Health & Illness

 

A chinchilla can live a long healthy life when you supply it with a well balanced diet, nice home, and lots of love and attention. Making sure a chinchilla is well cared for is the best preventative medicine. Unfortunately, even if you give your pet everything he needs, injury or illness may occur.

Common symptoms of illness include a poor coat, diarrhea, constipation, unusual fecal matter, not eating or drinking, trouble breathing, and lethargy. If you suspect illness or injury, seeking veterinary advice is always recommended. Below are some of the more common health problems that affect chinchillas.

Bites
If chinchillas do not get along a fight may occur. These fights can lead to bites and if a bite is deep enough it can become infected. Clean the wounds with a safe antiseptic and keep it clean and dry. If you see signs of infection, contact a veterinarian.

FIRST RESPONSE: CLEAN WOUND, APPLY SAFE ANTISEPTIC CREAM. SEEK VETERINARY ADVICE

Bloat
Bloat is caused by an excessive gas build up in the gastrointestinal tract. Chinchilla do can not burp or fart. Causes of bloat are a rapid change in diet, feeding gas producing foods, infections or obstructions in the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms are severe pain, gurgling in the stomach, laying down, rolling, and a reluctance to move, loss of appetite. An indication of gas is irregular formation of the pellet surface, it will have air bubbles, making it resemble an aero chocolate.

FIRST RESPONSE: SEEK URGENT VETERINARY ADVICE

Broken Bones
The long bone of the hind leg is the most common broken bone in chinchillas. It is very thin and will break easily. Breaks can happen from rough play, improper handling, a limb getting caught in a cage, or any other accident. A broken bones requires veterinary treatment.

FIRST RESPONSE: CHECK FOR NO OTHER INJURIES, WRAP CHIN IN TOWEL TO HELP RESTRICT IT'S MOVEMENT, SEEK URGENT MEDICAL ADVICE

Choke
Chinchillas can not vomit or regurgitate so if food gets caught in a chinchilla’s wind pipe he can quickly suffocate and die. Symptoms are drooling, retching, difficulty breathing and refusal to eat.

FIRST RESPONSE: REMOVE ALL FOOD AND WATER. SEEK URGENT VETERINARY ADVICE

Constipation
Constipation is usually caused by a lack of roughage in the diet. Increasing fiber and roughage will relieve the symptoms. Symptoms are straining to defecate and passing feces that are hard and dry and may have blood in them.

FIRST RESPONSE: CHANGE DIET. IF SYMPTOMS PERSIST SEEK VETERINARY ADVICE

Dehydration
Dehydration is a lack of water in a chinchilla’s body. It can be caused by diarrhea, excessive heat, and illness. Dehydration can be a life threatening condition.

SEEK URGENT VETERINARY ADVICE

Diarrhea
Chinchillas with diarrhea can quickly become dehydrated. Symptoms are loose, watery stool, lethargy, dull coat, and dehydration.

FIRST RESPONSE: SEEK VETERINARY ADVICE

Ear Infection
The most common problems with a chinchilla’s ears is from infection. Symptoms are pain, rubbing the ears, loss of balance, and head tilt.

FIRST RESPONSE: SEEK VETERINARY ADVICE

Eyes
Eye problems can result from a variety of things including dust, injury, infection, irritation or a vitamin A deficiency. Symptoms can be eye discharge, dull cloudy eyes, and squinting.

FIRST RESPONSE: RINSE WITH SALINE, IF NO IMPROVEMENT SEEK VETERINARY ADVICE

Feet
A chinchilla can get sore feet from wire cage flooring, wire exercise wheels, or coarse bedding. Solid floors, solid exercise wheels, and paper based bedding is the easiest way to prevent the condition.

FIRST RESPONSE: APPLY ANTISEPTIC CREAM, IF SEVERE OR NO IMPROVEMENT SEEK VETERINARY ADVICE

Gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines. It is often caused by bad food or a change in diet. Symptoms are diarrhea, pain, loss of weight, and dehydration.

FIRST RESPONSE: SEEK URGENT VETERINARY ADVICE

Heatstroke
Chinchillas handle cold weather better than hot weather due to their heavy coat. When temperatures get too high they can overheat creating a life threatening situation. Symptoms of heatstroke include drooling, lying stretched out, rapid breathing, reddened eyes and ears. The chinchilla can become weak and comatose. 

