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[Jasonred79]

Just started him on antibiotics a few days ago for a foot infection.
The bad part is, I was outstation for a bit, so I put in a lot of food in his bowl, and now I'm not sure whether he ate properly or not. I tossed it all out and put in a fresh helping and noted now much I put, so I'll be certain tomorrow.
Anyhow... what to do if he's really stopped eating? Stop the antibiotics? Or just feed him lots of sugary treats to keep up his strength until he's completed the antibiotics? Or what? I'm getting desperate here.
He's still acting as normal, very energetic, struggles like crazy when it's time for medicine.

[GrayRodent]

The best thing to do is weigh him. Compare his weight to how much he weighed at the vet when you took him in. Unfortunately scales can read differently so it will be hard to do accurately but if you haven't been weighing him regularly that is the best you've got. There probably will be some weight loss while on the medications from stress and the fact antibiotics damage microbes required for digestion. Your goal is make sure your pet's bowels stay flowing and this will minimize that damage which will reverse once he is off the meds.

The other thing to look for is fecal output. If there is no fecal output in a 12 hour period see if you can make an emergency vet appointment and begin treating for acute GI stasis.

Do not feed treats at all at this point. Sugar can cause bloat which can make the problem much worse and potentially kill your chinchilla. You should be feeding a recovery diet. The most popular is Oxbow Critical care. Get instructions from your veterinarian on how to use this and what the dose should be for your pet and obtain a feeding syringe and supplement his diet while he is on the antibiotics. If you don't have access to these things your next best option is to mush up pellets and try to feed off of a spoon but this doesn't always work.

Most chinchillas do not tolerate being fed medicine well. It is normal for them to go crazy and struggle and the more you do it the more they'll better they get at fighting you. Do not stop the medication. Stopping it before the end of the prescribed period can cause the infection to become resistant to antibiotics once you have started. This can require stronger dosages of antibiotics to fight the infection which is much worse.

I'm sorry you're having trouble. It is not uncommon for this to occur through the course of antibiotic medication and for it to reverse itself after the course of medication. It is a dangerous condition that must be properly managed. The longer you wait the worse it will become and if you wait too long you can lose your pet so act quickly.

[Jasonred79]

ooh, caught him eating his pellets, and heard him drop a poop pellet, so, good news.
I think he might be a rodent genius after all, after some consideration, I think the reason his cage has so little poo poo in it, and his food pellet stores remain high, is because he has been eating his poo poo!!! ... ok, so maybe that doesn't make him a genius. Since even a rabbit will do that without prompting, so I guess a sick chin getting an urge to eat his own poo poo isn't so out of this world. huh.

[GrayRodent]

Make sure his food consumption is normal and his weight stays normal (within 10% of his normal weight). This is not something to mess with. I've seen several pets die from what appeared to be antibiotic induced GI stasis on this board.

[BLS Chins]

What meds is he on? Are you giving probiotics? If not you should be. Proviotics will help keep his gut moving and help with his appetite. I agree with weighing him to moniter weigh loss. If he does loose weight you make have to syringe feed him. Its normal for a chin to eat some of their poop but not a bunch. If there isnt poop in his cage, not a good sign or if he is eating that much poop also not a good thing. What food are you currently feeding?

[Jasonred79]

Giving him standard food pellets, of which I'm now monitoring his food intake, he has had a DRAMATIC food intake reduction, but his weight is about the same (634g).
I mashed up some pellets and droppings and syringed him some of it.
I'm not too sure about probiotics... AFAIK, the bacteria in probiotic foods are completely different from the bacteria that herbivores use to digest cellulose, is that really a good idea?
Am going to bring him to the vet when they open in a few hours.

He's completed his antibiotics, and he *IS* eating, though in much smaller portions than normal, possibly due to a combination of antibiotics killed his good bacteria, tummy upset from being force fed antibiotics, and stress. Possibly the stress is a key factor, since when I cuddle him and handfeed him, he *DOES* eat some pellets normally.
Behaviourwise, very energetic still. hmm.

What's the minimum amount of food intake a chin should be consuming per day? I think he overeats normally, so maybe it's not so bad as I think it is?

[GrayRodent]

Don't worry about overeating. Chinchillas are good at regulating their diet as long as they aren't given unlimited access to treats or junk. The most important metric at this time is your pet's weight. If it hasn't changed then you are doing well.

There are probiotic formulations available specifically for herbivores that are often prescribed by veterinarians. They have been shown to be safe.

Monitor your pet's food intake closely for the next five days. His system should recover on its own as long as his intestines stay flowing. Food intake for a pet is going to be highly subjective so I'll say the proper intake is whatever it is that keeps your pet at a healthy weight throughout its life and that amount may vary. The minimum amount is going to be whatever keeps the feces at a healthy consistency (not too dry or wet, which is partially dependent on the volume but is also a function of bowel transit time). So if you're seeing a decrease in fecal output along with dry or unusually small feces you should supplement.

