Rest in Peace
It is a sad fact of life that everything that lives eventually dies. Chinchillas are no exception to this. Below are chins that we have loved dearly--some we've never met in person, but loved deeply nonetheless. They were greatly loved in life, and they are greatly loved in death. These chins will be sorely missed.
Rafi
March 11,2008 - November 17, 2011
picture coming soon
Rafi arrived on January 8, 2011 with her mom Talia, sisters Laney & Junebug, dad Stevie and brother Noah. They came from Louisville, KY. The girls and Steven & Jeffrey arrived via long-haul truck through the program Operation Roger. The link is on our links page. We renamed the chins because we couldn't tell who was who of the younger chins and we thought it would be easier if we just renamed everyone. They now all have letters on their ears.
Their owner contacted us because Rafi (formerly called Sweet Pea) needed medical care for dental disease. Due to this horrible economy, the quality care was too much. He asked if we could take them in, and after discussing it, we said yes.
Rafi's roots were overgrown (not as badly as Nadia's) and she had a very enlarged liver in March. We added Milk Thistle to her pellets and her liver is now normal sized (one month later). She no longer drooled, her sweet-smelling breath was gone, and she gained a miraculous amount of weight. We placed her on a modified Fatty Liver Diet which consists of Beaphar Xtra Vital Care+ for Chinchillas (the extruded pellets), and then Oxbow Cavy Cuisine (timothy-based pellets with extra vitamin C). This combination is keeping her teeth looking perfect. She got Oxbow Botanical Hay, and Milk Thistle powder added to her pellets. Rafi got NO grains of any kind (oats, wheat, quinoa, etc).
When Rafi came in, her weight was 408. As of April 3, her weight was 493! She gained 50 grams in the two-three weeks that we added the Milk Thistle to her diet! We are hoping Rafi will continue to gain weight, so that she reaches about 575.
Sadly, Rafi lost her fight with liver disease on November 17, 2011. She had an excellent quality of life until the very end. Rafi loved her hammock and taking baths, as well as chewing up apple sticks with gusto. She was a very sweet chin, full of life and she thrived with attention. We miss Rafi dearly, and hope that wherever she is, she is at peace.
Wubbzy Enoch
September 6, 1991
Hi! I'm Wubbzy. I was named after my new favorite cartoon. I came to live here on September 7, 2008. I'm here because I have seizures, and since the nice folks here already had two chins with seizure disorders, they requested me specially from another rescue.
Thank you Ali for sponsoring some special things for Wubbzy!
Wubbzy died peacefully of old age. We are grateful that he was here to experience so much love, peace and acceptance. We miss Wubbzy terribly, and he will always be remembered.
Esperanza
birthday unknown - February 22, 2011
Esperanza exploring during her first-ever playtime
Esperanza was rescued from severe neglect by a kind-hearted woman in Tennessee. She contacted us for help when she realized how severe Esperanza's issues were.
When she arrived, Esperanza was covered in mats and reeked of cat pee. Her fur was sticky, and Esperanza, despite having had her teeth filed the month before, was drooling severely. We immediately gave her baths (24/7 access) to help her fur, deciding that water-baths would be too stressful to her. We also opted against water-baths because body heat is paramount to malo chins' health. Had she gotten wet, it would've been detrimental to Esperanza's health.
Esperanza was on a very strict no-added-phosphorus diet. Phosphorus is found in grains like oats, wheat, quinoa, etc. It blocks the absorption of calcium. Past studies have determined that often times, chins who have malo have trouble absorbing calcium. We concluded that it would be bad to then give malo chins something to eat that would block calcium absorption even further. The girls get Beaphar Xtra Vital Care+ pellets from the UK, Manna Pro Sho pellets, alfalfa hay and a special blend of herbs that have calcium in them. We also give them crushed rosehips, because Vitamin C aids in the absorption of calcium.
While on this diet, Esperanza had a complete reversal of her malo symptoms. Sadly, due to our letter carrier refusing to deliver the Beaphar pellets, Esperanza's malo returned. Esperanza died unexpectedly on February 22, 2011, while under anesthesia for tooth filing and dental rads. Esperanza was a wonderful and beloved chin. She was always sweet and curious, ready to get her nose pet and to hop off with sticks and treats. Esperanza did not deserve the life she had, but we are forever grateful that she came to us, where she was safe and loved.
