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[Leslie]

This type of post totally sucks and I can't believe I have to post it.... 

Yesterday I was cleaning the cages and I had taken the water bottle off TBone's cage to wash it.  I came back and he was chewing the wire spring thing that holds the bottle on.  I tried to remove it from his mouth and now in retrospect maybe that is the beginning of the problem.  I kind of jiggled it slightly and he let go....but then I looked at his nose (cause it was poking out of the cage) and I saw a tiny bit of blood coming out.  I grabbed him and grabbed a kleenex and dabbed his nose and the slightest amount came out....and that was it.  I heard him breathe once and it sounded like there might have been a bit more in there, but after that I could hear him breathing normally.

I cleaned his cage out and set him in the play area but he was not himself.  He sat in this pile of shavings the whole 45 minutes, eating the shavings (totally strange for him).  When I put him back, he went into his house and stayed there for the rest of the night (again, completely unlike him).  This morning I went to check on him and he's still in his house but I can see I don't think he left it all night.  There are no poops at all on the bottom of the cage and no pee spots.  His food and hay and water are untouched.  The full water bottle is not unusual, he's never drank much water before, but the hay is his favourite thing to tear apart.

He is sleeping now and he will be sleeping for at least another 7 hours (he is such a sleeper - there is no waking him during the day).  There is no way I can do a further assessment of him until this evening....

Does this sound really bad?  Should I be taking him to a vet right now?  Should I wait until this evening and see if he's back to normal?  I do have an emergency vet I could go to, but I doubt he really knows any more about chinchillas than I do.  I saw him once before and he was very nice, but it was a waste of time and money and unnecessarily aggravated my chinchilla for nothing.  I don't want to do that again.  It's not the money issue, it's more that even if something IS wrong, I doubt he would know how to fix it.    It sure sucks to be in a city of 700,000 people and not have one decent chinchilla vet.

anyhow please help.  If you have suggestions for some kind of supplement I should be feeding him, please give me some advice about how to feed a chinchilla that refuses to eat anything except pellets and raisins too....this guy is the pickiest eater in the world.  And it needs to be something I can buy that isn't a specialty item....again, this city isn't a chinchilla-friendly city.

thank you.

[jmrothermel]

You definately need to try to get that chinchilla into a very chin knowledgeable vet ASAP.  When a chinchilla stops eating/drinking/pooping, well then something called stasis can set in, and well I don't want to scare you but death is pretty iminent when that happens.  If they're digestive system isn't moving then he could die VERY quickly.

Do you have any critical care on hand?  Definately start hand feeding him, NOW.  If you don't have any critical care on hand, I will give you the home made recipe that Jo Ann had given me when my chin was sick.  This will tie you over, but CC is something you should keep on hand - it just has more nutritional content packed into it per serving than what you can make at home.

This is the advice that Jo Ann had given me:

Pedialyte will help hydrate him faster than regular water ... Gerber puts out a little single-serving 4 pack that is apple-flavored.   Once pedialyte is opened, it is only good for 24 hours ... the single-servings save on waste. 
Do not mix anything with the pedialyte.  Place in a separate bottle in his cage.

Ocean Spray cranberry juice (not cocktail) mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with water can be used to coax him to drink more fluids.

An extra bottle of plain water is good to keep up at all times.

I make a "home-made critical care" ...

Healthy hand full of Alfalfa hay
2 Tablespoons chinchilla pellets (Mazuri, preferably)
Place in blender high-speed, until in a powder form.

Add: (found in health food store)
1 capsule acidophilus - Open and add to above.(Refrigerate after opening)
1 teaspoon Raw wheat germ (Refrigerate in airtight container)
1 teaspoon papaya powder (optional)
Mix. Store in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator.

Methods of feeding...
1) Mix with water and feed with syringe or glass eye dropper.
Just put a little at a time on his lips and let him take it down at his own speed.
2) Mix with Nutra Cal (cat/dog section of pet store)
about the size of a pea, making mini footballs the size of raisins.
He will probably eat these like a treat.  (Refrigerate.)

If worst comes to worst, at least start with the hay and pellets and liquidize them in the blender until you get the other ingredients.  Get SOMETHING in him.  Again, I can only restate how fast chinnies can go south, and how quickly.  And also try to get him to the vet, they're the ones that can help him most.  We can give you suggestions here, but it doesn't replace a vet visit.

