Lethargic Chinchilla

[aggiixo]

Hello!

I am new to this forum, I own a (unknown age) male chinchilla called Sid. Originally my flat mates pet, unfortunately for her he took a better liking to me and is now mine a couple of months ago he refused to eat, did not poop only peed and was very lethargic, laid on one of his shelves with his head hanging down. After a quick visit to the vet, he established that it was not a tooth problem and could be something to do with his guts since chinchillas are very sensitive, he received 3 different medications and liquid food which I gave him for 10 days. He got better very quickly before the medication even finished but I gave him it until it ran out. Up until yesterday he was absolutely fine, he is now lethargic, only sitting in his box, comes out to eat and drink mainly during the day? :/ still peeing but I do not see as many poops, I have also noticed that he lays on his side in his hide box, tilts his head a little when eating also, I have read that giving him natural yoghurt and vitamin C supplements could help him a little, I am planning another vet visit tomorrow but I'd like to get some chinchilla owner opinions as the vet is not a chinchilla expert and there is not one around here either.

Thanks!

[randomname]

Hi @agglixo. Welcome to the forum. I'm pretty new here too.

Am really sorry to hear about Sid not being well.

Have you been back to the vets yet? If so, what did they say?

When you went the first time, did they check the back teeth? This would have involved using an instrument, they can't do it by sight.

I have a couple of things to suggest, based on my experience of my own chinchilla & a guinea pig I had. Firstly, if they didn't check the molars with an instrument, they need to. Secondly, I'd recommend an x-ray of the mouth, just to check things further.

It would help if you could remember what the medications were (antibiotics? painkillers? anti inflammatory?) so you know what made him better.

It could still be a tooth issue, even if they can't see anything. My chin Dave had similar symptoms, my vet couldn't see it. I travelled to a specialist, who xrayed him & found an abscess growing at the root of the tooth (ie inside the gum, so not visible) unfortunately it was on the very back tooth, which is impossible to get to without breaking the jaw. The recovery would have been impossible after that op, apparently chins don't do so well after teeth removal, unlike rabbits or guinea pigs.

I would also look into the tmj muscle & chins - a quick google will give you some info. I had a guinea pig who had an issue with hers. It's rare in piggies so was lucky my vet spotted it. It's much more common in chins. It's the hinge muscle that helps the jaw bone move up & down. It can get arthritis or slacken over time, making eating painful & difficult. However you can give painkillers & syringe feed (my piggy had that for 2 years) & there's even a chin sling you can make to help! However, teeth can become a problem as they aren't being worn down.

Tilting his head suggests pain in that area, so I'd get him thoroughly checked out. Your vet should be able to refer you to a exotics specialist, & I'd recommend you take him as they will be much more able to help Sid. (I spent more in taxi fares than vet treatments for Dave, but the specialist knew straight away what to look for) You could also ring round all the vets in your area, sometimes you'll find a vet who just loves chins, maybe has their own & has gone the extra mile to learn more about them, but they don't advertise as a specialist (that's how I found my rabbit vet)

You probably know about stasis, & how quickly it can affect a chin. Your main priority has to be to get food into him. I'd recommend baby food - fruit or veg obviously, not chicken dinner! You can google it to see what other people use. You could try a warm mash of Sid's food, maybe feed by teaspoon. You could also break his food up into little pieces. Banana is useful too. Fresh herbs are easy to eat. Rosehips are great, they can often still eat them. Raisins & dried apricots are a favourite. Any soft, small foods you can get into him. It's more important he eats than gets a healthy diet at the moment. I would also recommend buying some Critical Care (white powder, add to water, provides electrolytes & prevents dehydration) & some Recovery Plus (green powder, mix with water, is a highly nutritional food substitute using hay as a base) both available online or from vets. (Online is cheaper) I always have some of these in as it's helpful for any herbivore not eating.

I don't know about yogurt or supplements, it was never mentioned by any forums, vets or rescues when I was looking for help. I'd be cautious & do through research before you try. All of the things I've suggested can be googled & found as common suggestions, & the critical care/recovery plus is always recommended by vets/forums/rescues, so I'd maybe start there. Has your vet offered you any? (usually in sachets or a container of white powder to mix with water) If not, I'd be worried they don't know enough about herbivores.

Hope some (or any) of this is useful to you. Sorry for the long reply! I hope Sid makes a full recovery soon & am sending him my best wishes. Let us know how he goes on, hopefully your appointment at the vets will shed more light on the problem. I looove chins, miss my Dave so much. Such fragile little fluff balls though.

Good luck little Sid, get better soon xx

[moletteuk]

Can you get him to the vet today? He stands a better chance if you can start Critical Care and Protexin and whatever else may help ASAP. (Critical Care and Protexin contain all the right vitamins and Pro and Pre-biotics needed to try to get through the stasis).

I haven't kept chinchillas but my degu experience makes me think that a more natural forage based diet would be good for his digestive issues, obviously I don't know what you currently feed him though.

I would get more investigations done at the vets since you are having a recurring problem, probably xrays.

[aggiixo]

We just got back from our vet visit and the vet came to the conclusion that it is a minor ear infection due to the head tilt when eating and slight loss of balance, his guts are still moving as they should as he pooped all over the vet then peed on my flat mate, and there has been pee all over the cage. I just have not been able to find any poop due to him sitting in his hide box most of the time. He has given me antibiotics (3x baytril 2.5% oral) to give twice a day with a syringe which is what Sid had before with his other medication for his guts to get him to eat again. I have purchased some baby food which he absolutely loved as well as some dried apricots. He has now gone to sleep and I'm hoping he'll start to feel better soon, I will also purchase some of the Critical Care and Recovery Plus today as it will come in use if anything like this happens again.

Thank you both for giving me advice and I hope Sid starts to feel better soon, also do you have any advice on keeping him cool? Due to the recent weather change my flat is very warm and humid and I think this might be adding to him feeling the way he is :/ I have been freezing some water in a jar and putting that in his cage which he has been licking and sitting next to but when I'm at work I can't change it as often.

I forgot to add that the vet checked his teeth too, as did the previous one when we had our other visit and neither of them found anything wrong.

[randomname]

Glad to hear he's not so bad. Hopefully he'll be right as rain in no time.
You can use a ceramic tile, put it in the fridge for a bit & he'll be able to lie down & cool himself. I use these, pop in freezer & they stay cool for hours

[randomname]

Shutting the curtains/blinds helps. Some good ideas here www.erodent.co.uk/KeepingCool.htm

[natnat899]

I put sand in the freezer for their sand bath - mine love it, granite slabs are also brilliant, you do need to make sure the frosting is wiped off before putting it into the cage. You can freeze bottles of water and place them on top of the cage, the cold air will drop - but it may also make it more humid.

I would highly recommend feeding recovery food over baby food, because it is specially formulated for chinchillas. Glen garden do a nutri-powder or there is oxbow critical care and supreme science recovery foods you can buy online. Your veterinary surgery may sell recovery food there if you didn't want to order online.

I hope he is feeling better x

[polly]

Please do not feed your chinchilla any fruit, fresh or dried as it can cause an adverse gut reaction and lead to bloat. Neither would I recommend the use of baby food, yoghurt or the like. Baytril can repress appetite in chinchillas, and is harsh on the gut. Speak to your vet and request Septrin as an alternative antibiotic - this is much gentler on stomachs.