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*Warning: Please note that this article contains graphic pictures* Sydney, our 23 month old standard gray chinchilla became suddenly ill on October 30, 2003. During her illness, I kept a journal of notes, describing all her symptoms and my thoughts, which I have decided to include in this article. We were able to obtain the pictures and x-rays that were taken through our search to make Sydney healthy. Some of these pictures are graphic and caution is advised for children and sensitive people. We lost Sydney on November 3, 2003 but she will always remain in a very special place in our hearts. Here is the account of Sydney’s last days. October 29, 2003; Wednesday PM: Sydney is getting so big….I wonder how many babies she will have in December. Sydney and Roo had a great playtime tonight. Sydney was full of energy, chasing Roo around and putting him in his place J She had many normal poo's and all seems to be going wonderfully for the two expecting parents. She is eating very well and gaining weight. October 30, 2003; Thursday AM: This morning during feeding time, Sydney came to the front of the cage to give me kisses and then she indulged herself in the food and hay I gave her. Roo was the perfect gentlemen and let her eat first. I left for work and let the babies sleep. October 30, 2003; Thursday PM: While I played with Joey and Raven tonight, I noticed that Roo was a bit more wild than normal. He kept racing on the wheel as fast as he could and then he would run up to Sydney, who was sleeping in the hut, and kept poking his nose into her. He is such a showoff and I guess he wanted Sydney to pay attention to him. I decided to take Roo and Sydney out next, since Roo seemed very hyper. Roo came bounding out of the cage, as usual and I put him in the playpen. Sydney was still resting in the hut and I tried to encourage her to come out. She is usually at the front door with Roo waiting her turn to come out. After trying to coax Sydney into the tube for playtime, I left her alone, figuring she was being moody and she was probably more tired because she is pregnant. After a few minutes with Roo, I changed my mind and decided I would like Sydney to at least come out for a few minutes and stretch her legs….it is also during this time that I check their poos and their overall health and behavior. I asked (my fiancé) Darren to come and get Sydney out…maybe he would have better luck. She took a few nibbles of a treat and just ignored Darren. Darren finally got her out and when we put her in the playpen, I could tell something was wrong. She was very lethargic and her upper abdomen was very distended (in a soft mushy way, not a hard pregnant way). She stretched out, had a huge pee and then I noticed that her sides were totally sunken in…as if someone had taken a belt around her middle and squeezed. She had an hourglass figure and she looked to be in pain, almost straining. Sydney then moved to a corner and just sat there, despite Roo’s encouragement for playing. Her sides continually sunk in. My first thought, is she in labor? She was not due until Dec 9th but it may be a premature birth or the slight possibility that she had a breed back. Tonight was 111 days since she gave birth to Maggie and Wally. She was separated from Roo, but we let them play together supervised 2 days after the birth…I guess something could have happened???? I tried to stay calm and find an emergency vet clinic. I finally found one, an hour away. Dr. Nicole, a non-experienced exotic vet, examined Sydney and concluded that she was in labor. I just didn’t feel that was the explanation so I insisted on having an x-ray done so I could see the baby. 
October 31, 2003; Friday AM I made an appointment to see an exotic vet this morning. I am very worried about Sydney; she does not move and seems very lethargic. She will nibble on a raisin or shredded wheat, but really does not seem interested at all. Dr. David examined Sydney and during the preliminary evaluation, Sydney lost 5g from the previous evening and she was still very lethargic. Dr. David felt formed poo’s in her tummy and possibly a baby. Sydney had no discharge, no heart murmurs, her lungs sounded healthy, her eyes, ears and front incisors all looked great. Dr. David examined the x-ray that was taken at the emergency clinic and affirmed small gas pockets in the intestines and the stomach was a bit larger than normal. However, it didn’t appear too far out of the ordinary and while we talked, Sydney had 5 poo’s. They were hard small poo’s, but it seemed like rubbing her stomach started to get things going. I am so encouraged! Dr. David had a few ideas of what was causing Sydney’s problems: 1) She is not eating possibly due to teeth problems. But that didn’t explain her distended abdomen I noticed last night. 2) She is having pain and complications due to the pregnancy. 3) The GI stasis is being caused by a) pregnancy b) a blockage or c) gas. No foreign bodies were seen in the x-ray. 4) Kidney or Liver problems but she is very young and its highly unlikely. We left Sydney in Dr. David’s care. He is going to give her supportive care overnight and monitor her progress. The supportive care includes: 25 mls of fluids twice a day; 0.05 ml of Torbugesic for any pain she may be feeling, 2x a day; 3 mls of laxatone to keep the GI tract moving and to remove any possible foreign body, and as much critical care as Sydney could eat. Sydney’s fecal was negative for giardia and coccidia. I hated leaving my baby, but she is in great hands and I can’t wait to see her full of life tomorrow. October 31, 2003; Friday PM Dr. David called to give us an update on Sydney. She has been producing poo pellets all afternoon but she still will not eat. He says he caught her trying to nibble on hay but ran away when she saw him. I am sure she must be scared with her new surroundings. We are going to wait and see what happens tomorrow morning. November 1, 2003; Saturday I called Dr. David at 8:30 this morning for an update on Sydney. He said she is still not eating and suggests that we get a better look at her back teeth and take another x-ray. I agreed to the procedures and waited for the results. When Dr. David called me back, he told me that Sydney’s teeth were perfect. There was no sign of overgrowth in the roots or on the occulsional surface. 
