Foreign-body choking / asphyxiation hazard in chinchillas (cannot vomit)
Verbatim first-hand facts from The Merck Veterinary Manual (chinchilla). All bullets are exact substrings of the cited source file and C1-substring verified. Focus: toxicosis and environmental hazards of the pet species.
Toxicology facts
- Like other rodents, chinchillas cannot vomit. Choking might be observed when the entrance to the trachea is occluded by a large piece of food or bedding or in postpartum females that eat their placentas. Aspiration of tiny particles from the foreign body can irritate the lower respiratory tract and precipitate a suffocating, edematous response leading to drooling, retching, coughing, and dyspnea as the chinchilla attempts to dislodge the foreign body. If untreated, choking can lead to asphyxiation and death.