Print

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

[GrayRodent]

I'm starting this post in a different thread. Message by Messi:

So sorry for posting in wrong thread.. Can't seem to generate a new post.. My Chinchilla Messi is 10 years + and only started showing signs of dental issues christmas week.. I of course brought her immediately in my vets and her incisors were long and she had them clippe and filled down a little. I had concerns for her molars but no irritation could be seen during the exam. Them on Wednesday I see more wet chin and I rushed her back in. We knew that being 10 years + anaesthesia wasn't a very good idea but we had no choice as her molars were in fact in a bad way . Messi has never eaten hay not ever and we've had her for 8 years + . I've tried every kind of hay and recently even got some shipped in from the states and my friends fussy rabbit eats only this hay. And Messi still won't eat it. She has the op to file down her molars on Friday morning and it took her 11 hours to come around from the anesthic we thought we'd lost her several times and vet had sent her home to die but she made it through the night...

I always make sure she get good quality chin food only she never gets treats but I have given her raisins as they are soft and her mouth is pretty sore . She is also on antibiotic and anti inflamatory but she still isn't eating. I've mushed up some alafa pellets and am using a q-tip to gently but some in her mouth every 3-4 hours I'm hoping I can keep her digestive system going until her mouth feels better. She has pooped but only a small amount ..

I'm worried I'm loosing her how long will I assist feed without her showing any signs of interest in food before I have to accept it's not working ?  If she still hasn't pooped by Tuesday does that mean the digestive system has in fact stopped
The vet said he took years of growth off her molars but why did she only show signs of dental issues in the last 2 weeks ? Her eyes have always been clean and  never has she ever had a wet chin before. She's always been a big girl and ate her food .. She weights 400gms now and she had been eating up until Friday mornings op..

I've bought dried cranberries , bananna chips, dried mango, and coneflower & special petal mixture for chinchillas in the hope that they won't be hard and she'll eat them but wheni put some in her mouth she pulls it out..

I'm at my wits end .. I've lost two cats in the last 6 months and I can't bare the thought of loosing Messi

Sorry again for posting in wrong thread didn't know how to post new thread

[GrayRodent]

I really feel for you and I'd like to say there's good news but this kind of problem is common, especially with chinchillas as old as yours. The best thing you can do is to syringe feed Oxbow Critical Care, which is more suited as a chinchilla diet for sick chins. The fruits and mixtures you are using are not going to sustain your pet and may become part of the problem. You may be dealing with gastrointestinal stasis which may be caused by the antibiotics which is also a common problem. You should obtain the means to feed this kind of diet today if possible. The longer you wait the less likely it is to reverse this. Also stop feeding fruit or anything with sugars in them. This can cause bloat which can cause a fatal bowel obstruction. Fruits and sweet things should only be used as treats.
If your chinchilla cannot eat hay you may need to make a hay-based mixture for it. I recommend consulting your vet on the dosage for this.
400g is not very large for a chinchilla and for a female is rather small. I wonder if she is underweight. May want to ask vet about that too.

My feeling is this is caused by a combination of antibiotics and improper diet but there may be other factors. 10 years is fairly old for a chinchilla especially one that has had a history of problems. I recommend contacting your vet and asking about the drooling. There are numerous possible causes for this and it is highly abnormal.

[Messi]

Thank you for moving my post and for responding...

She has always been a big girl but her weight has dropped to 400g now.. She is very active now and I will stop giving the raisins ( she hasn't eaten any since last night anyway) I do know rasins aren't a good idea I was just so desperate to get her to eat anything and I know with a sore mouth is have a better chance of her eating a soft raisin. I hope I didn't do much more harm

She has pooped today I seen at least 4 new poop pellets in the last hour an I believe she has started to eat the petal chin food mixture..

We've never had any health problem with her in the 8 years she's been with us and she is such a character she loves the cats and plays with them we Infact got black chin chin for company for her when we stopped letting her play with the cats ( Messi was getting too rough with them) and she nearly killed the black chinchilla thankfully he was ok but we had to give him back to breeder immediately .. Messi is a Wilson Chinchilla and as far as I know here in Ireland they are quite rare ..

I do hope she will come around from this I think she's a tough nut the only other scare we had was months after we rescued her .. We didn't know she had been pregnant and she lost the first pup and the second was deformed it must have been a very traumatic experience for her but she was back to her normal self the same day and no GA was needed..

How often should I be syringe feeding ? Every 3-5 hours ?

[Messi]

Here is a pic Messi

[GrayRodent]

I recommend consulting your vet for the correct dosage, equipment, instructions, and also to get a diagnosis. Whatever is causing this needs to be corrected and may become worse.

To keep her alive in the meantime my personal recommendation may not be correct but it would be 5cc of critical care three times a day if she is still eating her pelleted diet.
If she is eating eating half or less of her normal diet you may need to up the dose to 10cc per feeding until she starts eating on her own. Again you need to verify the dosage. I am not a veterinarian or all that experienced with this and if I'm wrong it may be not enough or too much which can cause severe problems if you do that long term.

If she is pooping and eating on her own it not extremely severe. Also ask the vet about calcium deficiency. Sometimes this can be a problem with pregnant chinchillas. I know it's been a while though. A white chinchilla will be smaller than a standard. You need to know if she is underweight or normal weight. This is integral to her dietary requirements. Monitoring fecal output is important. If it is abnormally low then syringe feed. If it's still about normal then don't.

[GrayRodent]

I also wanted to bring this up just in case you don't already know. When a chinchilla has malocclusion of the teeth having them filed is usually only a temporary fix. They will have to be filed again about every 6 months. Typically malocclusion is a terminal condition that gradually gets worse but I know chinchillas can live several more years with regular filings.

[Messi]

Yes will ring the vet this morning again and see if they have a critical care solution I can give her.. She does seem to be eating again now just not the hard pellets yet and there's more poop there now...

I have read up a little and I've seen the same prognosis regarding the continued fillings and myself and partner have discussed this and seeing what she has been through over the last few days and the stress it's caused to her body we've agreed we wouldn't put her through another GA and the trauma of recovery so we think it would be kinder to put her to sleep if this happens again .

I'm praying by some fluke this is just a once off but I know she's on the older side and we have to be prepared ..

[GrayRodent]

I hope all goes well and they are able to isolate the problem to something easy to fix.

[dozla]

if she doesn't like normal hay, have you tried the hard alfalfa bails or hay cookies which you can buy? my vet has recently told me to only give a small amount of pellets and make hay and the dried grass type foods the main food.. he also recommended fresh veg, a small amount of kale, carrot, or peppers to nibble on. Maybe you can tempt her with that?
Hope she feels  better soon.

[GrayRodent]

I totally agree that hay should be the main part of your pets' diet. I have mixed feelings about giving them fresh vegetables or anything wet as they require a very dry diet to prevent diarrhea. Chinchilla digestion can be quite delicate and a slight imbalance can easily snowball into something terrible. Dried fruit is a safer alternative.

[dozla]

my lil old man has been banned from fruit as he is borderline diabetic but he used to love his little raisin treat

[GrayRodent]

Maybe rose hips or oats will work for you, or a cheerio. These are pretty safe as well. Or just a piece of paper or cardstock. My chin goes crazy for that.