Day Hospitalization

12th September 2008

Another appointment with the vet this morning, because I noticed that Winnie’s droppings are even smaller & less. His stomach feels real tight & bloated, vet said it’s most likely because the food he took in yesterday (from me force-feeding me) isn’t moving & pooped out properly.


At the animal clinic

X-ray with Iodine shows no irregular gas pattern or anything solid in his digestive tract. However, soft things like fur won’t show up on the x-ray. So, there could be a possibility that there are soft things stuck in his digestive tract. If there was something stuck in his digestive system, gas would build up in a certain area, causing him to bloat. Vet recommended that I hospitalize him for the day, so the vet could gas him & take his blood, give him some fluids, and gut motility medicine to stimulate the body to excrete on its own. I decided to go ahead with some blood works, because the weekend is coming & I want to be able to pinpoint his illness as soon as possible for my own peace of mind. The blood test will show any abnormal count of white blood cell (hints of parasitic or viral infection). Worse comes to worse, it’s some of kind of internal organ failure, like the kidney. The vet is very apprehensive about surgically figuring out what’s wrong with him. So, at this point she’s trying the best she can to use non-invasive methods.

I continually called the vet to check up on him. Even with the help of medication, Winnie still isn’t pooping normally. The vet doesn’t want Winnie to go into shock because of gut stasis.

Let’s hope for the best.

**UPDATE**


In the car, Winnie rides shotgun

Winnie came back home with more medications: pain medication (to ease pain from any gut stasis) & gut motility medicine (to get his digestive system moving again). Vet wasn’t able to extract any blood out of him. She tried the ear & the leg, & decided that’s enough poking around. Besides, it’s dangerous to put a chinchilla under sedation for too long. Everyone at the animal clinic seemed to be getting attached to Winnie (after only a day of hospitalization). What can I say? He is a cutie & I’m a proud owner :-D

I wasn’t able to buy the Alfalfa King brand of timothy hay (what I normally buy for the chinnies) & had to settle with Kaytee. Good news is that Winnie is nibbling on some of the timothy hay :-)

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Posted in Chinchilla care, Chinchilla health | Comments (5)

5 Responses to “Day Hospitalization”

  1. Paige Says:
    September 12th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

    Oh I am sorry that Winnie isn’t any better, I will be sending my best healing vibes to him!
    Poop up a storm little Winnie!
    Love, Paige & Indigo Bunny

  2. admin Says:
    September 13th, 2008 at 12:54 am

    Thanks Paige & Indigo!
    I wish there’s a way I can massage his tummy so he can poop :-)

  3. furrybutts Says:
    September 13th, 2008 at 7:18 am

    Oh dear, Winnie.. we’re keeping you in our thoughts, get well soon little guy!

  4. kisetsu Says:
    September 13th, 2008 at 11:25 am

    How’s Winne? I hope Winnie will really get better and not rely on medications

  5. admin Says:
    September 14th, 2008 at 2:19 am

    His stomach doesn’t feel as bloated (not sure whether it’s because I’ve been feeding him less or because the medicines are working).
    I’m glad he’s still spunky.

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