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[LindyLu]

Hi, I am new here. I joined because I need some help/advice from chinchilla experts.
I have 2 chins, both male rescues. Dewey is a 5 yr old standard gray, and Schroeder is a 2 yr old white mosaic.

2 weeks ago Schroeder got diarrhea...it was everywhere in his cage! I have no idea what caused it! He has not been given any excessive treats, nor has anything changed around him to cause stress. I had to bathe him in water to clean him up, he was such a mess! Well the diarrhea stopped after just that one day (a Tuesday)... he seemed tired and not hungry after that, but I figured he'd be okay after some rest and a few dust baths.  Well he wasn't eating much, and then the following Friday, there was blood all over his cage, he'd began bleeding from his behind! I called his vet who told me to give him keopectate to calm his stomach, as well as "cat lax"/petroleum jelly to get his bowels moving. I did this. The keopectate certainly stopped the diarrhea (only gave him 1 dose). But the jelly wasn't doing anything.
Schroeder hasn't eaten or pooped in 2 weeks now.
He refuses even raisins, which he used to love on the rare occasion. He sort of nibbles at hay & drinks from his water bottle maybe a single lick a day. I have been force-feeding him. At first I was just force-feeding watered down/mashed pellets. (We use Mazuri). Then I read that orphaned kits should be fed KMR (milk suppliment for kittens) with gerber rice cereal mixed in. So now I force feed a mixture of water/kmr/mashed pellets/rice cereal. He willingly drinks about 3 syringe-fuls (2 ml syringe) a day. But that's it, and he still won't eat anything solid offered to him.
I offered him some yogurt last night and he refused it.
I read I can give pineapple or papaya juice to a chinchilla to help with constipation... figured I could do that through the syringe.... is that okay?
I saw some rabbit lax at the pet shop and considered that as well, but didn't want to buy it/try it until I knew it was safe. Schroeder has been sleepy/lazy...but he DOES get active for a few minutes here and there. On Sunday night I thought he was going to die over night because he was looking so awful...but then early in the AM hours he was running in his wheel! I have been giving him his free run, but he doesn't RUN as much, he just sniffs around and squeaks at me. He also grinds his teeth a lot lately (I've read this can be a sign of pain?)
Help!

[Jo Ann]

   Is your vet an exotic pet veternarian that is familar with chinchillas? 
Has the vet actually seen Schroeder? 
If so, did he do any fecal smear testing?

It sounds like you have some major problems with Schroeder and might loose him if they are not corrected very quickly.

   Jo Ann

[LindyLu]

He IS an exotic's vet... I don't know his actual knowledge of chinchillas. He has seen both my chins once before, and he SEEMED to know a lot. For THIS situation he has NOT seen Schroeder. I had called him and explained what was going on, and the keopectate + petroleum jelly was all he "offered" ...but did not seem overly concerned. He just acted like "oh, that happens...try this" type attitude.
I would like to get Schroeder in to see the vet soon though. It's just such a BUSY place, that his appointment could be days from now - so that's why I wanted to see what else I could do to help in the meantime. Force-Feeding is obviously keeping him alive, but he doesn't seem to be healing.

I guess what I'm most afraid of is driving him the 45 minutes to the vet, waiting in the waiting room a good 30+ minutes to be seen, and then having the vet look at him for 5 seconds and say "let's put him down"...and charge me to do it. Scared of wasting time & money just to have him kill my chin. I guess I feel like IF he is going to die, might as well be in the comfort of his own hammock on his own time.
The sensible part of me says I need to get over it and just get him in before it's too late.

However, like I said, it's a BUSY vet and I can make him an appointment, but it will likely be DAYS from now, and in the meantime....can I give him pineapple or papaya juice? What about the rabbit lax? ....any other options that might help?

[LindyLu]

Okay, he has a Saturday appointment...maybe. If I call by 7:15 AM tomorrow (Friday) they "should be able to squeeze him in for Saturday". Poor baby.

[ahappycamper]

I think at this point if nothing has changed then the vet is the only person who can really diagnose him. Keep us updated and good job with the force feeding. Count his poops everyday too.

I know for me, personally when I want to get one of my chins to eat more, I will sprinkle some LIFELINE supplement on his pellets. You can get LIFELINE from Dawnna at
http://chocolatechinchillas.com/_wsn/page6.html

But I suggest not trying anything yet until you hear what the vet tells you. Good luck.

[LindyLu]

After seeing Vet UPDATE:
I wasn't told anything I didn't already know. The vet just said he's constipated.
He told me I'm on the right track, I just need to up the amount of petroleum I'm giving him, and also force feed plenty of WATER. He said to not worry about pellets, but offer lots of timothy hay.

The only other option he had was doing a surgery to push whatever is clogging him up through...but of course surgery on chins is very risky, and the vet was afraid he could rupture Schroeder's gut in the process, and end up killing him. He basically didn't know what else to do besides plenty of water and laxative.

[Jo Ann]

   OK ... now the last ditch effort that has been known to usually work in the past ...  Petramalt, used to help pass fur balls or as a preventative to them, can be used.  About the amount of a small pea is usually all they need ... it can be given every month or two as a preventative.  You can find it in the cat/dog section of the pet store. 

In addition to that, one or two almonds ... normally I will never suggest giving a chinchilla a nut of any kind ... unless it gets to the point that it is with your little one.  A lady that I know, did this for her little one ... when it pooped for the first time, after being impacted, the poop consisted of many individual poos stuck together ... it was 3 1/2" long.        This little one is still alive and healthy as far as I know.   