Sydney slept for the remainder of the day. She doesn’t move when she is in her cage. We took her out and let her run around and tried to get her to take a dust bath. We think the more active she is, the more likely her gut will get moving again. She did eat ½ shredded wheat and looks to be hungry, but turns her nose away once she smells the food. We observed 3-4 small round hard poos and she had a huge pee. We continue the supportive care, along with pedialyte and acidophilus. She is a great patient…she takes everything we give her and doesn’t fuss at all. She did fuss at Roo tonight when he tried to groom her. Maybe this is a good sign of her fighting her way back to us. Sydney snuggled with me on my chest while I watched TV tonight for almost 2.5 hours. I love spending time with her but I can’t wait until she is healthy and active again. November 2, 2003; Sunday Sydney was still very lethargic this morning. She ate some critical care for me this morning and attempted to take a dust bath, but she didn’t have enough energy to flip all the way around. However, she did wash her face throughly. Sydney had a little pee and about 15 hard small poos. She tries to run around but tires very easily. Darren and I have noticed that her hind quarters are very abnormal. Her back end looks stiff and she keeps her butt up in the air. After doing some research on the internet, she fits all the symptoms of constipation. We continue with the supportive care and have begun to give her prune juice, which was highly recommended for constipation. We rub her belly, in hopes of having the GI tract move things along better. She is enjoying the back and belly rubs. Sydney’s sides are still a bit sunken in and she had 3 small poos this afternoon. We continue fighting for her and hope she is able to work through this. I am getting very worried because we have not seen any improvement. November 3, 2003; Monday AM This morning when I got up for work, Sydney looked more ill than yesterday. She didn’t have any poos last night and her belly was extremely distended. Darren and I contemplated what to do and decided she needs to see the vet again, immediately. We gave her fluids, acidophilus and blueberry yogurt, which she seemed to enjoy. I kissed her good-bye, told her how much I loved her and I would see her this evening when I got home from my ½ day of work. Darren drove Sydney to the vet and dropped her off; they wanted to monitor her throughout the day. She was extremely dehydrated when she arrived at the vet clinic, despite all the fluids we had been giving her. November 3, 2003; Monday PM I hadn’t heard from the vet’s office so I called around 3pm. Dr. David was not in, but Dr. Scott had been observing Sydney. He told me that he was very concerned. We elected to take Sydney in for surgery, because nothing else seemed to be working and there was no clue as to what could be causing her to be sick. At 5:30pm, Dr. Scott called us during the surgery to tell us that Sydney’s colon had ruptured and her intestines were necrotic. 
November 4, 2003; Tuesday AM I requested today that a histopathology report be done on the tissue samples that were taken during Sydney’s surgery. I need to know what happened and it would be an injustice to Sydney if I didn’t seek out the answers. I am hoping that it gives me closure and peace. We picked up Sydney and took her home to be buried. I will plant flowers in the spring time for my angel. November 11, 2003 A week after Sydney passed away; the results from the pathologist were in. This is his report and comments: “A 2-year-old chinchilla with acute anorexia and lethargy. Fecal-negative. Pregnancy confirmed-one fetus. No obvious foreign bodies noted. Exploratory- ruptured colon and associated peritonitis.” Specimens of spleen, liver, kidney, small intestine and adipose (fat) tissue were analyzed. (I have defined the medical terms in parentheses.) “Rupture of the colonic wall in this case was secondary to a severe transmural (through any wall, as of the body or of a cyst or any hollow structure) inflammatory process. There was heavy bacterial rod colonization extending through the wall of the colon and involving the serosa with leakage of intestinal contents into the peritoneal (abdominal cavity) tissue. There was subsequent serositis (inflammation of the serous membrane) and peritonitis (inflammation of the tissue lining abdominal cavity) with bacteremia (the presence of viable bacteria) appreciated in the spleen. In some areas, bacterial rods were small and narrow and in the area of necrosis (cell death), they were large and more like bacilli. These latter are consistent with clostridia, but clostridial overgrowth may have occurred secondary to the ulceration and inflammation of the colon. Although no foreign bodies were seen, it is possible that a prior foreign body traumatized the colonic mucosa predisposing to this severe inflammatory process. There was abundant plant material embedded within the inflamed tissue. The adjacent mucosa exhibited some degree of hyperplasia (increase in the number of cells in an organ or tissue) and mild cellular atypia (abnormal cells). This is likely a compensatory change or reactive change and again, may have been caused by a previous foreign body or foreign material. No parasites of any kind were seen.” We have no concrete answers as to why Sydney suddenly became ill. Could it have been a bad piece of hay or pellet (even though all the rest of our chins eat the same hay and pellets and were not affected)? Did the pregnancy in some way affect her GI tract? There are more questions than answers at this point. We may never know the answers to these questions or ever understand why Sydney was taken at such a young age. However, in writing this article about Sydney’s ordeal, if we can help one chinchilla, it will be worth it. I would like to thank Jo Ann of Luv N Chins for helping me scan in the x-rays, but most of all for all her support while Sydney was ill. I couldn’t have made it through this without you. We would like to thank Dr. Scott and Dr. David for caring for Sydney and being so compassionate to us during that time. We are blessed to have so many friends that care about us and our chinchillas….THANK YOU ALL!! We love and miss you Sydney! |