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[Asikovsek]

Well I have just got done with the craziest day of my life today.......I rescued 6 chins and I have just gotten everyone settled.....here is the story.......I was speaking to a lady online about a couple of pedigrees that she had and wanted to sell because they had just moved...I get a frantic call late lastnight saying how one of her chinchillas had died....it was a beautiful pedigree ebony....when I asked what happened she told me that where they moved to had no AC!!!!....The chin had died from HEAT STROKE....and she wanted to know if I wanted all the other chins because she couldnt bare losing anymore of them...I freaked out and today drove 6 and 1/2 hours one way and about 7 back to get these chinchillas....When I got them you could tell how hot they were.....I made sure that on the ride down I made it FREEZING in the car...hahah...as soon as I got them in the car its like they were brought back to life...and now that they are here they are the most happiest chins ever.....they are so beautiful also... not what I expected they would look like....but I noticed that the one female standard when I brough them home and began weighing them and checking out their bods...this one female standard has NO FRONT TEETH....it looks like she just swallows her food whole...she looks in fine condition but I am going to take her to my vet to see what she suggests....the thing is is that she has a little 3 month old baby....I just didnt know what I could do because she cant eat hay because she cant chew it and it looks like she eats her food whole...the lady said nothing to me about this and honestly I was shocked I have never seen a chin that didnt have front teeth...anyone have an explanation or advice toward this I am stumped!!

[KCchins]

She will need to have her lower front teeth filed frequently because there are no top teeth to help keep the lower teeth trim.  She should be able to chew pellets with her molars.  However if her lower teeth haven't been trimmed it could prevent her from closing her mouth completely. 

[Jo Ann]

...this one female standard has NO FRONT TEETH

     With no front teeth, she is probably use to eating without them.  She could choke on pellets, but she needs to continue to chew to keep all the side teeth down to a normal level.  Hay will be good for this.

I wonder if she was born that way or if she lost them in an accident.  Regardless, I would not have put her in breeding, nor her kit.  If you can get back in touch with the lady I would ask.

I have one chin that was born with no upper front teeth, so I have to keep the lower two trimmed, or they will grow long enough to go into his nose and kill him.  But I have never had one that has no front teeth.

Jo Ann

[Asikovsek]

Lastnight after I posted I took her out and took a look in her mouth...she has no front or bottom teeth in the front!!....I moistened her pellets just a little bit, they still had a crunch, but she seemed to beable to eat better, I think I am going to do that every other night so that one night she can tough it to keep her molars down and the other night beable to eat a little better....I am trying to get ahold of her previous owner to find out how this happened or if it was birth defect...her baby who is a med ebony has all her teeth...so thank goodness if it was a birth defect that it didnt get passed on...I am shocked because the previous owner never told me...its not that big of a deal she is fairly older about 2-3 years old and she is in good shape so she has obviously found a way to overcome this obsticle...but I would have never put this poor chin through breeding...she is in a cage with her and her baby...when I picked up all of the chins, she handed me a hamster cage...I asked her why she was giving it to me, and she said that is what they dust bathed in.....in the back of my mind I was thinking "omg thank goodness I am taking these chins".....there was A TON of plastic tubing all inside their cages and newspaper that they had been eatting!!!...I took everything out!!....their poop is very small and hard, so I am going to wait a few days till they get used to me and then start them on ACTIVA yogurt to try to fix their digestive system....Joann do you have any other suggestions with the constipation??...or does anyone???....I have only had to deal with diahreaa not this....

[null]

The one with no front teeth should be fine with her pellets the way they are. Chins don't chew food with their front teeth, just like people dont. Their front teeth are a utility to take chunks off of larger pieces of food, but since the pellets are already bite sized it doesn't matter. If she didn't have any molars either, then she'd be in trouble.

[Asikovsek]

Yes I did speak with the owner who now decides to tell me about these chins now that I already have them .....that the female standard had her teeth ripped out somehow in a accident...and I noticed that the other male standard was walking funny and I asked her if he had had a stroke, and she tells me that he was acting funny on tuesday night and she does think he had a stroke from all the heat and no air conditioning...i love how this information just slipped her mind....so i am taking them all to the vet to get them all checked out because I want to make sure that they are ok before i put them anywhere near my other chins...this has been so stressful as it is!!...and then she tells me that the one beige could be pregnant but she doesnt know and I havent been around long enough to have any idea I just got these chins yesterday spir of the moment rescue....does anyone know any other ways to know if this female could be pregnant besides weight gain...I dont want to wait that long incase there is something wrong with the babies...because today she has been randomly making screatches and she is not in labor and it couldnt have been good at all to have a prenant chin in 90 degree weather....I DONT KNOW IM GOING CRAZY WITH ALL OF THIS!!!...she never weighed her chins so she couldnt give me weights of the chin previously....I care so much for these chins and I rescued them all from dieing but I am not used to not knowing the status's of the chins....I have always got my chins from other breeders who were just as on top of the status of thier chins as i am, I have never done a rescue before, and geez is it rough!!

[Jenova]

You are so good to have done this and I wish you the best of luck.

[Asikovsek]

thanks its rough but it will be all worth it cuz these chinnies are getting taken care of and they have nice cold AC...lol

[KCchins]

Be sure the chins are drinking a lot of water if they have hard small poo.  You might even consider putting half unsweetened apple juice and half water in an extra water bottle to encourage them to drink more.  I would also give all the rescue chins acidophilus.  It will help their digestive systems which have been stressed by all the change. 

[Asikovsek]

Update, everyone is doing great, and are spunky as ever...what a week can do....they are so happy at their new home with me!!!...and it seems like overnight we have gotten bonded..lol...they are so friendly now and always want to play... ...it made the stress of the rescue worth it!

[Jenova]

I'm happy everything worked out!

Just out of curiosity... what sort of toys do you give a chin with no front teeth? They won't be able to chew normal things.

[Donna]

You have a good heart and must be a very special person to do this. To give the toothless one a treat that would give some help with the hard stool, cut a couple little tiny pieces of fresh apple and she can pick that up like she does her pellets. Can you imagine what a violent accident it must have been to tear out her front and lower teeth (SHUDDER). She has had a horrible life until you came along. I had a chin once with a tooth problem and I put his hay in a little coffe grinder that made it almost a powder. He licked it up with his tongue until his bottom teeth grew back. He loved the taste of alpha hay. Good luck with that poor girl, I know she appreciates you help.

[KCchins]

Great news !