Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[kay]

As long as he's eating hay and his fecal output seems to be normal (is not small and hard or scant) I wouldn't worry too much about it. The trauma from the surgery and possibly the medications can cause him to eat less. If you notice constipation you can try supplementing with mashed pellets but I still recommend Critical Care or something like it if that happens, and definitely contact the vet if that happens.
As far as the pellets themselves changing them now can potentially make the problem worse and is best done when the chinchilla is healthy. As far as letting him out I found this article that you might find helpful:
http://chinchillachronicles.com/chinchilla_castration.html

Thanks for reply he seemed a little better tonight seen him drinking  his hay has defnitley been eaten he seemed to be going off his pellets even before the op, I will ask for some critical care if I  think he's constipated and I will hold off changing the pellets mum seems to be eating n drinking plenty and baby is now 74gr just want dad back to normal  I will keep you posted

Kay

[kay]

  Chinchillas do not respond to surgery well at all.      There are so many different complications that can happen.      The only way I would put one of mine through surgery would be IF that little one's life were at stake and there were no other possible options that would save it's life.   Over the pas 20+ years, I have heard more chinchilla owners say they would never do it again ... usually because a 'complication' from the surgery or an after affect from it caused the little one to die.

Each of us has to decide for ourselves what chances we are willing to take with the life of these precious creatures.  It is never an easy decision.  One thing you might want to question your vet about is: "How many of these surgeries have you done? " and "What was the final outcome?"  I would even ask if you could talk to some of the other chin owners that he had done surgery on their chinchillas.  It's always best to be safe rather than sorry.  A vet with a good surgical record on chinchillas should not refuse your request.  If he does ... I would ask myself ... What does he have to hide?

Hope this helps.
   Jo Ann

PS Keep us posted!

I posted this before I realized you already had him neutered.   I am not a vet, but I have had 20 + years with chinchillas.  I can only give you my personal opinion as to what I would do ... according to the experiences I have had with chinchillas over the years.  (I have had over 200 chinchillas at the same time over many years.)  I always found it a good thing to use the Critical Care and/or  acidophilus  after a surgery or during an illness or injury.  Do keep in mind the critical care and/or  acidophilus needs to be kept refrigerated once it has been opened.   And it needs to be given halfway between any doses of antibiotic or pain medication.   Surgery and the pain medication and antibiotics work against a chin to have a normal digestive progress.  The normal digestive system is a must for a chinchilla.  Antibiotics will kill all bacteria ... the bad and the good ... the antibiotic does not know the difference in them.  The 'good' bacteria is often called 'flora' and is necessary to properly digest the food.   The good bacteria or 'flora' needs to be replinished on a regular basis, but can not be given at the same time or close to the same time as an antibiotic or the will cancel each other out and it will be as if they have been geting nothing.   If the food is not being properly digested you will usually find smaller, dryer poops and they will continue to decrease in number.  Because of this, the system becomes stopped-up and the chin feels 'full' and not hungry and will quit eating.  Once this happens, it can cause some major problems.  The chin can literally die of hunger because he thinks he fills 'full', when in reality, he is stopped up or constipated.  Judge by the ammount of food he is eating on a daily basis, not just the poop at the bottom of the cage.  Something to think about.   You say the male is in the bottom half of the cage ... If you have your male in the bottom half of the cage and the female and her kit in the top half of the cage, unless you have a solid pan between the two levels, to catch the mom and kit's poop and pee ... much of the poop/feces you are seeing in the bottom is probably from the mom and the kit.  Also, keeping his area clean is a must ... if there is no solid divider between the two levels ... the pee/urin from the mom and kit are contanimating the lower level. 

I would give him Alfalfa hay at this time, he needs the extra nurishment it will provide him.

thanks for post I done a lot of research before I went ahead with his neutering got a very experienced vet who does chinchillas regularly also spoke to a few breeders who has neutered lots of their males and in there opinion is a lot safer these days touch wood  he is in the bottom half of the cage for now  with a nice clean comfortable fleece with wooden toys food and hay n water the cage is separated by a wood shelf so poo and wee can not land on him or go anywhere in his cage, I will do everything I can by the book and hopefully he well feel better in a couple of days but I will keep an eye on how much he's eating and get some critical care if need be.
I do think ive thought this through he was miserable as sin on his own and the baby is a girl so I couldn't of even got him a male for company so in my opinion it was the best option for him.

