Has any one ever heard of chins getting Giardia

willamettevalleychins · 08-31-2005, 10:47 AM

I have a lady that contacted me about getting a chin, to make a very long story short her daughter ended up buying one from PETCO.

I suggested to her to take the chin to the vet as I know they do not always have the healthiest chins (at least not the one here).

She did take it to the vet and the vet told her the chin has Giardia and put it on antibiotics, however I do not know much about it.

Today is her last day to be able to return the chin to the store and wanted to know my oppinion.

I suggested she call the vet back and see what they have to say or she can take the chin and the vet bill back to petco and ask for compensation.

here is the last e-mail I received from her

I thought I would e-mail you and ask some questions. This little chinchilla is not getting better. We took her to the vet and found out she had giardia. The vet gave me five days of medicine for the chin. We gave her the medicine, changed the cage daily, wiped everything down daily, tried to feed her properly and gave her lots of attention.
My problem is that tomorrow is the last day to return her to the pet store. The stool seems softer and she is getting a less active even at night. I am willing to keep treating her, however, I don' t want Koryn to have to watch this baby chin die and also lose her money. She has been putting an awful lot of time and energy into this little thing. What would your advice be? What are the chinchillas chances of getting better? Of not making it? This chinchilla is only 3 months old.
My thoughts were for her to return this one and get an older chinchilla from you. She has learned a lot about chins and will want another one. My husband has also fallen in love with chinchillas now and is encouraging her to get another one. It is Tuesday the 30th. Could you please e-mail me as soon as possible so we can make a proper decision.

DirtySouthChins · 08-31-2005, 11:54 AM

Chinchillas normally harbor this in small amounts, and it is usually brought out by stress, unclean environment, and/or contaminated water. Depending on the antibiotics her vet gave her, the Giardia may or may not clear up in the 5 days. Chinchillas can die from this if untreated or untreated properly.
2 of the better meds for treating Giardia are albendazole or fenbendazole as they have had better success rate and have shown less chances of causing liver problems as some other meds can do.

willamettevalleychins · 08-31-2005, 01:28 PM

Thank you Chinniepaws, I did do some reading and suggested she google it, I have been watching my e-mail pretty close and have not heard back from her. I know she started giving the meds to the chin on the 24th but I do not know what antibiotics the vet gave her, I really do not know what to say to her other then what I have as I hve never had to deal with this illness and I know if she takes it back to the store they will just let it die.

I have thought about having her bring it to me and taking care of it myself but I also have 24 other chins to worry about 2 were only born on the 27th and 3 that were born on 7/26 and two that are due any time now.

I feel like I am stuck on this one and really do not know which way to go.

AmandaDi · 08-31-2005, 01:38 PM

I had a chin with Giardia.... nasty little bateria!! I treated it with Fenbendazole... I got lucky and it worked, but it was not an easy task! I had to hand feed that chin for weeks before I got him back up to par!

shadowlark · 08-31-2005, 01:43 PM

Our degus have giarida. Three of them died from it, but the other 2 were diagnosed over a year ago and are still doing well. We stopped the meds after round 3 didn't clear it up. Our vet said that sometimes rodents can live with the giardia and be fine. The main problem is that even with meds and daily cage cleaning, they're still walking around in their poop the rest of the day, and keep reinfecting themselves. It's a tough one to get rid of. But it sounds like the chin isn't coping well with it at all

Solarsis · 08-31-2005, 02:05 PM

www.cachins.org has some very good info about giardia and treatment. Look under health. Although it sounds like this little chinnie is not doing well at all.

If it was me, I'd care for it as much as I could even if I was out of money. Then I'd raise a HUGE stink at the pet store and in the community about this. The pet store is just going to let it die and suffer then get a refund from the breeder.

Giardia is highly contagious so make sure, if this family gets another chinchilla, that all wood toys, huts and shelves are discarded and that any remaining cage items and the cage itself be disinfected THOROUGHLY or the new animal could get infected.

Denise · 08-31-2005, 02:07 PM

My fuddy duddy, Leo got giardia last year. He responded very well to the antibiotic and it cleared up. Fortunately, Shadow, his companion, didn't get it. I threw out anything that was made of wood and replaced it.

DirtySouthChins · 08-31-2005, 02:18 PM

Your Welcome Karen

We went through a bad spell of this years ago while leaving in Chicago, we had bought 10 chins from 1 breeder, and 6 of them died within the first week

luckily we had them quarantined from the rest of our herd.

SIChins · 08-31-2005, 02:37 PM

I have heard that a chin with giardia is prone to getting it again if they get overly stressed, not sure how true that is. We have been lucky here and not had to deal with it, BUT, we treat our chins yearly (with Fenbendazole) as a precautionary measure. We only do this because we have 24 chins, so if one gets sick, it is likely to snowball.

willamettevalleychins · 08-31-2005, 06:41 PM

Thank you all very much you have been very helpful, I still have not heard back from her so I am going to send her the link to cachins and have her read it.

It sounds as tho with proper treatment this little chinnie just might be ok.

I will let you know when I get any news.