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YorkshireChin

Member
Joined
May 5, 2019
Messages
6
Hi all!

I posted a fortnight ago when I first adopted my chinchilla, and things have been going really well - but now I have a few questions about chinchilla behaviour!

We have been letting our chin out in our living room, and she's really inquisitive and happy to bound around! Because she's 9 years old and was never allowed out of her cage, I've noticed she's not the best at jumping - but I think this is a skill she'll get better at?

She jumps onto the palm of my hands when she wants out of her cage - and recently she clambers right up my arm, onto my neck, and she just settles in and goes to sleep. She also likes to sleep in the crook of my elbow. She seems to want to do that more than anything at the moment! Is it something to be worried about? She's eating fine and is very active in her cage - she just seems to want to cuddle up to us all the time!

We're in the middle of changing her pellets actually, to Oxbow Deluxe rather than the UK petshop Pets at Home own brand - but she just ignores the new pellets at the moment. We're persevering (it's only been 4 days and she is quite fussy with food) and eventually I'm hoping she'll eat both.

I also got her on some scales today and she only weighs 350g. She's a small chinchilla, but I think that's very underweight even so. I've read that seeds/nuts aren't good for chins because of their high fat content, but could I give her some as treats to fatten her up? I can feel her spine and hips so easily when I stroke her :( She's so small. If not seeds and nuts, does anyone have any tips for bringing a chin's weight up?

I think she eats enough, but I can't 100% tell because she throws a lot of food out of her bowl and onto the tray below. I put about 4-5 tablespoons into her bowl and I would guess she throws about half of that out. (Side note: she eats very slowly, sitting at her bowl for an hour at a time sometimes - is this normal?)

Thanks for any help you can give! <3 <3
 
Yeah 350g is tiny, an 8 week old chin is only about 200g. Seeds and nuts are not a good idea, chins can't processes them and it will lead to fatty liver disease and organ failure. One thing that can help put weight on a chin is alfalfa. However that comes at the risk of too much calcium. Most chins only eat about 2tb of pellets a day, but should also be eating a small handful (about the size of the chin) or more of hay a day. Hay is really their primary food, with the pellets just making up for any nutrients the hay may lack. Eating slow seems odd, but it doesn't strike me as anything in particular, unless she is pawing at her mouth a lot while she is eating. Some weird chins have even been known to fall asleep while eating too.

I would first get her a check up at the vet to rule out any issues. Unto itself wanting to cuddle is not necessarily a bad thing, but since she is so underweight wanting to cuddle may be a sign she isn't able to keep warm. Also the fact that she can't jump very well is also concerning it could be a sign of muscle loss.
 
She does paw at her mouth a lot when she eats actually. Is this sign of a tooth problem? I'm going to get her an appointment at the vets I think. Will she be hugely stressed out? I can't imagine she'll let anyone pick her up? How do vets do a check up on a chinchilla?
 
Really worried now - been reading up on malocclusion and it seems that she fits a few of the symptoms. We noticed her chest was really wet today - we put it down to dripping from the water bottle but now I'm concerned it's due to drooling. Her chest was soaking wet, though - does anyone know if chinchillas can really drool that much?

As well, is it normal for chinchillas' tongues to flick out to the side of their teeth when they're drinking from their bottles?

If it is a severe tooth problem that's gone unnoticed for years by her last owner, is there anything a vet can do?
 
I was really hoping you weren't going to say she was pawing at her mouth and drooling :frown2: Yes unfortunately that does indicate a tooth issue and they can drool quite a bit, it's not uncommon for their chin, chest, and front paws to be soaked. Depending on the issue it could be due to pain and/or inability to fully close her mouth due to over grown teeth. With any luck it's not actually malo and just maybe something like a tooth spur, cracked tooth, something stuck in her teeth, or something else that is fixable. I would brace for the worst, but hope for the best.

It really depends on what the issues is if the vet can really do anything or not. If it is malo and the roots haven't grown or grown very little then filing the teeth down is an option. It is just buying time though, malo can't be cured. It can be managed for a time, months or even a couple years with pain meds and regular filing. If there is noticeable root involvement that is another story though. The chin will be in a lot of pain that wont go away with simply filing the crowns of the teeth.

Unfortunately chins are very good at hiding issues, often the first sign (and sometimes only sign) anything is wrong is weight loss. So unless she was weighed regularly and handled it can go unnoticed for sometime before it gets bad enough to see any physical signs.
 
Yeah she hasn't been handled at all or paid much attention to, so I'm really glad we got her. We're hoping it's a cracked tooth as we think we can see a horizontal line down across her teeth, and there's been no weepy eyes or anything...

She seems really subdued today, and quite wobbly on her feet, which is worrying me. I've wet her food slightly to soften it and she seems to be eating it. We have a vet appointment on Monday so I'll let you know how it goes.
 
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