Severely Underweight Chinchilla

[advicerequired]

Does anyone have any advice about what's best to feed for chinchilla weigh gain? One severely underweight chin here, all advice welcome.

[winic1]

There are several chin-experienced members who can help you with advice, but it would help them if you could give us more info to work with.

How old is your chin? how long have you had it? Has it had any health problems or illnesses recently? What have you been feeding it so far? What kind of cage and environment does it have? Does it have any companions? How long have you been keeping chins, what kind of experience do you have so far? Anything else you can tell us?

Knowing the current set up and feeding, as well as any history you can give info on, will make it easier for the chin people to give you their best advice on what to do to help your chin reach a healthy weight. So, if you can, please post more information. Too much is better than not enough, so feel free to tell us everything you can.

[moletteuk]

Also, has the weight been falling? Have you taken him/her to the vet for a dental check or other health check?

[randomname]

 Hi welcome to the forum.
Totally agree with the above posts - can we have some more information please? We need to know more about your chin, their history, health, diet, accommodation etc ('photos are very helpful too - plus I loove seeing them) Is she/he having problems eating? Have he/she seen a vet? 

[deguconvert]

Hello, and welcome to the forum! There is a real concern for/about potential dental issues. Chinchillas, like degus, can develop overgrowth in their molars, the teeth at the back of the mouth used to grind their foods; because just like the incisors at the front, the molars continue to grow all the time. This can result in spurs, pointed spiky growths, that twist and wind, growing in any and every direction. That means that they can grow into the cheek tissues, or the tongue, over or under the tongue, even meshing together to prevent closure of the mouth, or blocking the throat so foods and water become impossible to swallow. These need the attention of an experienced vet to be cut off the molar, and then the edges smoothed so as not to cut the soft tissues of the mouth after. This condition can reoccur, and is closely linked to genetics and diet. They are difficult to see just by looking into an opened mouth, so a scope is needed, and often mild sedation. You really need to have a vet look at your chinchilla, and then address diet. Likely you need some Critical Care food for herbivores to help with his gut function and to help him regain some weight.

[darthchinchi]

If a chinchilla (or any other animal) had been on a wrong diet and needs to gain weight the most of the moorland thing is to give what you would normally. A healthy weight gain is a slow process as they need to build muscle. A fast weight gain is unhealthy as it will mostly consist of fat.

As others have mentioned dental issues can be a problem. Biggest one is when the roots of the teeth (mostly molars but can happen in the other teeth too) grow into the jaw. If they have eye problems like not opening the eye as they should or a wet/irritated eye, it's most likely due to the roots of the teeth growing into the eyesocket.
Best thing is xray if you want to get a look at the teeth. Some say it's not necessary (I've even known vets to postulate they could feel or see this) but xray really is the only option to get a clear diagnosis as to teeth issues.

You could try and give something like a rasin. If it goes down slowly its best to get the teeth checked. Also look at the poo. If it isn't eating properly they will be small and uneven in shape. This could also be due to digestive problems.

[darthchinchi]

Mar 4, 2017 8:12:18 GMT darthchinchi said:

If a chinchilla (or any other animal) had been on a wrong diet and needs to gain weight the most of the moorland thing is to give what you would normally. A healthy weight gain is a slow process as they need to build muscle. A fast weight gain is unhealthy as it will mostly consist of fat.

As others have mentioned dental issues can be a problem. Biggest one is when the roots of the teeth (mostly molars but can happen in the other teeth too) grow into the jaw. If they have eye problems like not opening the eye as they should or a wet/irritated eye, it's most likely due to the roots of the teeth growing into the eyesocket.
Best thing is xray if you want to get a look at the teeth. Some say it's not necessary (I've even known vets to postulate they could feel or see this) but xray really is the only option to get a clear diagnosis as to teeth issues.

You could try and give something like a rasin. If it goes down slowly its best to get the teeth checked. Also look at the poo. If it isn't eating properly they will be small and uneven in shape. This could also be due to digestive problems.