[Jasonred79]

vet put popsicle on oxbow critical care. Unfortunatly, vet did not tell me how much to give him! I specifically questioned the vet, and she said follow the instructions on the box. But the box has no instructions! The shop only had packets of it for sale, and the packet said "each pack is meant for the daily dose for a healthy 1.5kg rabbit"

Anyhow, I think I over-force fed him this afternoon and got him angry with me, so I'm trying to break his feedings up into several different times to give him time to digest it. He seems to be comfortable with about 2ml of the stuff (1 part oxbow 2 parts water), each feeding, I thought I would give him like 3-4 feedings a day. Is this ok? I feel I should be giving him more, but he's very uncooperative after the 2nd syringe. Maybe I should do 6-7 feedings a day?

[GrayRodent]

No you didn't overfeed. If you gave the whole thing to him in one feeding that would be overfeeding. Overfeeding is dangerous it can lead to aspiration of the stomach contents into the lungs.

You don't have to feed 7 times a day unless he is absolutely not eating on his own and is very sick. Because he is eating on his own and is borderline okay I'd recommend 1-2 times a day as a supplement. I've never heard of it being sold in packs though.

My recommendation is to feed 5cc per feeding and feed once in the morning and once in the evening today. If there is improvement by tomorrow reduce it to one feeding per day. If his droppings look healthy by the end of tomorrow discontinue syringe feeding.

If he has completely stopped eating on his own you'll have to be much more aggressive and call your vet for additional medication and instructions. That would be unlikely and worst case.

I am not a veterinarian nor an expert at this. If you have any doubts or questions please consult your vet and ask specific questions.

[Jasonred79]

He seems to have more or less completely stopped eating PELLETS, but he will still happily munch on dried strawberry or apple twigs.
He's gassy and constipated. Vet gave me some liquid to give him too. Popeiche or something. 2x a day.

There's no way I can get 5cc into him per feeding, unless I want a SERIOUSLY unhappy chin on my hands... I think between the constipation and the gas, I need to give him many small feedings instead of 2 big feedings...

Oh, one more issue... when syringe feeding critical care (bought 3x 36g packets!), the spilt portion gets on his fur and hardens causing matted hair and stuff. How do I clean his fur again? Dust baths don't seem to work. Should I give him a wet towel bath?

[GrayRodent]

Please stop feeding treats or anything besides hay and pellets and critical care. I'm serious about this. Popsicle can die from gas and constipation. Sugar dramatically increases gas and this can cause a bowel obstruction which can be fatal. I know of more than three pets who have died from complications from antibiotic induced GI stasis.

Because you are observing gas I will recommend one drop of simetecone 3 times a day. Others have reported success with this.
If your pet really is having a lot of trouble it is advantageous to feed in smaller dosages multiple times per day but it will increase your pet's stress because you are doing it more often. And stress can contribute to the problem.

Use a damp washcloth to clean him up when you are done.

[GrayRodent]

ALSO because he has stopped eating his pellets you should make sure his daily intake of critical care is as prescribed. I think one packet per day will be way too much for him. He needs to be getting the correct amount of food for his weight.

[Chinsight]

Our vet gave us Oxbow critical care and reading the ingredients it was all GMO's. When our chin had her teeth trimmed she wouldn't eat so we mixed some organic oatmeal, organic baby food, organic yogurt, organic molasses, and a splot of honey, mixed and put it in a syringe put her in a towel and she ate it no problem. She ended up liking the hand feeding maybe because she liked being immobilized in the towel she felt safe.  We also gave her a little watered down Pedialyte which she liked, it rinsed down her oatmeal and kept her hydrated.

[GrayRodent]

Critical Care is perfectly fine. It has been used for years and saved many furry lives. I've used it myself. Do not feed a sick chinchilla the ingredients you have listed. Their digestive systems need simple compounds they can digest easily. Otherwise you can kill your chinchilla by upsetting that fine balance of bacteria that must thrive in their intestines and introduce gas that can cause bowel obstructions.
The digestive tract doesn't care if it's genetically modified. It just needs certain materials to be present that it needs to function.

[Jasonred79]

Popsicle is doing much better, did some poo poo today, yay! Not really eating his pellets or hay, but he's thankfully decided that he likes Oxbow critical care after all, so I don't need to syringe feed him anymore, right now I mix in less water so it turns to a mash rather than a liquid, let it cool under the AC, and I put it on my finger like ice cream and he eats it off my finger on his own. Yay! So, pretty sure he's out of danger. Though if he doesn't go back to pellets and hay he'll bankrupt me, Oxbow CC ain't cheap... also, the shop doesn't have much stock of it!

As far as the genetically modified vs organic debate goes...  most organic food advocates don't realize that the CORN that is eaten by everyone is not natural whatsoever... ALL modern farmed corn is almost certainly a hybrid or mutation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zea_%28genus%29#Origin_of_maize_and_interaction_with_teosintes