My chinchilla is barely eating!

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tenatic-x

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2019
Messages
5
I've noticed my chinchilla Nunu, has been throwing out the food pellets for 2 weeks. He tries to eat the food pellets, but he ends up dropping it or throwing it away. My other two chinchillas, eat the pellets just fine.

He seems to be getting thinner, slouching more often, bites on my hand much lighter than he used to, and is slower than before.

From my own observation, it seems he has some mouth pain going on, since a few months ago, I've noticed he squeals at moments, while in the process of chewing the food pellets. Now he exhibits behaviours, that would show pain in a chinchilla. (Droopy ears, stationary and squeals).


My mum refuses to take him to the vet, claiming it was old age, it's too late, waste of money, or the doctors/vets in New Zealand are stupid, and can't fix anything.

What could be the issue with my chinchilla? (My assumption is that it's his incisors, though I can't tell if his teeth are the issue.) Is it too late to take my chinchilla to the vet now? What sort of remedies can I do at home to help relieve my chinchilla?

I really don't know what to do to help my little Nunu feel better.
 
I sounds like a tooth or mouth issue, it could be the teeth are over grown, it could be tooth spurs, it could be the teeth have over grown over the tongue, it could be something stuck in the teeth. None of those things can be dealt with at home. How old is the chin? They can live 15-20 years or more (I'm on a FB page with several people with chins in their 20s). It's hard to say if it's too late or not, it depends on what the problem is. If it's just a tooth spur, teeth overgrowing trapping the tongue or something stuck in his teeth that can be fixed. If it's actual tooth and root elongation it depends on how far along it is, filing the teeth down regularly at the vet can often buy you time, weeks, months, in some cases a year or more. In case you didn't know all a chins teeth grow so it's not just the incisors that can cause issue. You will need to get an x-ray of the chin's head to see the molars and if the roots have also become an issue.

Can you at least try to get you mom to let you take the chin in to get looked at? If nothing can be done it would be much kinder to put the chin down rather then let it suffer and die. If she wont take you can you get someone else to take you? Maybe a friend or other family member? Knowingly denying an animal vet care and allowing it to suffer and die is animal cruelty. If you were unable to eat and were losing weight and clearly suffering would your mom just say oh well, you've live long enough, no need to see a doctor it's a waste of money too?
 
My chinchilla is around 7 to 8 years old currently.

I have talked about it again with my mum, and said that we currently don't have much money (like she always says), and taking him to the vet may affect us financially. Since we did make a visit to the only exotic pet vet, for our other chinchilla, and was quite costly (Don't know the cost).

I saw people online wrapping chinchillas into a burrito and opening their mouths to check their teeths. Would it be ok for me to do so? I would like to check what his mouth issue is, and hopefully find something to help relieve his issue, if my mum cpntinues to deny veterinarian treatment.
 
Extra info regarding about Nunu's mouth issue

My nunu is now 7 to 8 years old. I decided to have a bit of check on Nunu's front incisors, and they seem to be orange coloured, and not very long.

Some extra information:
I tried feeding him chinchilla food pellets, made into a mush with water. He tries to eat it, but responded with squeaks, and signs of pain.
I tried giving him powdered crushed chinchilla food pellets, he attempts to eat it, but nonetheless, had the same reaction with the mushed chinchilla food, though he didn't show as much pain.
He is completely okay drinking from his water bottle. (The bottle with the metal sphere to stop water from flowing)
His incisors looks fine to me. (His teeth looked somewhat like this http://www.chin-chillas.com/wp-content/uploads/teeth.jpg)

Does this help narrow down what sort of mouth issues my chinchilla has?


After talking with my mum, her answer is now unconfirmed, so hopefully she will allow Nunu to see a vet, if I am able to get a hold an appointment at the vet.
 
My nunu is now 7 to 8 years old. I decided to have a bit of check on Nunu's front incisors, and they seem to be orange coloured, and not very long.

Some extra information:
I tried feeding him chinchilla food pellets, made into a mush with water. He tries to eat it, but responded with squeaks, and signs of pain.
I tried giving him powdered crushed chinchilla food pellets, he attempts to eat it, but nonetheless, had the same reaction with the mushed chinchilla food, though he didn't show as much pain.
He is completely okay drinking from his water bottle. (The bottle with the metal sphere to stop water from flowing)
His incisors looks fine to me. (His teeth looked somewhat like this http://www.chin-chillas.com/wp-content/uploads/teeth.jpg)

Does this help narrow down what sort of mouth issues my chinchilla has?


After talking with my mum, her answer is now unconfirmed, so hopefully she will allow Nunu to see a vet, if I am able to get a hold an appointment at the vet.
 
Yeah at 7 or 8 he isn't that old, basically like a human in their 40s.

Well you can probably rule out the incisors being the issue, but that is about it. The squeaks when being fed even moist food make me think possible sore in his mouth, something like he bit his tongue or cheek, or a tooth spur rubbing on his cheek. It's nearly impossible to even see the molars at all without at least a camera scope, they have tiny mouths and their cheeks block the view of the molars, so you can't rule out overgrown molars, teeth spurs, or a sore in the back of the mouth. Also you can't rule out root elongation without an x-ray.

Is it possible for you to get a job to at least help pay the vet bill? Maybe then your mom can't use the excuse that you guys can't afford it? I don't know how old you are, if you are too young to legally work, maybe mow people's lawns or do house work for people for some money? If you are older is it possible to look into a credit card or a vet care credit card? I'm not sure if the vet care cards are a thing there, but they are basically a credit card just for vet care (you can't use it for anything else), so you can get the care now and pay it off over time, or even see if the vet is willing to take payments instead of the money up front. Chins are not cheap pets, vet care can add up quickly. I actually advise people to have a couple thousand dollars on hand in in some form in case of emergencies. Maybe you can try to save up so money isn't so much a limiting factor for next time?
 
I have assumed the worst case for my Nunu's teeths. It's very likely malocclusion.

When Nunu became our very first pet chinchilla, we were very irresponsible owners, and barely knew how to take care of him.

Neglect:
My mum continuously bought rabbit food for Nunu for about a year or two, as it was cheaper. I've convinced her to buy chinchillas food, later on. We've fed him quite the amount of sunflower seed, since the previous owner of Nunu had fed him sunflower seeds as treats. He also had a period of time (likely a year) where he has recieved no hay.

Trauma:
Handling was one of the biggest issues, as he has fallen from one story high heights numerous times when any of us, ran towards him due to his head poking through the rails of the stairs, had bloody noses or mouths from such falls or hitting his head And the most notable trauma that happened a year ago, is my sister accidentally slipped the cage roof, and crushed Nunu's head or neck, which gave him a sort of seizure.

He also has two swellings or bumps at the back of his lower jaw. Something my other two chinchillas don't exhibit. It's very likely he had be suffering with malocclusion since a year or two ago, since he makes pain squeaks, when he chews his food. And now can not eat anything, as it would hurt him either way except water.

We had be thinking of euthanizing Nunu sooner rather than later, due to how horrifically dangerous and painful it is. Since they are pretty much incurable at this point.

If you have anything else to suggest what we should do before we euthanize him, or that the symptoms tell you something, please do tell.

I am legally old enough to get a job (16), though I have lots of trouble finding one that makes me feel comfortable in the work place, along with the job, and that it fits my schedule. But I'm horrible at organizing my time. Though my brother does have a job, and has saved some amount of cash, so it's likely we would be able to afford the bill, if you suggest we get an x-ray for him or any extra.
 
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