Sick chinchilla

JohhnyBishop said:

I kind of realized that pumice won't help for back teeth but I am thinking about any ways of promoting her to chew more than usually so her jaws are working. I don't know if this is to do with every chin but I can hear her grinding her teeth even at sleep.
Few times a week she has access to a big cage where she can run, she has a running saucer but I can see that she does a short stroll then sits in a hammock, does not chew as much as the others do.

I understand that she is still weak after the procedure but time is working against us, if you know what I mean.
If there is anything that could promote more activity, eating more. I would rather want her to die of obesity than keep shrinking and her teeth keep growing.
Her weight has stopped dropping so at least she maintains the weight. I think on top of that I should feed her with a syringe but she hates it and I think she loses more energy fighting me than she gains from it.

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Mel said:

I had a male chinchilla that had issues with a tooth due to injury and advanced age so he would not eat. I ground up pellets into a powder and mixed them with warm water and also sometimes did this with critical care. I made soft little squares of food that he could hold and he ate that. He hated syringe feeding so badly.
Anyhow it did not cure anything but he ate like that for a couple years along with keeping the tooth trimmed and even gained weight. He passed of old age a few years ago.
So sorry your chinny is struggling.

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JohhnyBishop said:

What do you mean by "soft little squares of food"? I think this is what I have to try. I think when she was young she continued to eat less and less hay until she stopped completely what tells me she cannot grind the straws with her molars. I tried hay cubes but none of the chins like it. I think she can eat some fine bits of alfalfa but for the most part she only crushes some pellet with her incisors and pre-molars and that's all.

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Mel said:

I formed little squares out of the powder from ground up pellets and warm water. Just used my fingers until it became dough like.
I did this with critical care too. My guy seemed to like eating something he could hold over the syringe feeds.

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