| This is a new idea we are trying out. We will be adding pages with unusual cases and other unusual problems which are now beginning to crop up in the chinchilla world. This will help us all see from first hand a members experience with treatment etc. This in turn may help other chinchillas out there. This page will be updated with any reasearch we make on Kidney problems
| Hi all, Apologies in advance for the long story, but I want to give as much info as I can, before asking for your advice. One of my chins, Keisha (aged 6), was taken to the vets approx 6 weeks ago for a check-up as I was concerned that she appeared to be losing weight. The vet (Alistair Lawrie) gave her a general check-up then anaesthetised her and removed a few spurs. He also prescribed an anti-biotic, Septrin, to heal a small mouth ulcer that Keisha had that may have hindered her eating. She took a few days to recover from the op, but soon seemed to be back to her normal self. Keisha's never eaten a great deal of hay but instead chomps away happily on her pellets. I have been monitoring her closely, and noticed last week that although she was still eating, drinking and running about at playtime, she appeared to have a hunched back when she was sitting still. I took her to see the vets again, and asked for more investigations to be done. This time they kept her in for 2 days, did some X-Rays and ran some blood tests, as well as burring down some more spurs on her teeth. The X-Rays showed that the roots are slightly elongated in her bottom jaw, though not to the point which would cause her to be in pain and prevent her from eating.The upper roots appear OK for the moment. More worryingly though, she is showing signs of kidney failure. Her phosphorous/calcium balance is all wrong; she had twice as much phosphorous than calcium instead of the other way round. Unfortunately the vets couldn't measure the exact extent of the kidney failure as they were unable to extract a urine sample from her. This time she has taken longer to come round from the anaesthesia, and her weight loss is accelerating. When she went into the vets last Wednesday, she weighed 510g - nearly 50g lighter than she weighed at her previous visit. I weighed her this morning and she's now down to 475g, despite eating some pellets. Obviously I would expect there to be some weight loss, as she has hardly eaten over the few days since her op, but it still seems a lot. I have been given Collo Cal D to give her (a calcium supplement), 0.2ml twice daily. I have also given her some oats/herd mix and and a sunflower seed a day. (I don't normally give sunflower seeds, but I think Aileen has previously advised me that they can be used sparingly for the short term - please correct me if I've got that wrong). I also made up some C.F.P.N.P Complete Food for Poorly Chins and fed her through a syringe. The food is apple flavoured and she absolutely loved it, kept coming back for more. In all, she took around 8.5 ml which I was pleased about. Although she is still eating her pellets, she hasn't touched her hay so I will continue to feed her this way to ensure she gets all the nutrients she needs. I have put some pro-biotics in her water and given her a drop of metacam in case her mouth is still sore. My priority is obviously to get her weight back, but I just wanted to ask if anyone had experienced similar problems with their chin, or has any advice about what else I can do for her. I can't find a great deal of info about kidney failure in chins so any and all advice would be welcome. Thanks,Lynsay x
If anyone can help Linsay please add to this topic here thank you | Thanks to everyone for your kind words, they're much appreciated.  I'm still syringe feeding Keisha, luckily she's continuing to take the food well and even seems to be enjoying it. I don't need to hold her anymore either, she just sits in her cage and takes it from the syringe herself. I'm pleased to say she's now put on some weight, and is back up to 506g. It is still low for her, but at least it's going in the right direction. In case Keisha gets bored with the mix, Aileen's given me a few different ingredients to try so I can vary her food and continue to build her up, and I will be trying some of her ideas soon. I have also now got some "mature & maintenance" Charnwoods pellets, which are lower in protein and phosphorous and should therefore be easier on her kidneys. She is, however, still pawing at her mouth and refusing to eat solid foods at the moment, although she did manage to nibble down a sunflower seed earlier. She's also taken some leafy alfalfa, though no hay yet. I phoned the vets but unfortunately neither of the vets involved in Keisha's treatment are there today. However, I spoke to the nurse who assisted Mr Lawrie and he was able to explain that the dental work they did was very minor, just some smoothing of the back teeth and removing sharp edges. There were no apparent abrasions, sores or ulcers in her mouth either. He also confirmed that Keisha's records only show enlarged roots on the bottom jaw - not the upper one. I told him what had been happening and he advised I continue with what I'm doing. Even if I brought her in to them, they'd only be doing the same. The only difference would be that they may give her a pain relieving injection but as I have some Metacam to keep trying that for now. I forgot to mention in my original post that Keisha was given an anabolic steroid injection, to "pep" her up a bit and stimulate her appetite. I've to take her back in around 10 days for another injection and a check-up, unless her condition worsens again before then. Here's hoping her weight continues to go up. She's still clearly very poorly, but as long as she continues to spit & bark at me and maintains an interest in her food, sand bath and surroundings, I'm happy! Will keep you posted. Lynsay x If anyone can help Linsay please add to this topic here thank you |
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