Ariel and Meir (both boys)
January 23, 2011 - January 30, 2011 and January 23, 2011 - February 16, 2011
Ariel (on the bottom) and Meir
Ariel and Meir were born on January 23, 2011, two weeks after their mom Talia arrived to the rescue. She immediately rejected Ariel. We took him out and set him up in our emergency (back-up) baby safe cage, with a fleece liner, a heating pad on one side, and a stuffed animal. We fed him goat's milk every hour around the clock for the first few days, and then he moved to every 2 hours. Ariel had severe seizures from the first day. He was such a great little chin, despite the seizures. He was very active and energetic, he loved to climb all over us and play on the couch (a futon). We named him after Ariel Sharon, with the hopes that he'd be a fighter. Towards the end, Ariel exhibited signs of brain damage and he could not eat. It was extremely hard to watch, but Ariel died peacefully and loved in Kjell's hands.
Talia rejected Meir about 3 days after he was born, so we reintroduced him to Ariel, and the boys shared their cage. They loved to snuggle together the few days they were together. Meir was always a great eater, he was very hearty. We named him after Golda Meir, the first female prime minister of Israel, with the hopes he'd be an expectations-breaker. About a week after he was rejected by Talia, he started to have seizures. He continued to eat well and gain weight nicely. Suddenly, on February 14 (late at night), he stopped eating. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do (the vet confirmed they were both too inbred and it caused issues). Meir died in my hands peacefully and loved.
Joep Aaron
February 19, 2008 - January 19, 2011
We adopted Joep from another rescue. Ever since Johan died, we've been searching for a friend for him. At the rescue, Joep's brother was adopted, which left him behind. Joep got very anxious and upset, and started to chew his fur. We knew Joep was used to being with other chins, and although he is average-sized, he looks a lot like Earnest Anselm in the face. We wanted to give it a try.
The rescue very kindly drove Joep down to us in a chin run at the end of March. He was paired with Johan until Johan's death this past October. We waited for a couple weeks and then did intros with him and Zaki, which went off very, very well. The two now share a 2-level.
Joep is a very friendly little guy. He loves to be pet. He chews everything we give him in one night, regardless of the size of the toy. Joep loves fleece, eating hay and taking baths. He is a wonderful, friendly little chin, and we are very happy to have added him to our family.
Sadly, Joep lost his battle with enteritis. He died in my arms, snuggled and loved. We miss him more than words can express; he was such a sweet and friendly chin. He adored being snuggled. He is dearly missed.
Chaim "Hymie" Joel
July 4, 2008 - October 29, 2010
Hymie Joel was the seventh chin to join our family. We actually didn't intend to get him, we had arranged to adopt a girl that had been in the same house. When our friend arrived to pick her up, the guy told her that his brother had given the girl away earlier in the day. We asked her to please take the boy, so she did. He didn't have food or hay, and came in a small cardboard box. Our friend said the guy was handling the box roughly, and she could hear Hymie hitting the sides. We're sure that had we not intervened, he would have starved to death. His owner was leaving the country that night, without the chins.
When she got Hymie home, she gave him food and hay straight away, and he's chowed down ever since. We picked him up on a day trip, and when we got home, we weighed him. He was 450 grams. The guy we got him from claimed that Hymie is a year and a half, but it's clear to us that he's younger than a year old.
Hymie is a very wonderful, friendly, energetic chinchilla. He loves attention, he loves to play, and he can jump over 4 feet into the air from a stand still!
Sadly, about two months after moving into his new 2-level cage, Hymie died of a broken back. He was always a very energetic and happy chin, taking spectacular jumping risks and even running on the outside of his Chin Spin. We miss Hymie terribly.Chilli Shalom
February 6, 1989 - October 17, 2010
Chilli came to us on December 7, 2008. He was a solo-chinchilla. Chilli was very loved and doted on for his entire life, but became anxious as other rescued animals were introduced into the home. As a result, he started to chew his fur. He went to a rescue in Michigan, but became stressed there and his fur chewing escalated. When his fur chewing became extreme, the rescue asked if we could help him.
When he arrived here, Chilli felt like a naked rat. He had little-to-no fur from the shoulder blades down. It was the most extreme case of fur chewing we've ever seen, online and in person. Chilli had some basic goals: weight gain, stop chewing his fur, and gain control. He did very well in all three areas. Chilli gained between 50 and 75 grams the first week, he stopped chewing his fur, and he did not bark defensively for days.
Chilli never did go back to his extreme fur chewing behavior. He had 3 minor relapses, the first two during unexpected power-losses. During those two time periods, he chewed a spot about the size of a half dollar on his hip. The third relapse was during our move to Texas. He chewed a size about 2" on his hip, but stopped once he settled in here.
Chilli died of old age. We hope we showed him all the love and affection he showed us, and we hope he realized how much we adored him. Chilli was a special guy, and our lives were better for knowing him.
