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[marecreatura]

My husband and I have had our chinchilla for 6 years now (since he was a baby), his name is Ukariah and he’s a black velvet unaltered male with a really good temperament

He just recently became sick. He stopped pooping, became lethargic and started to pull the hair off his arms. We brought him to the vet, who suggested we give him some antibiotics (for 10-12 days) and force feed him some oxbow critical care fine grind. This was a few days ago, and while he’s pooping again (not much, they are malformed and hard) he’s not eating on his own, and drinking very little. While in the cage, he’s lethargic and sleeps a lot – but when we take him out to play, he acts like nothing is wrong with him! He still runs around and jumps and plays.

We’re also dumbfounded as to how he got sick – as we take really good care of him and feed him good food and fresh water. He’s got an enormous cage filled with toys so he won’t be bored!

We contacted a chinchilla breeder in the area, who told us she had a similar problem with one of her chins, where he just stopped eating, and she had to nurse him with the fine grind for about a month before he started eating again. There was no obvious reason for the sudden appetite loss!

Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice?

[Jo Ann]

   Hi!  And welcome to the Chinchilla Club Forum!

It sounds like he is dehydrated and the digestive system is trying to shut down ... two things you do not want with a chinchilla.

For fluids, I would try pydealite ... Gerber baby foods has them in the single serving size ... apple flavored.  Do keep in mind, once the bottle is open, it is only good for 24 hours.  Fed by dropper or by extra bottle on the cage.

You might try a little bit of cranberry juice in his regular waterbottle.

To help get the digestive system going good, I would give him one almond.  (Normally I do not suggest nuts of any kind.)

Yogurt, flavored with strawberries or blueberries seems to be the flavors the chins like best.  I let them have as much as they like.  Yogurt is an acquired taste, so it may take a few tries.  I have one chin that will even cry for it.  I get the single serving kind in that also.  Keep in mind yogurt is a milk product, so it can only be given halfway between doses of antibiotics.  (At least 3 hours before or 3 hours after the antibiotics.)

Keep us posted!


   Jo Ann

[Jenova]

I had this problem with Chong about 2 years ago. I was given a medicine that was to get his gut working, I don't know what it's called, but it was also given to my rabbit when he was neutered and stopped eating.

I gave him that medicine by syringe, the critical care and my favourite thing: baby food. I was dubious to give this as it contains fresh fruit, but not eating can kill a chin so I thought it was worth it. I gave him banana, apple and oats baby food and he loved it, couldn't get enough. I also ended up giving him a different chinchilla food I had as I was trying anything, and he started eating it. He's eating this new food to this day and is very healthy now.

Recently my rabbit has been really ill but I couldn't find that baby food, so I boiled oats with water and a few bits of peeled apple and banana in it. then I pureed it in a blender and let it cool to room temperature.

[marecreatura]

thanks guys!

so far we've tried the blueberry yogurt treat and he LOVES it
we'll try the baby food if we can find it and maybe a grain switch as well...
he seems to be getting better, but he's still not eating on his own

however, now he's developed a new problem :/
his penis keeps hanging out, and the end of it is really hard and rough (not sure if it's always like that or not) and after trying to extend it myself with some vaseline, i couldn't find a hair ring that could cause it - it just...hangs out. i know it's not supposed to do that, so now we're worried there's something wrong with his penis

[marecreatura]

okay, so after some research it seems like he might have a prolapsed penis. it's not red or swollen at this point, it's just really calloused and won't retract. we're going to start applying polysporin to him tonight and do a more thorough check for hair ring (tried it myself, but i'll wait until the husband comes home to help to be sure).

he has a three level cage, so we're going to try and block off the tops of it until he gets better, and switch the care fresh with some pillow cases...does this sound about right? is there anything else i should be doing?

