Post by melissa on Jun 1, 2015 10:34:53 GMT
Hi Everyone, I really hope you can help.
I have kept chinchillas for over 15 years, rescuing unwanted chins and have even bred 3 litters... In all my experience though I have never seen anything like this.
At 9.00am this morning I checked on Gizmo, my 11yr old male chinchilla and he was completely wet all down his front, all over his front paws and he was spitting up foamy saliva at his mouth. He was quite cold and looked exhausted.
I gently cleaned him down with warm water as he was really sticky, and then warmed him up with body heat. I have also given him approx 1-2ml of water with a pipette, (small drops in his mouth not down his throat) as I know he will be dehydrated. He spit up a bit more foamy saliva, but has now stopped. It almost looked like he was dry retching / trying to vomit.
His teeth look normal, and I cannot see anything in his mouth. His mouth does look a little swollen though.
His poo is normal, not too dry/wet, and he looks clean and dry around his bottom.
He has stopped spitting up, and was moving around a bit. (He seemed a bit happier after drying off although not his usual self.)
I have now put him back in his box to let him rest, and he has been sat upright napping in his usual position. I am keeping him under constant observation.
Past experience makes me hesitant to take him straight to the vet, as the stress of travel and handling can be too much strain on an already weakened chin. However if his condition changes at all I plan to make an emergency appointment and take him in.
I suspect that he may have had something stuck in his throat, or it could be a digestive problem?
Has anyone every seen this before? Any advice would be appreciated.
Melissa x
I have kept chinchillas for over 15 years, rescuing unwanted chins and have even bred 3 litters... In all my experience though I have never seen anything like this.
At 9.00am this morning I checked on Gizmo, my 11yr old male chinchilla and he was completely wet all down his front, all over his front paws and he was spitting up foamy saliva at his mouth. He was quite cold and looked exhausted.
I gently cleaned him down with warm water as he was really sticky, and then warmed him up with body heat. I have also given him approx 1-2ml of water with a pipette, (small drops in his mouth not down his throat) as I know he will be dehydrated. He spit up a bit more foamy saliva, but has now stopped. It almost looked like he was dry retching / trying to vomit.
His teeth look normal, and I cannot see anything in his mouth. His mouth does look a little swollen though.
His poo is normal, not too dry/wet, and he looks clean and dry around his bottom.
He has stopped spitting up, and was moving around a bit. (He seemed a bit happier after drying off although not his usual self.)
I have now put him back in his box to let him rest, and he has been sat upright napping in his usual position. I am keeping him under constant observation.
Past experience makes me hesitant to take him straight to the vet, as the stress of travel and handling can be too much strain on an already weakened chin. However if his condition changes at all I plan to make an emergency appointment and take him in.
I suspect that he may have had something stuck in his throat, or it could be a digestive problem?
Has anyone every seen this before? Any advice would be appreciated.
Melissa x
