eating, but wasn't as active. I noticed squishy poop and got her to the vet the next day. The fecal revealed both rods and yeast in the stool, so she was put on flagyl for a week. The vet noted a significant heart murmur that he had never heard before.
Within two days of starting the flagyl, Willow's poops were back to normal, but she still wasn't herself. She was eager to come out at playtime, but didn't do much of anything. She didn't seem uncomfortable, but her breathing was hard (note: her breathing has always been a little different; I can feel air come out of her nose and her whole body has always moved). She still ate, but not as much, mainly because she just wasn't going to the food as often. She lost weight. I was worried.
At her two-week recheck appointment, the fecal was clear. Since Willow still wasn't acting like herself, our vet investigated further. The heart murmur was still there. He did took chest x-rays. It was difficult to visualize her heart on the x-rays. Fluid was visible around her lungs (but her lungs sounded clear). And, there was something there that the vet could not identify. His best guess was that it was a collapsed lung, but it could have been a mass of some sort. Unsure of what we were dealing with, he sent us home with chloramphenicol, lasix, and the appetite stimulant, cyproheptadine.
The lasix and cyproheptadine seemed to take effect almost immediately. Willow was up more to pee and eat. I thought she might be doing a tiny bit better. Her breathing was still hard though, and at that point she hadn't been to the upper levels of her cage for 2.5 weeks.
She was rechecked one week after starting the chloramphenicol. Her x-rays were worse instead of better. There was cloudiness in the lungs. The vet said her breathing sounded worse. He thought there was infection in her lungs and that she was in heart failure. He opted to start her on amikacin and enalapril (enacard) while continuing all other meds. He was still unsure of what he was dealing with and thought the amikacin might be the only chance of getting her through it.
At this point, I really thought I was going to lose my Willow. She didn't seem uncomfortable. She just seemed blah. She still enjoyed chewing and coming out of her cage (even though she did nothing when she came out). We started the new meds. Much to my surprise, the injectable amikacin was much less stressful on her than the oral meds. Within about three days, Willow started to perk up. Her breathing started to ease. Her eyes seemed brighter, and she was holding her ears a little higher. She still didn't do much outside of the cage. Each day, she got a little better. By the fifth day, she was back in the upper levels of her cage.
She had another recheck after her week of amikacin was done. The vet could see how much she improved as soon as he walked in the room. Her heart murmur was barely audible. He took another set of x-rays. Her lungs were clear, and the fluid surrounding them was gone. It seemed likely that because her heart hadn't been working properly (not sure of the cause of the heart failure, possibly a lurking infection), fluid had built up and caused a slight pneumonia. The amikacin took care of the infection, and the enalapril allowed her heart to function better.
However, something on the x-ray still didn't look right, and this time the vet had a hunch. A barium swallow confirmed that Willow had a hernia, and that unidentifiable mass in her first x-ray was part of her stomach poking through her diaphragm. Given that Willow has always been an "abdominal breather", he guessed that the hernia was congenital. While it added complication to her heart/lung problem by taking up room in her chest, the hernia itself wasn't causing her issues. Because of this, we are not doing anything to treat the hernia (surgery would be very risky since she would have to be intubated). Instead, Willow will continue taking lasix and enalapril for the rest of her life.
It's been a month since our last vet visit, and Willow is almost completely back to herself. Aside from daily lasix and enalapril, she leads a pretty normal chinchilla life. She is active, playful, and feisty. She once again enjoys her favorite toys and the upper levels of her cage. I am so proud of her for being such a trooper through this!
One morning in mid-September, I noticed that Willow wasn't quite herself. She was eating, but wasn't as active. I noticed squishy poop and got her to the vet the next day. The fecal revealed both rods and yeast in the stool, so she was put on flagyl for a week. The vet noted a significant heart murmur that he had never heard before.
Within two days of starting the flagyl, Willow's poops were back to normal, but she still wasn't herself. She was eager to come out at playtime, but didn't do much of anything. She didn't seem uncomfortable, but her breathing was hard (note: her breathing has always been a little different; I can feel air come out of her nose and her whole body has always moved). She still ate, but not as much, mainly because she just wasn't going to the food as often. She lost weight. I was worried.
At her two-week recheck appointment, the fecal was clear. Since Willow still wasn't acting like herself, our vet investigated further. The heart murmur was still there. He did took chest x-rays. It was difficult to visualize her heart on the x-rays. Fluid was visible around her lungs (but her lungs sounded clear). And, there was something there that the vet could not identify. His best guess was that it was a collapsed lung, but it could have been a mass of some sort. Unsure of what we were dealing with, he sent us home with chloramphenicol, lasix, and the appetite stimulant, cyproheptadine.
The lasix and cyproheptadine seemed to take effect almost immediately. Willow was up more to pee and eat. I thought she might be doing a tiny bit better. Her breathing was still hard though, and at that point she hadn't been to the upper levels of her cage for 2.5 weeks.
She was rechecked one week after starting the chloramphenicol. Her x-rays were worse instead of better. There was cloudiness in the lungs. The vet said her breathing sounded worse. He thought there was infection in her lungs and that she was in heart failure. He opted to start her on amikacin and enalapril (enacard) while continuing all other meds. He was still unsure of what he was dealing with and thought the amikacin might be the only chance of getting her through it.
At this point, I really thought I was going to lose my Willow. She didn't seem uncomfortable. She just seemed blah. She still enjoyed chewing and coming out of her cage (even though she did nothing when she came out). We started the new meds. Much to my surprise, the injectable amikacin was much less stressful on her than the oral meds. Within about three days, Willow started to perk up. Her breathing started to ease. Her eyes seemed brighter, and she was holding her ears a little higher. She still didn't do much outside of the cage. Each day, she got a little better. By the fifth day, she was back in the upper levels of her cage.
She had another recheck after her week of amikacin was done. The vet could see how much she improved as soon as he walked in the room. Her heart murmur was barely audible. He took another set of x-rays. Her lungs were clear, and the fluid surrounding them was gone. It seemed likely that because her heart hadn't been working properly (not sure of the cause of the heart failure, possibly a lurking infection), fluid had built up and caused a slight pneumonia. The amikacin took care of the infection, and the enalapril allowed her heart to function better.
However, something on the x-ray still didn't look right, and this time the vet had a hunch. A barium swallow confirmed that Willow had a hernia, and that unidentifiable mass in her first x-ray was part of her stomach poking through her diaphragm. Given that Willow has always been an "abdominal breather", he guessed that the hernia was congenital. While it added complication to her heart/lung problem by taking up room in her chest, the hernia itself wasn't causing her issues. Because of this, we are not doing anything to treat the hernia (surgery would be very risky since she would have to be intubated). Instead, Willow will continue taking lasix and enalapril for the rest of her life.
It's been a month since our last vet visit, and Willow is almost completely back to herself. Aside from daily lasix and enalapril, she leads a pretty normal chinchilla life. She is active, playful, and feisty. She once again enjoys her favorite toys and the upper levels of her cage. I am so proud of her for being such a trooper through this!
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