Chinchilla GI (from pink book) Flashcards
How does the jejunum & descending colon of a chinch compare to that of a guinea pig?
longer in chinch (both)
Chinch cecum compares to rabbit/GP how?
Large and very coiled, but not quite as large as a rabbit or GP
Chinch colon compares to rabbit/GP how?
Very sacculated (not sure if more or less than rabbit/GP)
Nocturnal/diurnal/why does it matter?
Nocturnal; they eat mostly at night, and their coprophagy is almost entirely at night
Do chinchies make a cecotroph
Not a true one, but they do make 2 kinds of poop and reingest one of them. (like a guinea pig but more so)
Should chinchies eat vegetables?
Pink book says no, I think opinions on this vary. in the wild they eat dry tough vegetation
Hepatic lipidosis in a chinch
Common sequela of anorexia; hard to diagnose but check for ketonuria
What kinds of dental diseases do chinchies get?
ADD like rabbits/GPs
Periodontitis and gingivitis (infectious)
Caries
Tooth resorption
Est 63% chinchies have some kind of dental disease
Yeast on a chinch fecal: do we care
Meh? Overgrowth of cyclinomyces aka saccharomyces. usually secondary to other problems
Rectal prolapse in chinchilla
Usually assoc with intussusception of colon or rectum; occas small intestine. Needs sx but px is guarded to poor and recurrence is common.
Giardia in chinchillas (both lamblia and duodenalis)
mostly in research colonies but can occas crop up in pets; one report of zoonotic transmission.
stress will worsen it; so will being a recently weaned juvenile
ELISA works but meh. Look for cysts/trophozoites on fecal
Can tx with metro or panacur; chinchillas reportedly sensitive to metro (anorexia esp)
Eimeria chinchillae
Not zoonotic (host specific) occas enteritis/diarrhea, esp in young/stressed animals