[marecreatura]

okay, one last question - should i use KY jelly or polysporin? the KY jelly i have is water based and is meant for personal lubrication, is this safe?

i have also put a thin sheet over the top of his cage for privacy, since his igloo won't fit up there...and oddly enough, all he wants is to peek out of it! yet when he's at the bottom the cage, he only wants his igloo...strange, strange boy <3

and also, he starting to take really small treats, like a nibble of a craison here and a nibble of vitakraft dandelion drop there (his faves - and only nibbles, not anything signifigant, and only once every few days or so) and LOVES the yogurt - but still no grain or hay

we get paid on friday - should i just go ahead and try a different brand of grain altogether? right now we're using LM animal farms classic chinchilla food, as well as kaytee timothy hay - should we be using something a bit more, um, tasty - so he'll want to eat?
we're still keeping with the fine grind, and he absolutely hates it! and the antibiotics are done as of next monday. we're not sure how long to keep with the find grind before it's futile...as it is, we REALLY can't afford another vet bill

[kneesaa]

You might want to stop feeding him the dandelion drops, they have way to much sugar in them. My older chin male Peaka loves them, but they were making him sick and at the time I didn't know about the dandelion drops. I found out on this forum someone else had the same problem with their chin and it was from the dandelion drops. Once I quite giving it to him he was better. I know that your chin has different problems, but the dandelion drops might be helping the problem. Good Luck Shannon

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I would really try to get a better pellet.
You can also try grounding up alfalfa leaves into a powder and add pediolite to syringe feed him.
He may go for they hay rather than the pellets if he's stopped eating for any length of time.
If you can't get it into him any other way try squishing as much as you can with a raisin or craison. If he's trying the treats it may be the only way to get anything into him.You can also put it in some yogurt and let him lap it off a dish.
The key is to get the fibre into him to get his gut working again.

[Jo Ann]

   Poor baby, he's really been through some rough times.

his penis keeps hanging out, and the end of it is really hard and rough (not sure if it's always like that or not) and after trying to extend it myself with some vaseline, i couldn't find a hair ring that could cause it - it just...hangs out. i know it's not supposed to do that, so now we're worried there's something wrong with his penis

Did the vet say it was a prolapsed penis?  Or is this something someone told you that is not a vet or that has not seen him?
Please check the picture below and let me know if this is what your little one looks like.  The picture below shows a male chin with peronies (a broken penis).  This is one of my chins.

Vaseline only coats the out side and causes anything and everything to stick to it.  {I made that mistake myself the first time.  }  You might want to use Neosporin or any triple antibiotic, these will soak into the skin and help with any possible infection or bacteria that might be trying to build up.

The head of his penis needs to stay soft like the the rest of his skin ... you may have to put Neosporin on it 2 or 3 times daily.

Let's hope it's just a hair ring.  I advise two people when checking for a hair ring, especially those who are not use to having to check for them.  There is a video that shows how to do it properly, but I can't remember where it is.  I believe it was mentioned in one of the articles written in the Chinchilla Club magazine.   If the hair ring has been there a long time it may be between the folds of skin  ... in that case, I would suggest a vet removes it.  If the hair/fur is light colored, it may blend into the skin color, so you need a good strong light  and/or a magnifying glass.

   Jo Ann

[marecreatura]

when he was checked out by the vet a week ago, there wasn't a problem with his penis - so she didn't notice anything...but over the past few days, we have noticed it hanging out a little more then usual. he does it sometimes after cleaning himself, and it didn't seem like a big deal. but after inspecting it, it seemed a little...chapped? so both my husband and i did a hair ring inspection, and found nothing! however, when it's fully extended, it kind of leans to the left...doesn't seem broken, just leans. he's never mated or anything like that, so i don't know how he could've broken it. he's still peeing just fine
so now i'm just applying polysporin when i see it's out and dry, which usually happens in the afternoon, and then it goes back in and seems fine until the next day. we'll be taking him to the vet this week-end when we get paid, and we'll see what the vet says! we're pretty baffled

[Jenova]

Good luck.

[Jo Ann]

   If it just leans to the side and it can be retracted, it should not be broken.  If he is not in breeding it is probably not broken. 

When it is broken, it is obvious and it can not retract to it's normal form.     Also, there is usually a frequent drip, drip, drip of urine because it is hard for him to keep control of it.

How often does he get a dust bath?  Once the heat come on in your home, the humidity goes way down and dust baths are not needed as frequently.  A dust bath absorbs the excess lanolin in the fur, but when over done can cause drying of the skin.

   Jo Ann

Keep us posted!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

My late chin Cody had teeth problems and was not able to keep himself cleaned all the time. His stayed out for weeks one time.Once he was feeling better it went back.
I just kept it clean and put some sporine on it.