Keep us posted, please.

   Jo Ann

He said to not worry about pellets, but offer lots of timothy hay.

When a chin is sick it is not unusual for a vet to discontinue pellets and feed hay and water only.  When I have to do this, I usually use Alfalfa hay.  Most chinchilla pellets are Alfalfa hay based, because it has more nutrients and fat content.

[LindyLu]

Petramalt, huh?
I will pick up some of that & some alfalfa hay at the store today.
Thank you! )

[Jo Ann]

   Yep!  It is normally used to help cats pass the fur balls they get from cleaning themselves, but I have used it with my chins on a regular basis.   It comes in a tube and is about the same consistency as toothpaste.  Don't forget the almonds.  One or two is all it should take to help unblock him.

Fluids are also a must ... 1/2 and 1/2 water and Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice.

Keep us posted.

    Jo Ann

[Harleychin]

I'm not trying being mean ,but you need a new vet.Keopectate is not safe for chins they changed the formula and it can cause stomach ulcerations only Pet Pectin is safe and should be used very carfully as it slows down stomach
He should have Reglan and or Propulsid to help move his gut along .Hand feedings of CC and exercise.He's grinding his teeth because he's in pain he should have Metacam for that.
The blood is serious.It could be from the Keopectate or from him straining to go poop,which means he may prolaps.Give him nothing with sugar in it (raisins. etc)It can cause his Bactria in his stomach to get even more out of wack.
I have had a chin go though gut stat is and survive.Get the Lifeline that you were told about it's really good stuff!
Your vet is way to old school and hasn't bothered to keep up .The fact he never offered you any of the drugs I wrote about and even suggested something dangerous to your chin is not acceptable.Please try a new vet quick as time is not your friend when it comes to this. As Jo Ann said if he does start to poop it will come out in a sting of small balls stuck tog eather which is called a pearl necklace.Don't let it scare you that's what you want to see.I wish You Luck and will have your boy in my thoughts.Please keep us posted .I know how hard this is.

[LindyLu]

Well, the bleeding wasn't from the keopectate because I didn't give it to him until after he bled. I only gave him one dose of that stuff. I was also frustrated my vet didn't offer any more medications or suggestions. But this is the 2nd vet I've tried in the past 5 months, and I'm quickly running out of good options. Seems nobody around here really knows much about chinchillas (thus I wanted to join a forum board where people seem to specialize).

The problem with almonds and other solid foods is that he won't eat them.
On his own he will only eat small (very small) amounts of hay.
Anything else I have been force feeding him.

Today I saw a smear of yellow goop on his cage floor (I use fleece blankets as bedding)...I don't know if it came from his rear or if he vomited up some of the petroleum. So far zero poops though. 

[Harleychin]

I am a member of another chin forum too and they have a list of vets.If you tell me what City your from I might be able to help you find a new vet.I know how frustrating it is .My first vet was charged with animal abuse and she worked at very well known animal hospital.Another vet I used in an emergency may have contributed to my first chins death and I found another person who said they went though the same thing with that vet and lost their chin too.
I will check this forum again in about half in hour before I go to bed.
I will have your little guy in my thoughts

[LindyLu]

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

Upon further inspection, there IS a mucus type stuff coming from his anus.
I'm now getting more and more irritated that the vet didn't do a fecal smear...he didn't even weigh the chin! He just cleaned off his anus (I had been keeping a dust bath in his cage because of the force feedings he was getting all wet around his chin)...and the dust was stuck all over his anus at the vet. So he cleaned off the chin and "felt" him. Told me his intestines were enlarged (clogged).
That's the extent of his examination.

I offered Schroeder some free run tonight, and he just came and sat on my lap and wouldn't run at all. I decided to go ahead and offer him some more of the KMR milk since that is the only thing he takes willingly and he drank up 4 ml's of that! I put him back in his cage and he walked around whimpering for awhile, then fell asleep in his exercise wheel. Poor thing, he is in obvious pain. 

[Jo Ann]

   OK ... As a last ditch effort, you might want to try this ... take the KMR milk (about 1/4 cup), put it in the blender, drop an almond in and grind up the almond until it can pass through the syringe.  Add the Petramalt and Nutri-Cal ... about the size of a pea of each.

His bowels are blocked and full ... his tummy is full because he is not processing his food ... because he does not "feel" hungry, due to everything being full already, he will not eat.   If you've ever been severely constipated, you have an idea how he feels. 

Everything is backing up from the blockage and causing other things to come into play.  When nothing can be expelled, he can not get rid of the poisons in his system.  He fills full and is in pain ... both reasons for why he will not eat.

If he were here with me, I would try what is mentioned in the first paragraph ... and ... gently stoke his back and tummy in a downward motion (one direction only) towards his anus.   He has to pass this or his whole system will soon shut down.  Right now, you are fighting for his life.  Sorry to be so blunt, but when it comes to chins, I do every thing I can to help them and will not give up until they do.

You might suggest your vet call Lanni Richey at California Chins ... they do do consulting with veterinarians sometimes.  www.cachins.org 

Please keep us posted.

   Jo Ann

[Harleychin]

Jo Ann's right he's in a fight for his life.Check the link she gave you . I checked the list on my other forum  and It's one of the few states the don't have listed.So I put out an emergency post looking for a vet in your area.We'll get you a good vet one way or another