If he is eating willingly, don't force feed him ... it will cause him to run from you.
The problem is that he is not willingly eating nearly enough (at first not at all). I was hopeful with the critical care in his cage because he ate some, but then he never touched it again. I have put only a small amount of food in his cage (an amount that in the past he could have easily eaten in a single night) so I can determine whether it's been eaten or not - but it hasn't been touched. Last night and this morning he *did* eat a
tiny bit of hay on his own and I was hopeful.. but only a few blades are gone.
The force feedings were at the recommendation of my vet because Hermes had barely eaten anything for almost two days. We are supposed to feed him every 4 hours or so, but with work and sleeping there are plenty of chances for Hermes to get hungry and go eat on his own. By the way, our vet does claim to have a lot of experience with exotics, and some with chinchillas. So far he seems pretty competent.
Hermes certainly doesn't like the force feedings, and I was worried that I am causing him undue stress and mistrust, but he still greets me in the morning and lets me tickle him, so I'm hoping that he knows we only do it because we love him.
What brand pellets are you using?
Oxbow chinchilla deluxe, which is the brand he has always eaten
What kind of "grass" are you using?
Oxbow western timothy hay. I also tried offering Petco brand timothy hay. We've switched brands a few times since we've had him and it has never made a difference. He likes it all.
Smaller or fewer droppings is not a good sign ... it is usually one of the first "trouble is brewing" signs you will get that your chin is or is getting sick.
You say they {poops/feces} are getting smaller ... are they dryer also? are they fewer in number?
They were smaller and fewer and drier because he wasn't eating. Yesterday we had several successful force feedings, and his droppings looked *really* good. They looked like they belonged to a healthy Hermes and I was very encouraged.. That's why I'm baffled. He's not constipated. He seems to be perfectly healthy other than the fact that he won't eat or drink.
Its day 4 of him not eating willingly, and he's still quite strong.
Has he lost any weight?
That I'm not sure. If he has, I haven't noticed. He was weighed in on Wednesday at the vet's at 1 lbs 4 oz I believe.. don't quote me on that.
Is his the outline of his back bone beginning to show?
Nope, he's still pretty plump.
Any ideas? I mean, it could be stress from the Thanksgiving stuff and the new chinchilla, but thats all I can come up with and I would think hed be over it by now. But, as I said, he was just a tiny bit lethargic before all of those events. It's hard to see the world from the tiny guy's point of view, but i can't think of any other stress factors. No kids and no other pets besides Guacamole. We try to give him as much attention as possible, but its always gentle and if he is hiding in his house/tunnel, we try to leave him alone.
I wish he could just tell me what's wrong