Kay

[kay]

Sorry to hear of the loss of a little one. A chin is a hard thing to lose at any age.

 As for housing I would definitely  consider separate cages until u know for sure the sexes and whether or not they will be compatible.  I have 2 males and 2 females each in a separate cage but next to each other.  they do talk to each other from cage to cage.  Although its mostly the 2 youngest that seem to talk to each other more. Although the youngest will still start chatting when I am petting the mother.

Thanks for reply yes it was hard losing the baby it wasn't a bad weight either 42 gr they are in separate cages till male is ok to go in with female and baby girl 

Kay

[Squirrel_Butt]

[/quote]
Thanks for reply yes it was hard losing the baby it wasn't a bad weight either 42 gr they are in separate cages till male is ok to go in with female and baby girl 

Kay
[/quote]

even having a baby escaping is nerve wracking. You never know if you will find them alive. luckily When Bonnie escape Raisin barked and bonnie answered her mother's call allowing me to find her wedged between a computer.  The next time she escaped I knew exactly where she was

[Jo Ann]

I would give him Alfalfa hay at this time, he needs the extra nourishment it will provide him.

thanks for post I done a lot of research before I went ahead with his neutering got a very experienced vet who does chinchillas regularly also spoke to a few breeders who has neutered lots of their males and in there opinion is a lot safer these days touch wood  he is in the bottom half of the cage for now  with a nice clean comfortable fleece with wooden toys food and hay n water the cage is separated by a wood shelf so poo and wee can not land on him or go anywhere in his cage, I will do everything I can by the book and hopefully he well feel better in a couple of days but I will keep an eye on how much he's eating and get some critical care if need be.
I do think ive thought this through he was miserable as sin on his own and the baby is a girl so I couldn't of even got him a male for company so in my opinion it was the best option for him.

Kay

Yes, things are much better with the vets and chinchillas now.  When I first started, there were very few that knew that much about chinchillas, let alone did the surgery on them.  Chins are very good about hiding their medical problems until it is almost to late ... but ... it sounds like your little one had a very knowledgeable vet to take good care of him and a very good "chin mom" (you) ... but ... I'd still give him the Critical Care if he were mine ... guess some of us ole folks are just set in our ways and like to stick with what works best for us.       As long as he is happy and healthy, nothing else matters.   

[kay]

I would give him Alfalfa hay at this time, he needs the extra nourishment it will provide him.

thanks for post I done a lot of research before I went ahead with his neutering got a very experienced vet who does chinchillas regularly also spoke to a few breeders who has neutered lots of their males and in there opinion is a lot safer these days touch wood  he is in the bottom half of the cage for now  with a nice clean comfortable fleece with wooden toys food and hay n water the cage is separated by a wood shelf so poo and wee can not land on him or go anywhere in his cage, I will do everything I can by the book and hopefully he well feel better in a couple of days but I will keep an eye on how much he's eating and get some critical care if need be.
I do think Ive thought this through he was miserable as sin on his own and the baby is a girl so I couldn't of even got him a male for company so in my opinion it was the best option for him.

Kay

Yes, things are much better with the vets and chinchillas now.  When I first started, there were very few that knew that much about chinchillas, let alone did the surgery on them.  Chins are very good about hiding their medical problems until it is almost to late ... but ... it sounds like your little one had a very knowledgeable vet to take good care of him and a very good "chin mom" (you) ... but ... I'd still give him the Critical Care if he were mine ... guess some of us ole folks are just set in our ways and like to stick with what works best for us.       As long as he is happy and healthy, nothing else matters.   

I'm feeding him the supreme science with a syringe what a carry on last night it got blocked and went all over he had some under his chin what I tried my best to get off with a baby wipe and a towel,he looked so sorry for himself when I put him back I ended up in tears, tried again today a bit more watered down was a bit better but I'm not liking it one bit he looks all wet under his chin by the time were finished dreading the next feed hes eating some hay on his own but still not liking his pellets when he was in with mum I noticed the pellets not going down as much and thought it might be her not eating with being close to the birth, then when I had to separate him he wasn't keen on  the pellets and thought its because he's stressed being taken from Lucy the neutering itself he looks spot on its just this pellet carry on I'm still giving him his pain relief and read that sometimes their appetite decreases could it be that?