Johan Daniel
December 5, 2005 - September 26, 2010
Johan Daniel is our fifth chinchilla. We adopted him on June 1, 2008 from a different rescue in Ohio. We were specifically looking for a dwarf chinchilla to bond with Earnest Anselm. After quarantine and intros, the two got along fabulously. Johan came to us severely overweight (he was about 500 grams, when he should be about 350), and we are working with him to lose the grams in a safe and practical way. It is important to note that Johan was overweight from a lack of exercise. He was not over eating.
A month and three weeks after he came to live with us, we noticed that Johan was having seizures. After taking him to a very good vet, getting blood work and diabetes tests and evaluating his diet and routine, we've discovered he has epilepsy. For now, he is medicine-free, because the seizures are not so frequent as to interfere with his daily life. We modified his and Earnie Anselm's cage so that if he has a seizure, he won't get hurt.
Johan eventually overcame his unsocialized-ness, and now runs eagerly up to be petted or held. His favorite thing was to snuggle under my chin while getting his tummy rubbed. He loved to sleep on the daybed with Earnie Anselm.
Johan died from an epileptic seizure. He was elderly by dwarf standards, but his loss is still tremendous and horrible.
Chrystal
July 21, 2005 - March 21, 2010
Chrystal came to us with Mitzy, Trinket and Belle. She came because she recently lost a mate and had become severely depressed. She was living with the 3 other girls, but she didn't seem to fit in with them. Since Anika died, Lexi had become severely depressed and lost her appetite (though she wasn't sick). We decided to do intros with the two girls (and with their dad's permission). They went very well, and the two girls moved in together.
Chrystal's outlook did improve, her appetite picked up and she became more outgoing and social. She and Lexi loved each other, that was clear. Chrystal loved to eat hay and run on their wheel.
She was always a rather subdued and reserved chin, and that part of her didn't change after moving in with Lexi. On the evening of the 21st I just happened to look over to discover that Chrystal was lying on a pile of hay, dead. It was an extreme shock, as she was fine mere hours earlier. I was talking to the girls while we watched tv, and Chrystal was watching tv while eating hay.
We took her for a necropsy first thing in the morning, and waited a week to hear back. During that week we medicated everyone, just in case it was contagious. We then got the results back and found out that Chrystal had pyometra, her entire gastrointestinal tract was infected, and she had liver cancer. None of those things by itself is the cause of her death, but together, they were too much for her body to take.
As unbelievable as it is, all four chinchilla's deaths were completely unrelated. We've been incredibly lucky up until this year, having no deaths at all from the start, especially considering the number of chins we've taken in who have health issues.
Chrystal was a wonderful girl, shy and reserved, but friendly once she got to know us. She liked to be pet on her head only, and she lived to eat hay and run on her wheel. We miss Chrystal greatly, but know she is happy now that she has been reunited with her mate Chico.
Anika
August 26, 2006 - February 26, 2010
Anika's death was a huge shock to us. She was one of the 6 chins saved from Kansas. Anika and Lexi were best friends who found each other here, and they loved each other deeply. They spent almost all their time together, even chewing on the same toy together. They have been boarding here until their dad can adopt them.
One night I noticed Anika was sitting on a piece of wood sleeping, which was odd behavior for her. We took her out and knew something was wrong. When she wouldn't take a dust bath, our fears were confirmed and we rushed her in to the vet first thing in the morning.
The vet said Anika had aspirated on something and had some involvement in her lungs. He gave her a shot of Baytril and vitamin B, and said there should be no reason Anika couldn't recover, but that she wasn't out of the woods yet. I kept Anika on my skin under my shirt the entire ride home. We set Anika up with the heating pad to keep her body temp up, and took Lexi out to see her. We knew when Lexi didn't want anything to do with Anika that things were going to end badly.
Anika died not long afterward, snuggled up on my chest under my shirt. She was a wonderful chin, sassy and independent. She loved to run on her wheel and eat hay. Anika spent her waking hours either running on her wheel or chewing on thick chunks of wood. She loved to snuggle with Lexi in their hammock and in their extra-long fleece tunnel.
We are going to miss Anika greatly. She was a wonderful chin, very entertaining and independent. It was so wonderful to see her blossom after she met Lexi, it was like her anxiety left completely. Anika, like the others, died far too young.
Belle
March 16, 2007 - February 3, 2010
Belle came to us with Mitzy, Trinket and Chrystal. She was the sweetest, friendliest chin we've ever known. Belle loved to come for scritches and to be pet for hours. She liked chewing on the 1" willow balls and bagel bites.
At some point, Belle broke her tooth, we are unsure whether she came to us with the broken tooth. She didn't eat for a day before we realized it, and we started handfeedings until we could take her in to the vet. (It was the weekend, and there are no emergency vets int eh area that will treat chinchillas). Unfortunately, we weren't aware that Belle had genetic fatty liver: her mother, grandmother and sisters all died of it. By the time we brought Belle in, it was too late. The fatty liver took over and ketones were flooding her system. She got her tooth clipped and got a Vitamin B shot, and we brought Belle home to do our best. She died shortly after we arrived home, after she said goodbye to her cagemates. She snuggled up on my chest, under my shirt, and died hearing how much we loved her and how sorry we were.
