(no subject)
i am having some problems with my chinchilla, and i was wondering if any of you could help me?
i have been posting on another chin forum, so i will copy and paste here under a cut.
(what i say is in bold, and what others say is in italics)
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?
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.)
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.
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
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?
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
anymore advice? please?
i have been posting on another chin forum, so i will copy and paste here under a cut.
(what i say is in bold, and what others say is in italics)
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?
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.)
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.
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
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?
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
anymore advice? please?