FIRST RESPONSE: REMOVE CHIN FROM ENVIRONMENT, PLACE AN ICE PACK IN A TOWEL, LAY CHIN NEXT TO IT AND SEEK URGENT VETERINARY ADVICE

Intestinal Twisting
A twisting of the intestines is usually caused by long term constipation or gastroenteritis. The intestinal twisting is very painful and life threatening.

FIRST RESPONSE  SEEK URGENT VETERINARY ADVICE

Rectal Protrusion
When a chinchilla has bad diarrhea or constipation its rectum may become red, swollen, and protrude. If left untreated, the protrusion can lead to the death of your pet.

FIRST RESPONSE: SEEK URGENT VETERINARY ADVICE

Respiratory Infection
Respiratory infection is often caused by overcrowding, poor ventilation, drafts, high humidity or excess moisture in the cage. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, eye discharge, dust, nasal discharge, fever, sneezing, and shivering. A treatment of antibiotics may be necessary to combat the illness.

FIRST RESPONSE: SEEK URGENT VETERINARY ADVICE

Ringworm
Ringworm is a fungus that can cause hair loss. It is contagious to humans and other pets. Symptoms are hair loss, scaly skin patches and scabs.

FIRST RESPONSE: ADD A 10ML SPOON OF ANTI FUNGUS POWDER TO DUST BATH. STRIP AND THROUGHLY CLEAN HABITAT, IF SYMPTOMS PERSISTSEEK VETERINARY ADVICE

Shedding
Chinchillas can have excessive shedding as a response to stress. Large amounts of fur can be lost from stress. However, just like dogs chins will naturally shed their fur, this is known as priming.

FIRST RESPONSE: IT IS NORMAL FOR A CHIN TO MOULT BUT IF STRESS RELATED ENSURE AREA IS CALM AND QUIET

Teeth
A chinchilla’s teeth grow continuously throughout its life. If your chinchillas teeth become overgrown, are not straight, or wear unevenly they can grow into the soft tissues of the mouth. This can be very painful and symptoms include drooling, trouble swallowing, weight loss, not eating, bad breath, or protruding teeth. It is possible for a chinchilla to starve to death without treatment. Healthy teeth should be bright orange in colour. If you notice that your chin has developed runny eyes, is dribbling, has a wet patch under chin then contact a vet ASAP, they can suffer with maloclusions which can be serious.

FIRST RESPONSE: SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE 

Wavy Fur
When a chinchilla’s fur becomes wavy and weak it is usually a result of too much protein in the diet. Over time, a healthy balanced diet can restore the fur to its normal appearance.

FIRST RESPONSE: ADJUST DIET

ALWAYS SEEK VETERINARY ADVICE. A CHINCHILLAS HEALTH CAN GO DOWNHILL IN A VERY SHORT SPACE OF TIME.

IT'S GENETICS! BARBERING (fur chewing)

Most breeders will insist that barbering is genetic and once a chin barbers it always will. There have been very few scientific research programs into chinchilla genetics. Those that have been undertaken were financed and conducted for the benefit of fur farms, as such they were only aimed at discovering a genetic reason for babering (fur pulling). Obviously if the fur wasn't perfect then it was worth less. Scientific research studies have been conducted around the world, Chile, Croatia, Poland and Argentina are some of the most relied upon. Studies resulted in similar results. Less than 5% of chinchillas that barbered showed a possible medical reason for doing so.

These 5% all suffered from hyperadrenocorticism accompanied by fully developed stress induced Cushings syndrome, this leads to 2 significant behavioral changes, self mutilation and aggression, according to data gathered. (Stress induced Cushing''s Syndrome in fur chewing chinchillas, Croatian Veterinary Institute).

It is known that stress can play a significant part in Cushings syndrome.

Other studies where data concluded evidence showed that fur chewing was a manifestation of physiological stress have been conducted and published. These are often referred to by veterinaris and other specialists:

Determination of genetic component of fur chewing in chinchilla and its ecconomic impact. University of Chile. Research conducted 1990 - 2011. Catalina Gonzalez, Jose Manuel Yanez and Tamarack Tadich.

