Chins With Malo -- continuation from prev. post

Remember this post about the chinchilla, Parker, who had malo and the owner wanted to surrender him?  See post here

I got an email back from them and wanted to share it with you.  Their response:

Hi Ashley,

 Thank you for your reply and advice. We decided, quite painfully, to have Parker euthanized. I thought it best in light of the fact that, although I managed to get him to eat from the syringe device, he seemed to have stopped defecating. He showed evidence of suffering from bloat in that he would sit in corners upright most of the time and also would take what appeared to be painful stretches, lowering his belly to the cage bottom. It also seemed like it was painful for him when I picked him up for his feedings.

It was a painful decision but the vet put him at peace. We got pretty attached to him even though we never wanted him in the first place. He had quite a personality and will be missed.

Thanks again.

My response:

Hi [name],

I'm sorry to hear that Parker had taken a turn for the worse, but know that with your help, he's no longer in pain.  What you describe with the stretching and lack of poos definitely does sound like bloat.  I'm sure you made the right decision and he would thank you for it, if he could.  They definitely are unique little critters with the ability to grab our hearts aren't they?  I'm sorry that your experience with chinchillas didn't have a happier ending, but I applaud that you were able to do what was needed.  All the best.