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[chinca1]

He is hungry and eating CC/EFL on his own.  Normal behavior.  I am thinking he does not want to eat pellets and hay anymore.  I just started mixing pellet dust with the EFL plus water.  I also sprinkled dry EFL on his hard pellets. 

The only sign of mouth pain, if I am reading it correctly, is he kind of recoils when he starts eating his critical care mix but only for a second or two.

Otherwise, he ate 1 oxbow pellet (just one) after I handed it to him.  Would not go for a 2nd.

He has also eaten a few slivers of shredded wheat, which he would not do previously.

We're still on both pain meds.  I may try to back these off and see if shows signs of pain.

Not sure what to do from here...

[Flint]

How is Einstein getting on? Sorry fr not enquiringly earlier, but I've had a lot to deal with over the last couple of weeks. The mosaic boy I reserved is home now and pairing well with his new friend.

[chinca1]

I'm glad the mosaic boy is bonding well.  That's good to hear.

I got some Sherwood Chinchilla pellets on Saturday and he immediately took a few bites.  He hasn't tried any Oxbow since this all started.

A few days later I reduced his amount of EFL/CC and overnight I believe he started eating hay for the first time.  However, the next morning I believe he had mouth pain or discomfort with visible symptoms for the first time in a few weeks while eating his EFL.  So, I increased the EFL/CC and will try reducing again tomorrow night so I can monitor him the next day.

Otherwise, behavior has been perfectly normal and happy.  The signs of eating pain only lasted for a few minutes in total and was over.

[Flint]

How's Einstein? My mosaic is settling really well and enjoying chin scritches. He loves his food too.

[chinca1]

Glad he is eating and being social.

I don't really know how Einstein is doing honestly.  He's still behaving normally (playing, activity level) but there's still some tooth grinding/noise. 

I have hay that has some herbs mixed in from the woman that makes EFL.  I think he is eating the herbs but possibly not the hay.  I have other fresh hay options for him that he's not touching.  On the bright side, he is eating small slivers of shredded wheat albeit very slowly and carefully.  There's no more picking at pellets unfortunately.  I am trying to slowly reduce the amount of wet food I am making for him.  It's just going slowly.

I am able to recognize some mouth gestures he does when just sitting on me.  He's making an O shape with his mouth and moving it.  It's like what you might do if you have too much peanut butter in your mouth.  I am wondering if this aligns with the theory that there's not enough room in his mouth for his tongue to move freely enough.  So, if anyone else reads this in the future, check into the angle of the teeth and distance between the lower teeth for free tongue movement.

[chinca1]

So, he will take a piece of shredded wheat now without fail.  He'll also eat a hard chinchilla safe treat (it's like a cookie texture).  I am thinking he's preferring the soft/wet food mixes vs. pellets/hay.  It's really hard to do (personally) but I guess I will need to further reduce the EFL/CC.  He's not losing weight but he's only getting ~2-3 teaspoons of EFL a day.  It mixes up into a small 2" dish that I am filling 3 times a day of which I give more in the AM hours.

I also need to start reducing the gabapentin, as I've read it can be addictive as well as the meloxicam because long term it can cause kidney damage.  I honestly don't know if he even needs it anymore.  I'm going to have to reduce and see what happens.

[Flint]

How's Einstein?

[chinca1]

Still up and down.  He's been almost all good but it looks like he has pain shortly after eating small amounts of hay.  On the bright side, he tried to eat that hay on his own during the day when he has access to critical care.  We might have to go back for a 2nd trimming.  It's just unfortunate since he went ~13 years without any dental trimmings.

Appreciate you asking.

Is your new boy bonding well? 

[Flint]

I do hope Einstein is continuing to hold his own, and remains stable over the Christmas period and beyond. Thinking of you both xx

[chinca1]

Thanks.  Hope yours are healthy and well over the holiday too. 

[Flint]

Do you have any update on Einstein? I do hope all is well with you both.

[chinca1]

The good news is that he's eating some hay throughout each week.  It's not quite every day and not a lot of volume.  He won't eat any pellets except for one kind that upset his stomach.  I think I am having trouble weaning him off the wet foods at this point.  He's also acting perfectly normal.  He's extremely energetic and you would not think he's 13-14 years old.

It's been two and a half months since the trimming and we are going back in this week.  They wanted him back after 2 months.  I'm not sure if he needs more trimming but since he hasn't been eating enough hay for such a long time, I assume he might.  My theory is I can be more aggressive about taking away the wet food once I know there's no medical reason he can't chew comfortably.  I sure hate to put him under anesthesia because of the risk but I think this is the best way to go.  His weight is up and he seems healthy so I hope he will pull through the procedure.

[Flint]

I'm so pleased that things seem to be going well for this wonderful boy. Please keep us updated xx

[Flint]

Any updates or information on Einstein? Been wondering how you are both getting on xx

[chinca1]

We went in for another trimming and it set us back a few weeks in terms of eating hay, pellets, or getting off the pain medicines. 

We're almost off all the pain medicine right now and he is eating some hay and a few pellets the last week.  I need to try to wean him off the critical care again.  I'm still feeding him breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  He's eating some on his own overnight right now but not every night. 

So, it's basically the same old story which, on the bright side, is good because he's alive and seems to be acting normal.  I am less optimistic that he will ever go back to his normal eating habits but you never know.