Sorry for all the spelling errors. I'm at my phone and my swift cey does not agree with me atm

[chinsight]

Our female chin has had severe tooth problems for years in fact we just took her to have spurs taken off again at the vets yesterday. (She did make it one year since her last tooth surgery) She hates critical care chin food. HATES IT! We could not get her to eat it and she was rapidly losing weight. I think at one time she was down to 12 ounces weight. She now weighs 1.39 lbs.

What we fed her was organic baby food, something a chin would like, our last hit was cherry and oats, raw organic oats crushed up, almond butter, organic yogurt, avocado, a few canned carrots, and a little bit of nutella, and a dab of molasses . Mush everything together with a fork and water for a thinner texture. My mom held her loosely wrapped her in a towel and we cut the end off a syringe from the vets to make it bigger and fed her. She LOVED it and her hair grew in and that fattened her up. We feed that to her every time she has her teeth done for and she heals great. When she is done eating we give her a tiny bit of warm water in the syringe just to make sure her mouth is rinsed and she is good to go. 

When she was sick and wasn't drinking we gave her room temperature coca cola watered down a tiny bit and an exotic animal vet years ago said that was fine. We also gave her room temperature orange juice in a tiny plastic cup and she drank that too. Vet said anything she will drink give to her to keep her hydrated. 

Dr. Bloom at I-20 Animal Medical Center in Arlington Texas is an animal specialist dentist. She even does the zoo lions and tigers in Dallas. She know chinchilla teeth and we got excellent results. Highly recommended. 

[moletteuk]

I just wanted to suggest that human drinks with lots of additives might not be the best choice for any pet, not when there are safe alternatives. Probiotic rehydration products with electrolytes are availabe in UK and USA. Also Critical Care type products are available in different flavours and the different brands taste different, they are also excellent for bringing round a sick herbivore. Small animals can have a problem with avocado as well, I belive the stones are poisonous, and same applies to nutella as the cola and also chocolate can be toxic. I just wouldn't take the risk, especially with an already sick animal.

Good to hear your girl came through her teeth trimming well yesterday.

[chinsight]

We've been doing the baby food mixture with our chin off and on for years and she has never had any issues. I think when a chin is that sick and or will not eat critical care (which is filled with GMO soybeans) then to get her from 12 oz to almost 1 1/2 pounds is doing really well. I wouldn't say feed them that on a daily basis but when at deaths door a little avocado, cocoa and hazelnuts, and coca cola is just what the doctor ordered and our exotic vets approved of it. They were in shock when we brought her back in 6 months later for a checkup. First thing they said was.... "Is this the same chinchilla???" "What have you been feeding her?" Yes, it worked that well.

[moletteuk]

That's great that it works for you Chinsight, I just feel that as a moderator I have a duty to point out that there are known issues with some of the things mentioned and alternatives are available.

[Deleted]

Chinsight, that's great news! The risk with saying such things is people may do wrong amounts, not all chins are the same and the above listed foods and drinks could kill someone else's chin xx but great it worked for you! X

[deguconvert]

The above listed drinks and foods could kill both dogs and cats, potentially causing heart failure, or liver issues, or possibly even pancreatic trouble that could result in death. These are unsafe foods for many animals. I'm rather surprised that the vet raised no concerns or objections.

[randomname]

I'm kinda torn about this. One the one hand, I agree that when an animal is sick & won't eat, nutrition goes out the window & sometimes you have to go with what they'll eat, healthy or not. BUT I would personally draw the line at a lot of the things you mentioned.
I have used baby food & watered down fruit juices for sick rabbits, guinea pigs & chinchillas. I would maybe use avocado in small amounts, & maybe nut butters (you can make your own in a blender, doesn't need salt or oil adding) but I definitely wouldn't use chocolate or cola. Flat cola is a useful antacid for humans with upset stomachs, but i wouldn't use it for animals or kids! Chocolate contains a poison - even small amounts can kill dogs & cats, large amounts can make humans sick. No way would I ever use it for animals. Nutritionally there's nothing in there that can help either - too much sugar (as with the molasses) will decimate healthy gut bacteria, leaving you with an even sicker animal if it survives.