[GrayRodent]

The most important thing to watch for is output. If he isn't pooping or if the poop looks small and hard compared to normal then feeding is essential. Supplementing now is still a good idea to keep his weight up and normal. If he looses more than 20% of his normal weight it can make it difficult to heal and fight off infections. You can certainly expect decreased appetite until those surgical wounds heal. From my limited understanding I'm thinking 15 days after the surgery before it goes to normal. It does not take much stress to cause that.

As far as hand feeding goes one thing that can help is a coffee grinder and running the food through there. You can test it by dispensing it through the syringe and re-loading it, and running it through the grinder with the aim of making a process that will work consistently. (Although you may never totally eliminate occasional clogging) I've made treats out of oats with a coffee grinder and it works pretty good. I still recommend Oxbow Critical Care since it is easy to mix and will have a greater effect on his weight since it is more nutritionally dense but can clog too. However I've always been able to push it through by aiming the syringe away from the chinchilla and trying to clear the clog.

Making a mess is going to happen no matter what. I always had a damp cloth available to wipe and dab it off the best I could when I had to syringe feed my chinchilla then dried with a clean washcloth or paper towel. The best thing to do is learn from each experience and try to come with a system that works and it will become easier the more you do it. I found it much easier to do with two people and to have all the supplies ready beforehand with the goal of getting him out of the cage, fed, medicated, cleaned up, and back into the cage as quickly as possible (while still being safe and giving him all the time he needed to swallow it down). Some feedings went better than others and I felt that if he got at least 2/3 of the food and meds then it was successful. All in all it was no fun for the three days we did that.

[kay]

The most important thing to watch for is output. If he isn't pooping or if the poop looks small and hard compared to normal then feeding is essential. Supplementing now is still a good idea to keep his weight up and normal. If he looses more than 20% of his normal weight it can make it difficult to heal and fight off infections. You can certainly expect decreased appetite until those surgical wounds heal. From my limited understanding I'm thinking 15 days after the surgery before it goes to normal. It does not take much stress to cause that.

As far as hand feeding goes one thing that can help is a coffee grinder and running the food through there. You can test it by dispensing it through the syringe and re-loading it, and running it through the grinder with the aim of making a process that will work consistently. (Although you may never totally eliminate occasional clogging) I've made treats out of oats with a coffee grinder and it works pretty good. I still recommend Oxbow Critical Care since it is easy to mix and will have a greater effect on his weight since it is more nutritionally dense but can clog too. However I've always been able to push it through by aiming the syringe away from the chinchilla and trying to clear the clog.

Making a mess is going to happen no matter what. I always had a damp cloth available to wipe and dab it off the best I could when I had to syringe feed my chinchilla then dried with a clean washcloth or paper towel. The best thing to do is learn from each experience and try to come with a system that works and it will become easier the more you do it. I found it much easier to do with two people and to have all the supplies ready beforehand with the goal of getting him out of the cage, fed, medicated, cleaned up, and back into the cage as quickly as possible (while still being safe and giving him all the time he needed to swallow it down). Some feedings went better than others and I felt that if he got at least 2/3 of the food and meds then it was successful. All in all it was no fun for the three days we did that.

Thanks again for reply it did get better the more I fed him but still not nice, I also let him play out after I fed him was that wrong to do? his scar is barely visible and looks to be healing nicely, today I've been out of the house most of the day (could not be avoided) and when I went to let him out with the female he had plenty of poos but not the same as Lucy's he's were a lighter brown, he'd eaten some hay but hardly any pellets, Ive made up some supreme science (similar to critical care) and made them into balls and left them in a dish in his cage so he might eat it that way,I also gave him some infacol (for baby's wind) and massaged his stomach and when I put him back in his cage the poo was darker(normal colour) and the only way I can describe it about 4small poos stuck together he's also chewing a lot on his wooden toys I'm going to see how he is tomorrow if no better I will take him back to the vets

[GrayRodent]

As far as letting him out to play at this point I just don't know. That's a good question to ask your vet.

As far as massaging his stomach goes I strongly advise against that until at least 30 days after surgery unless the vet says it's okay or you may risk tearing things apart that are healing. Since you are not seeing signs of constipation I don't think there is a need for that at this time.

The lighter color of the poos and stickiness does indicate that things are not digesting as well as they should be but light brown is still okay. It could also be a side effect of the infacol.