Analysis of factors increasing the probability of fur chewing in chinchilla. University of Krakow, Poland.

Stress induced Cushing''s syndrome in fur chewing chinchilla. Croatian Veterinary Institute. Croatia.

Abnormal repetitive behaviour in chinchilla (A.R.B). University of Cordroba,  Argentina. Marina F. Ponzio. The data obtained from this study concluded: "Data provided additional evidence that supported the  concept that fur chewing is a manifestation of physiological stress,  with a female bias".

 

 

Most barbering is caused by bordom and stress or stress induced health issues,  if we eliminate these factors 99% of barbering will cease and not reoccur. It is however, also true that young learn from their parents. Therefore if a mother is skittish, stressed, depressed, barbering etc then it is likely that her kits will  learn to be too.

All my chins were rescued from a bad breeder, they all barbered. Whilst in his care (I use this term loosely), they were crammed 3-4 in show cages stacked 8 across and 8 high with no stimulation and only pellets to eat. The breeder insisted they would always barber...it's genetic. Not once have any of my chins barbered since that day nor has there ever been any aggression, despite the entire herd being males, I even discovered that one was an angora after his coat had returned.

Wth regards to aggression, well we all have off days. If confined to a cage with no where to go for time to themselves then you have to expect that from time to time there will be the occasional squabble, that can lead to severe injury or even death of a cage mate, even amongst chins that have been bonded for years.

During both these scientific studies the environment a chinchilla lived in was never considered or investigated as cause of stress and depression leading to self mutilation nor to aggressive behaviour.

Some issues can be genetic. After all, the initial breeding stock was limited to just 13 chinchillas taken from the wild. Another factor is over selective breeding to produce "more desirable" colour mutations that breeders can charge an extortionate amount for. These mutations carry recessive genes and as such this includes hereditary health issues. These can be life limiting, despite the depth of care given. Angora chinchilla are notorious for a limited life span.

OXALATE. AN UNWELCOME ADDITION TO YOUR CHINCHILLAS DIET.

Calcium and phosphorus are essential minerals for chinchilla. An inbalance of calcium and phosphorus can lead to nutritional disorders, mainly effecting the muscles, bones and teeth. A well balanced diet is the recommended prevention. However, if your chin is fed plants that are high in Oxalates then not only may your chin suffer from a nutritional imbalance it can lead to other serious health issues such as kidney and bladder stones and urolithiasis.

The effects of the Oxalates are known to be exacerbated by a high fibre diet, which is an essential requirement for chins.

What is Oxalate.

Oxalate is a chemical compound found in many leafy plants and can lead to oxalate poisoning. Oxalate is a binding compound that is like a magnet to Calcium. In a chinchilla 83% of excess Calcium is excreted by faeces, 1-3% is excreted by urine. The remaining 14%-16% is absorbed for dietary requirements. Oxalate will bind to the majority of this 14%-16% and form crystals that will build up into kidney and bladder stones, and form cystalines in the urethra that can cause urolithiasis. Urolithiasis in males has a better prognosis than in females.

Consequences of Oxalates.

Calcium deficiency - brittle bones leading to fractures, dental issues, pale teeth colour, muscle spasms, seizures. Can lead to death.

kidney and bladder stones and urolithiasis - blood in urine, urine leakage, aggression/sign of pain, straining to urinate. Can lead to death.

Food high in Oxalates.

Dandelions, the white sap in the stalk is soluable oxalate, so stalks should not be given to chinchilla under any circumstances. Leaves and flowers are also high in oxalates, so should only be given minimally, if prepared correctly.

Alfalfa. Alfalfa has a high oxalate content and should only be given to chins over 6 months as a treat.

Goji berries, are very high in oxalates.

Cheerios, due to the grain used in cheerios they are very high in oxalates.

 

 

Foods low in oxalates.

Spearmint.

Raspberry leaf (though raspberry fruit has a high content).

Nettle.

Drying in the sun will only minimally reduce Oxalate levels. Boiling is the only way to remove most of the oxalates, but this method is obviously not suitable for chinchilla. Baking in an oven will remove upto 50% of oxalate content. So if  you do wish to give your chins high content oxalate food keep it to a bare minimum and ensure it is baked and not dehydrated.