My go to plan when an animal stops eating is to 1) try hand feeding normal food - some times works.
2) break normal food into smaller pieces
3) try a mash of normal food (use boiled water, let cool)
4) Try a bowl of Supreme Recovery food mixed in with normal food mush
5) Try a syringe of Supreme Recovery food (most prefer it slightly warmed, at least to room temperature)
6) Try a bowl of Critical Care & Recovery food mixed together.
7) Try a syringe of Critical care
8) Try a bowl of suitable baby food mixed with normal food mush
9) Try a bowl of baby food mixed with Recovery food
10) Try alternatives such as banana (or other 'unhealthy' fruits) or nut butters mixed into various bowls of Recovery food, Critical care & normal food mush. I would also be giving a pro biotic as the unusual diet will throw the levels of helpful gut bacteria out, making long term recovery a big problem. Usually the vet would have put them on a gut stimulant like metoclopramide too.

If none of this worked, which it usually does, they'd be in the vets on a drip.


Am really glad that what you did for your little girl worked, you must have been desperate & have worked your socks off to bring her back from the brink of death. Have been there myself with various animals over the years, it's hard & heartbreaking & I'm sad that you had to go through it.
I do agree with the other comments however, we can't recommend what you've fed & we don't know the long term effects of such foods. In terms of science, your experience would be classed as anecdotal evidence at best, there is no evidence that what you fed cured her or that other foods wouldn't have worked. All calories would have contributed to her being alive, but none of what you fed cured the problem. It's an attribution bias to suggest otherwise. I don't know that a long term, double blind scientific study could ever prove that this 'treatment' was safe, let alone recommended for use in any other animal.
One thing to be aware of is that this is an ongoing problem, and repeated or longer term use of such foods could contribute to many many health issues. Liver, kidney, brain, heart & blood (amongst other things) could all be affected & cause massive problems later on. As a once off, you may have been lucky, but it may not work out so well again.

Everyone here can understand how desperate you were, we're not trying to come across as critical of you in any way. Please don't be dismayed at our reactions, just understand we cannot recommend a general policy without hard scientific evidence to back up what we say. We are all really happy your little lass has pulled through & it's testimony to how much you love her that you tried such desperate measures. We'd love to see some pics of the miracle girl if you have time? There are not enough cute chin pics on this forum for my liking, degus get all the glory here!! I'd love to see more chinquality (equality for chins!)

[deguconvert]

Thank you, Randomname for your kind and wise words. I'm sorry if I was rude and sharp. It is not my desire, nor is it my practice, and I will admit I got a little carried away. Randomname expresses very well what we think and feel as a community.

[randomname]

Haha DC, you weren't rude or sharp - was just making sure I didn't come across as if i was attacking the original poster. I'm usually too blunt & come across a bit full on.

[darthchinchi]

Okay, so there's a lot of signs your chinchilla isn't thriving here, and the stuff you are feeding is not good for your chin, even though it likes it. I had one who loved lollipops... But it wasn't good for him at all. You can make your own feed though, but there's really no reason to add stuff we know is unhealthy. Fresh pineapple juice helps with the digestion. It would be a good thing to add to your own mix. Also the pellets you normally use, a couple of racins, maybe some vitamins (you can get multi purpose powder ones at the pet store). A bit of seeds or nuts, some fresh greens like carrot, thyme, basil or other they can eat.
Put it in a blender and make it into a smooth mix, add a bit of hot water as they prefer when it's warm. Fred this instead.

But if you have a chinchilla that stops eating from time to time, you really need to look at the teeth via xray, and chances are you need to put the animal down because it's in pain all the time. Operations won't helt if the problem is with the roots. And in the end we need to think about why we do stuff to our animals. Is it for the sake of them or for the sake of us?
I've kept animals alive for way too long because I had a problem with loosing them. It wasn't for the good of the animal. Loads of people do this all the time. The trick is to learn and do better as we learn