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[sarahlydear]

ok so ive had my chinchilla(Herby) for a little over a month and i was SO not prepared, ive had dozens of rabbits and rats and other rodents and so did approximatly the same standards of proofing for my room, FAILURE and unforunantly lil Herby has gotten into some bad for him things, the things i know about are cords, erasers, tinfoil, leather, plastic bags, and other things, but around the first 2 weeks i had him he escaped out of his cage during the night and so i dont know what he ate but we're fairly sure he ate 1/2 of one of my pills, lamictrine, i freaked out at first but then he kept acting fine and hyper and now we've finally gotten everything situated and have an understanding but hes been eating less and goes back and forth sometimes he'll eat all of it sometimes he only eats 3/4 of it, which is still a bit but less and im kinda worried, he gets a risin a day and always has hay that he eats, which i tried cutting down to see if hed eat more which he kinda did but im still worried. hes a very durable fellow and survived a month with me which says quite a bit, since i had no idea how smart, obnoxious, flexible and sneaky they can be! But hes a great pet now and everyone loves him and i really want him to be okay but im still wary so any advise please help!
right now he weighs 1lbs 8oz or 679grams

[cusunfireguy]

Well, I wouldn't know what to tell you other than try to locate a Chinchilla vet in your area incase you need him.  Some vets that work on chinchilla's only work on certain days and such.  And yes, they are extremely smart and will figure stuff out pretty darn quick.  Really hope he will be ok!  There are some really good experts here that will get you some advice really soon!

Good luck to you!

Steven

[chinclub]

Welcome to the world of chinchillas!  Glad to hear that you have gotten your room chin-proofed now.  If it has been awhile since he ate the pill I think you are in the clear.  I feel like you would have seen symptoms within 24 hours of that.

I wouldn't worry about him eating more some days than others as long as it isn't getting progressively less each day.  You do need to watch his poops for now.  The things that he has eaten have the potential for causing a blockage.  If you notice less poop or smaller poop along with less eating over several days you need a vet.  Like Steven said, go ahead and find a good vet now.  Chin vets are hard to find and you don't want to be looking for the first time during an emergency.

[cusunfireguy]

Totally agree!  Chins are infamous for not really showing symptoms until it is too late.  We wouldn't want that to happen to you and give you a bad taste with this being your first chinchilla.  Now that you "think" you have your room chin proofed, he will find something else!  LOL    Speaking of which, I "thought" I had my fireplace chin proofed but as I was typing this message, one of mine figured out a totally new way to get by the screen!  SMARTYPANTS!!!

Steven

[sarahlydear]

i know and he does occasionally escape but now he pretty much goes in to prove he can then trots back out to rub it in my face and sadly i will admit i did resort to the hairdyer...my room in proofed so that id have to take Everything down to get him so i stuck a dyer in and now he comes out a lot easier and we dont have very many problems anymore...probably not the best tactic but it worked. 
i live in a small town so a vet may be a problem but the one we do have  is amazing, shes saved many a small animals lives, including my own, but ill keep looking

[Jo Ann]

    If you have only one vet in the area, talk with him/her and find out if he/she is willing to learn about chinchillas and how to care for them, just in case there is an emergency.

The two books I loaned my 2 vets (two different exotic pet vets) were "The Joy of Chinchillas" by Lani Richey of California Chins at www.cachins.org  and After 40 Years Alice Kline Talks About Chinchillas" by Alice Kline  found on the M.C.B.A. website.  These are a little pricey at first glance, but worth their weight in gold when you need them!   

   Jo Ann