Good luck, and I'm keeping your chinny in my thoughts.  I just had a sick one I almost lost a few weeks ago, so I've been there.  Please keep us updated on his progress, we always want to know how chins are doing.  Best wishes,

Jacqui

[jmrothermel]

Oh another thing I forgot to post.  Do you have a gram scale?  Have you been able to weigh him and see if he's been losing weight?  If you don't have one, its something you might want to invest in, usually before you see external symptoms you will know something is wrong with a chin by their weight.

Jacqui

[Jenova]

Good luck!

Try tempting him with a raisin?

[Jo Ann]

Be sure to get some triple antibiotic ointment (Neosporin) and dab some on the outside of his nose.  This will help to heal it and keep it soft so that it is not so painful for him.  Less pain, the more likely he will be to eat.

The fluids and getting some food in him is the best thing you can do for him till you can get him to a knowledgable vet ... which should be a.s.a.p.

You might try putting some acidophilus inside a raisin and give it to him.  The acidophilus is to get the good bacteria in his digestive system going ... keeping his poops and pee going is a MUST!   If not, he can go down fast. 

Petra Malt ... normally used for fur balls in cats ... I would give him some, about the size of a pea ... this should help get his system moving if there is a blockage.

One thing I usually do not suggest, but Lani, with CA Chins had Joyce use it when nothing else seemed to be working ... give him one almond ... if nothing else seems to be getting his system going.

Please keep us posted.

 
Jo Ann

[Leslie]

Hi everyone

Well he ate a raisin yesterday afternoon and then finally came out for a few nibbles of food and water in the evening. He did poop and pee last night (albeit very small amounts - again though he's always had tiny poops and drank tiny amounts of water).

 You know - I think he's just really, really, really angry with me  !  I can't believe it.  It's like he's holding a grudge or something.  Poor little guy!

so far it's looking better though.

Jo Ann, how do I get the acidopholous into the raisin?

[Jo Ann]

Just cut it into 2 or 4 pieces, dab the inside part (moist part) of the raisin in the acidophilus, push it back together and hand it to your little one.

Make sure you refrigerate the  acidophilus after opening!

Mad or not ... got to keep the poop and pee going ... the more the better for him.

 
Jo Ann

[Jenova]

I'm so glad for you both that he's eating!
I've found that Cheech gets angry at me for even the slightest things. Once he was trying to get somewhere he shouldn't have been, I picked him up by the base of his tail but my hand was a little sweat and I pulled a bit of his fur out. Oh, he hated me for days after that and it took me a bit of papaya to win him round.

I know it's bad to feed your chinchilla too many treats, but in this instance I would just be happy that he's eating. Once again good luck. 

[jmrothermel]

I'm glad to hear that he is at least eating something.  Keep that system moving!

Keep us updated on his progress

Jacqui

[Leslie]

Hello everyone!

Well, TBone is back to his normal self, thank goodness!  What a scare!  It's unfortunate that it takes something like this for me to realize that I need to stock Critical Care and a syringe for emergency feedings.

I don't know if this is something that might be frowned upon, but I took some raisins and soaked them in some water that had a papaya tablet dissolved into it....they plumped up so they were really juicy.  He ate one of those right away, and I gave him another after a few hours and he seemed to get steadily more energetic after that.

He's back to his cute, lovable self!   

[Jenova]

Aww, I'm so glad for you. Give him a ticke or a hug from me. 

[Jo Ann]

When you have a little one that is sick and/or you are endanger of loosing them ... we often have to do things we would not normally do (just like the one almond) ... I should not think there would be any problem giving him the raisin soaked in papaya water ... all three will help to get his system going until he's completely back to normal.  But, I would not let him get use to it ... I don't think it would be good for him on a constant basis.

We are just all glad to here he's headed in the right direction!   

 
Jo Ann

[Leslie]

Yes, for sure giving a chin a bloated soaked raisin was only an emergency thing to do.  They are so sensitive, you can see that even one has an affect of them.  Sensitive feelings, sensitive digestive systems.....they're so sensitive it hurts me heart to love something so sweet and vulnerable!