Question:
Has anyone ever heard of or known about chinchillas with clostridium infections? The reason I ask is b/c we got the histopathology report back on Sydney and there was definitely a bacterial infection and the rod shaped bacteria were consistent with clostridia. We are not sure if the infection was secondary to an ulceration or foreign body or what but I was just curious about the infection itself. I wish we could have gotten a more definite answer from the pathologist on exactly what happened but I know how science works and have to accept it. The vet said there was nothing else we could have done for her, which makes me feel a bit better that I did everything possible but it is also frustrating b/c if someone elses chin shows similiar symptoms, we couldn't tell them a different treatment. We believe whatever happened to sydney was a rare case and hopefully will never happen again.
but in any case, I was just wondering if anyone thought that this might be a more common occurence (getting a clostridium infection)?


Answer:
Hi Amanda
Not saying that no one on here can't answer, but you might want to contact Betti Cogswell (aka Chinmom) from www.cachins.org with that question. She has a lot of knowledge on chins and illnesses and has helped me out in the past when Tinsel was first diagnosed with epilepsy. I'm sure she could explain what clostridia is and does in a chinnie and tell you how rare it really is.


Answer:
Amanda,
No, I have never heard of that but then again I am only becoming familiar with different chinchilla diseases and disorders. Betti Cosgwell is a good person to ask or a rancher.


Answer:
I have only heard of one other possible clostridium infection in a chin but it was only speculation. Did the vet indicate what type of clostridium infection it was? I learned a bit about clostridium during my time at university. Let me see if I can dig up some old pages...


Answer:
Thanks guys! I will contact her and see what her opinion and experience is with it. I know what clostridium is and know what it can do in humans but never heard of it in chins. I did some research today on the internet about it and it seems that chins can get all sort of bacterial gut infections when the normal flora is disrupted, including clostridium. I guess I am looking for answers that might not in my reach but I am going to try. I am frustrated b/c things that would cause constipation or a blockage don't seem to apply to sydney. We gave them purified water, they exercise everynight in the playpen and they each have a wheel, I had been giving her papaya all week as her one treat of the day and there were no changes in her food or schedule recently. the only stress that I can think of that might have started the problems was the pregnancy...but I don't know if that is likely or not. I had also been giving her yogurt and acidophilus once a week and especially when she was sick so why didn't that help her gut flora? ok, I will stop asking the questions and write to betti. thanks again!


Answer:
Candice, all the vet said (which was from the pathologist) was that there were more than the normal amount of gram pos rod shaped bacteria in the areas of infection and these bacteria were consistent with Clostridium. Ofcourse I don't know if she actually tested them to be clostridium (using anaerobic conditions and special media and other techniques to determine the exact bacterium) or just hypothesized b/c they were gram pos rods and in the gut that they were most likely clostridium. Clostridium is naturally occuring in the gut in very low numbers and it usually takes another event to have them flourish. They did see colitis, inflammation of the tissue. There were no parasites seen at any time when we did the fecal samples on her before she passed and they didn't find any in the tissue. they are sending me a copy of the report so I can look at it more closely and process everything better ( I do much better when I can read it myself than have someone just read it to me).


Answer:
http://medic.med.uth.tmc.edu/path/00001496.htm
Any possibility that she could have eaten something?


Answer:
i know that in kids we seee c-diff...........clostridium difficilie secondary to having been on antibiotics.............and it is actually quite common.....had she been on anti-biotics?.............c-diff happens due to alterration of normal flora in the bowels and has nothing to do with what they ate
The overuse of antibiotics, especially penicillin (ampicillin), clindamycin and cephalosporins may also alter the normal intestinal flora and increase the risk of developing C. difficile diarrhea.


Answer:
I thought of that too Heidi, but the use of a penicillin like drug in a chin would likely kill them anyway as it is poisonous.


Answer:
She has never been on antibiotics or anything else...she never had any problems before this. I thought of the c. difficile b/c I remembered that from my pathogenic bacteriology class but obviously that would not fit sydney.
Sydney had been eating the same food and hay as all the other chins...the food was fresh and the hay we go through so often, that its very fresh. She has nothing else in her cage besides the food, pine chew toys, a pumice stone and a wheel (and the wire cage). The night before she played in the playpen which only has cardboard chew toys but she never chewed on them...she was much more interested in running around and jumping up on my chest to get attention and giving me kisses.
thanks candice for the website but nothing seems to fit her. that is why I am racking my brain, trying to figure out what might have stressed her enough to have problems. Would stress be the only cause of ulceration in the gut? once again, do you think pregnancy could have been too stressful on her and that started all of this?