A healthy chinchilla should be alert, with bright clear eyes. There should be no discharge from the mouth, eyes, or rectum. They should respond to your touch.

What should you do?

When a medical issue presents itself, you must remain calm and collected. Some issues can be handled at home, but other issues need the attention from a medical professional. This is why it is very important to have the contact information of a experienced EXOTIC vet in your area, whom has good history with Chinchillas. It's also very wise to have a back up number of an emergency clinic for those late nights and weekends that your regular vet may not be available. 

We keep all vet numbers, medication history, medical history, pedigrees, diet information and other important information in a binder kept under or next to the cage for easy access. 

Disclaimer

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Step 1, Access the situation. 

Take note of any signs or symptoms your pet has. If there's blood, try to find the source. If it's something simple, like a small cut or early signs of heat exhaustion, you can handle that at home. If it's something more, move on to step two. 

Step 2, get prepared.

If you've decided this is not something you can take care of at home, calmly put together your pet carrier. Gather any supplies you may need ( food, water bottle, cooling slab, etc ) and place it in a bag. Carefully pick up your pet and place him/her into the carrier. Be gentle as you do not want to hurt them any more. 

Step 3, Call the vet and go. 

Have a friend or make a quick call to your vet's office to tell them you have an emergency and will arrive shortly. They may ask you for some information. This helps them prepare for your arrival. 

Quickly, but safely, get to the vets office and tell the vet what you know, and let them do their job, 

Once you're out of the woods, be sure to ask the vet whatever questions you have on your mind. They won't mind, and it's important for you , the owner, to feel informed and okay. Be sure you fully understand the after care of your visit, and always ask to schedule a wellness check at least 2 weeks after your visit to ensure that your pet is healing well or reacting positive to treatment. 

Also always be sure to pay your vet bills. Some vets have payment plans, but it's always wise to never let a bill be outstanding for too long. You want to keep a good relationship with your vet. You can also look into pet insurance and care credit for your vet expenses. Please do this before an emergency! 

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Here is what our information binder looks like.

Each chinchilla has a file, that contains their pedigree, medical information, vet records, etc. Soon each will also have a photo.

We also keep an informational book and our cage papers in the back, encase we ever need to reference anything.

Information we think is valuable to save is, vet records, medicine your pets have used ( with and without reactions ) , Birthdates/age/pedigrees, known medical issues, information on the diet you feed ( you can cut off the back of an empty package with nutritional info and ingredients ) , Show records, etc.