Chin with heart disease

Hi my name is Nancy and I have a chinnie that has congestive heart disease, He is currently on Lasik, enapril, metcam, probac and a mixture of COQ10, radish, celery and asparagus. He is in with oxygen and a diffuser with mint. He also has had steroid shots which had helped. He has always been a very small chin and underweight. He has always been sickly and is only 6 years old. I also know he was inbreed, but still wanted to try to help him. His breathing is worse and eats very little and is losing weight, so very worried as he is already underweight, I am going to try to syringe feed him, I did not want to stress him, but I have no choice. His vet has run out of options, so hoping someone might be able to offer some suggestions.

Thank you
Nancy

Well I can't give you any help on the heart problems, I can tell you that chins should not have any fruits or vegetables (so NO radishes, celery, or asparagus!!!), they aren't designed to eat that stuff. Eating vegetable as their food will make a chin very sick. A chin, especially a sick one, should be only eating a good quality pellet only food and unlimited hay. If the chin wont eat on his own then something like critical care should be given.

Has there been a diagnosis of why he is in heart failure? Does he have a murmur? Did you get him from a breeder or a Pet store? Just curious, here in the central valley a few years ago murmurs were common.

It is important to offer quality hays (grass hays as well as some legumes, such as alfalfa and red clover) and various safe herbs to help satisfy cardiovascular system’s nutritional requirements that are constantly changing. I understand that you are trying to include some plants to your chin’s diet, but the ones you mentioned are not appropriate for chinchillas.

You may consider using Herbal Heart Support that is formulated for herbivores (if your chin can not eat on his own, you can grind the supplement in a coffee grinder and mix with a hand feeding formula). It is designed for daily use to provide daily cardiovascular support, and we’ve had great results with this formula (also, one of the reviews is listed on the webpage). Organic Broad Spectrum supplement is an excellent nutritive supplement that can be offered daily as well. Chins love it.

Also, do you feed quality, fresh pellets? It is best to use pellets within 6 months after a mill date.

I need to clarify the veggies. They are extracts diluted way down and he only gets 1 drop a day, so he not eating the actual veggie. This recipe was given to me by my holistic vet. He is offered many different types of hay, he does not like pellets and never has. He likes chinchilla foliage mix from National Geographic. He was inbreed and I knew this when I got him. VHe has always been small and underweight. I bought the herbal heart support, but I was told that he can't have hawthorne berries while he is on enpril, it is one or the and felt that the enpril was a better choice.

I need to clarify the veggies, they are extracts diluted way down and he only gets 1 drop a day. He has been on this a long time. He has his bouts when he goes downhill and then he turns around and does good. This recipe came from my holistic vet. He gets lots of different hays and alfalfa. He does not like pellets, never has but likes chinchilla foliage mix by Nat Geographic. Surprise was inbreed and I knew it when I got him. He has always been underweight and small. Vet said he heard a slight heart murmur when he first got sick and says it is not any worse. I bought the herbal heart support, but it has hawthorne berries in it and I was told he can't have them while he is on enpril, it is one or the other and felt that the inpril was more important. There are two websites that have a list of herbs for chinchillas and list what their purposes are, so we are looking into them as well.

thank you for your info
Nancy

Chin with congestive heart disease

I need to clarify the veggies, they are extracts that are diluted and he only gets 1 drop a day. This mixture was given to me by his holistic vet. He gets a variety of hay, does not like pellets so his diet consists of Nat Geo chinchilla foliage mix and different hays. Vet did hear a slight heart murmur, but it has remained the same. I bought the herbal heart support, but my holistic vet said he can't have hawthorne berries while he is on enipril, its one or the other and she felt he would benefit more with the enipril. There are 2 other websites that list herbs and what they are used for that we are researching. Surprise is small and is underweight and was that way when I got him. For the past 8 months he has been up and down, he does well for awhile and then goes downhill for a couple of a days and then back up again.

Any other help would be appreciated
Thank you
Nancy Pinoli