We will always miss and love Belle. She was such a special girl, so friendly and loving. Belle died far-too-young.
Earnest Anselm
April 4, 2006 - January 5, 2010
Earnest Anselm was our second chinchilla, whom we adopted in August 2006. He was a dwarf chinchilla, though we did not know it when we got him.
When we bought Earnest Anselm from a hobby breeder, he was the size of a large gerbil. He weighed about 120 grams, and he was four months old. He was a third of the weight he should have been. The breeder told us he was a runt. We took Earnest Anselm home, where we realized he couldn't jump. Over time, we came to determine, with vet assistance, that he had neurological issues. We worked intensively with him every day during play time to teach him to jump, to balance, to run. He could jump higher than our other chinchillas, reaching a height of 3 feet from a standstill.
Earnest Anselm had neurological issues due to being a dwarf chinchilla, and those issues were amplified by inadequate care as an infant and young chinchilla.
Earnest Anselm, Tremendous Mr. Fancy Tail. The noble, the brave, the amazing, the fighter. He died, under my shirt, in my hands. After I promised we will take good care of Johan.
He died from a prolapsed rectum, he was freezing cold. He was fine earlier in the day. We just had playtime two nights previously. Kjell was feeding everyone when Johan let him know something was horribly wrong.
Earnest Anselm is the reason we take in chins with health issues. Earnie Anselm was a dwarf. He had neurological issues. When he came to us he couldn't jump. He had a screw tail. Earnest Anselm had the best attitude I've ever seen. He was so outgoing and friendly. He was fearless. We will always miss him.
Ryu
died April 25, 2009
Ryu had a very difficult life. He was flown from Japan to Hawaii, then passed from home to home. For years, Ryu got horrible care until he was adopted by Daisha and her family. There, he got nothing but the best of everything. They even paid to have a Quality Cage shipped to them from the mainland.
Ryu was given a name that they hoped would reflect his energetic spirit. They loved him tremendously.
When his family moved to the mainland, our rescue, Nick's Animal Place and Wunderchins Forum sponsored a raffle to raise the cost of his ticket. It was through the kindness and generosity of a countless many that he got to come here and stay with his family.
A few months after settling in, the economy took a turn for the worse, and his family has been unable to secure work. It was an excruciating decision that Ryu and his new friend Remy be returned to the rescue that had hosted Ryu when he first arrived here. Ryu's health had taken a turn for the worse, and his family couldn't afford to take him to the vet.
Sadly, before the rescue could secure Ryu an appointment, he died. We all cried for days afterward, we loved Ryu so much. We did everything we could for him, and still it wasn't enough. Poor Ryu had died from liver failure.
With Daisha, he had a wonderful life. It was the best time he'd seen. Though we didn't know his age, the good times were not nearly long enough. Rest in Peace, Ryu. We miss you.
Bella
died March 5, 2008
Bella was a young chin when she died. She was not yet 2 years old. She died only one month after being rescued, and her death was entirely preventable (though not by the time she was rescued). Bella died from bordetella bronchiseptica.
The woman we rescued Bella from let her cats have at her chins. Her cats were carrying bordetella. We do not know how often she let her cats near her chins, though we know from the woman herself that there were quite a few near-misses. Cheeko was nearly eaten by one; Bella was scratched up by another. We have photos she took of one of her cats in Bella's cage, while Bella was playing on the floor right in front of the cat.
Eva, another of the chins there, needed her eye socket flushed out. This did not happen. By September 2007, the socket got infected, and Eva got pneumonia. She recovered after many nights in an oxygen tent and a course of Baytril. Shortly thereafter, we paid a rescue to drive out to pick up all 5 chins. They were picked up in February 2008, after the owner threatened to turn them loose outside.
Not even a month after that, there was a bordetella outbreak at the rescue. Three chins died in the four days it took to get the necropsy results. The rescue started medicating everyone accordingly, but for Bella it was too late. She showed symptoms the day the medicine started, and Bella died in her rescuer's hands the next evening. We alerted her last owner of Bella's death, and she didn't care.
Though Bella did not mean anything to her last owner, Bella was greatly loved by us. She was very friendly and outgoing. She loved being doted on and getting scritches. Bella gained the love of anyone that met her while she was at the rescue, even people who swore to never like chins. She was incredibly special and loving, quirky and sweet. We still cry about her death, it was so cruel. We will miss her greatly, and hope that she has found the peace and happiness she deserved.