When a chinchilla gets constipated the poo gets noticably smaller, about half the length of regular poo and noticeably darker and harder/dryer, like poo that has been laying in the cage for a day or two. If you're not seeing this you are probably okay but you still need to track his weight.

The color change can be explained by the stress he is going through. Very light or green is not and sloppy is not. There will be some variations in what it looks like through the day based on his level of activity. Before you go to the vet I recommend you call first and get his opinion on if your chinchilla should be seen. That is my non-expert recommendation anyway.

[Jo Ann]

  

...the poo was darker(normal colour) and the only way I can describe it about 4small poos stuck together he's also chewing a lot on his wooden toys I'm going to see how he is tomorrow if no better I will take him back to the vets

  The "4 small poos stuck together" ... with my past experience ... is either the beginning of a sign of constipation OR the first signs that the constipation is possibly breaking loose.    I'm thinking, because of the discoloration of the earlier poo and the more normal looking latest poo that it is the latter of the two.  Which is good ... just got to keep it moving.  When the digestive system does not work properly, problems can pile up quickly.  One lady I was helping with her chin's constipation, when it finally broke loose, he pooped a string of poos stuck end to end to each other that measured over 3 inches long.   

   Making the little balls of the "Critical Care" or the homemade equilivant, is a good source of nutrition and fiber, plus it will help replenish the flora in his digestive system ... but ... be sure to use cold water or pydelite  to moisten the 'formula' with to form the balls and remember to refrigerate in an airtight container those he is not having immediately ... offer them to him one or two at a time several times a day ... warmer temperatures (room) tend to kill the flora if they are left out in the air to long.  If he will eat them this way, it is much better for you and him and much less stress and mess for both of you.  Besides, chins like the idea of treats handed to them, than the idea that they are being force-fed.

    I would check with the vet about allowing him out to play and what restrictions he might need.  (Such as closer supervision than normal.  Not allowing him above floor level - he might fall or jump and land on an object that would injure him.  Making sure he and his mate do not get to active or get overheated.)  You might want to have a chilled chin-chiller for him to go to and set on to cool off, should he get tired or to warm.  Or a mason jar filled with ice, using a thightly closed metal lid, will give him cooler air right around it and will provide a little bit of water from the condensation that will form on the outside of the jar.  I would watch out for him if he becomes agitated or fussy ... this is often a sign he needs to rest and/or you may even contact the vet.  If this is not a normal attitude for him, it can become one, if, he is hurting or injured or sick.  Chinchillas can often be a bit short-tempered when they do not feel well or are in pain.

   At this time, I too, strongly advise against rubbing his tummy or any where near his surgery.  He may appear to be healing on the outside, but it takes a bit longer to heal on the inside.  When a human baby is constipated or has gas in his digestive trac, it will often help if it's mother will very gentally rub (with a downward motion) from the base of the neck, down the spine to just above the tail and repeat this over and over ... in the one direction only.  I have done this with chins that have been injured or were ill and were having some signs of constipation ... it always seemed to help ... but ... ask your vet first.

  Keep us posted!
Jo Ann

[kay]

Thanks again for the great advice  they all had a dust bath last night and chico (the dad) loved it the baby even had a go was brilliant to watch I just wish he'd eat his pellets  but seems lively enough he's eating his hay and I mite try the science select rolled up again he didn't show any interest last time and ive left the syringe feeding alone to see how he went. I will keep you posted if any change.

Kay

[kay]

give him some science selective through a syringe today and it is easier but his poop is def smaller I also found a lump on his neck and when checked my female she didn't have one  im thinking now something wrong is going on I don't no what to do but im thinking he might be really poorly 

[GrayRodent]

I recommend you call your vet and explain your findings.

[kay]

Yes I am going to make an appointment tomorrow 

[kay]

Hi took chico to the vet she gave him a thorough examination the lump is were the injection went in when he had his neutering op and should just go down on its own, he's lost 100 grams in two weeks his poo is not right its brown rather than black and sometimes really small he's not eating his pellets just some hay he has no symtoms of teeth more like a partial blockage and when she put the thing (don't no what they call it) into his mouth she seen a bit of string like material at the back of his mouth so he's going back tomorrow to have a bit of gas to make him drowsy so she can have a good look she said his wound and stomach seems fine and healing well hopefully find out a bit more tomorrow will let you no.

Kay