Bonner not eating???

[Smiley1]

OK as some know Snickers passed NY Day from a URI. He went quick. Bonner developed a URI as well. I took him to the vet, got him some Baytril. Gave that to him for 10 days. He was eating, fine, drinking fine, running in his wheel etc. NOW he will NOT eat. He will take a Cheerio, eat his supplement, still very active. I took him Back to the vet and now I have been feeding him critical Care, and the vet gave him sulfatrim and Motility drugs. He is pooping fine, so not using the motility drugs. He has lost 130g since Jan 5th. He was 824g, he is now 692g. Does anyone have a clue what is going on??

I gave him some Lava blocks, he chewed em up, chews on his house still and is still running on his wheel at night. But he will NOT eat pellets nor hay (both fresh). He is not drooling, no watery eyes, does not swipe at his mouth. Just refuses the hay and pellets.

At night sometimes he gets coughing, or wheezing, but only a couple times. He will also hang his head off the shelf and cough???

I dunno I am at a loss here I don't want to lose Bonner as well.

 

[Anna]

My chin stopped eating because of the Baytril, it's a common side effect. : ( You should keep force-feeding him critical care (I gave mine about 40-60 cc a day) and lifeline (www.chocolatechinchillas.com) which stimulates the appetite. Mine would also only eat supplements and never actual food. I gave him things like rolled oats and rose hips. My Furby was also really active the whole time. Basically it got bad. He was always small, at 400 grams, then dropped to 350 over the course of a couple weeks. You really just gotta keep at it and make sure he eats as much as you can get him to.

Also, this is what another member suggested, is that if the wheel is in the cage, to take it out because they will just run off extra calories and they can't afford to lose weight any faster, and yours has lost a lot. I offer the wheel to my chins at play time, they love that! I also put little piles of supplement and oats around his cage (like a pinch) to kind of awaken the foraging instinct these guys have.
Mine pulled through ultimately (still isn't better all the way though), but I was still force-feeding him for like 2 months, he wouldn't eat anything but treats on his own. It was a lot of work, a lot of vet visits and overall super stressful, but worth it!
I hope this helps.

Best of luck to you! : )

 

[Smiley1]

Thanks for the response Anna. Thought more people would help as well, but oh well, I will figure it out on my own.

 

[mishellyshel]

did you try handfeeding him at all?? did you try changing his pellets? or trying different hay?
i dont like the wheezing, coughing thing.............that doesnt sound right.

 

[Smiley1]

He is on CC 3 times a day, Motility drugs, and sulfatrim. He had a URI still has some reminents of. He is pooping, drinking water, eating supplement and rosehips and cheerios just fine. He will just NOT touch food and only small amts of hay. I even went out and bought all brand new in case the others were bad.

The vet said he has teeth problems (cuz he wont touch pellets) However I spoke with PJK and Ryersons and both say he doesn't have teeth issues as he chews on wood like crazy and Lava blocks he destroys in 5 minutes. He runs on his wheel, will wall surf when out.

He has no watery eyes, no drooling, no swiping at his mouth. He will eat a very small amount of hay, takes CC just fine and takes meds and water just fine.

Ryersons says it sounds more like he is depressed. (His cagemate died unexpectedly New Years Day) Cuz he just sits around most of the day and won't even sleep in his house anymore. He has never been alone since he was born. He went from being with his sister to being with Snickers at 8 weeks old and they had been together almost 3 years.

The coughing and wheezing is very little if any mostly when he is out running around in the bathroom. but haven't heard it in a couple days. He is on day 4 1/2 of the sulfatrim of 10 days. I would not think that baytril would keep him from eating for 10 days. However it just makes no sense to me. The reason being is that he did eat all thru the baytril. It wasn't til 3 days after he finished the baytril, that he quit eating food.

 

[Silverrose]

Are you still feeding him CC, or have you just given him pellets now that he is off meds? Or is he still on meds? I find that chins who have been fed CC for a while due to illness take a while to go back to eating pellets all by themselves. You may have to wean him slowly off the CC so that he begins to eat pellets and hay normally.

If he is still coughing/wheezing, the URI is still there. You may need another course of baytril, possibly at a higer dosage.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

If he is still ill from the URI then it makes sense that his appetite is off. The Sulfatrim may not be strong enough for the URI. I would talk to the vet again and in the interim feed him Critical Care or if he would prefer it, mashed pellets, until the vet determines whether he needs to switch antibiotics. You have to force feed to keep his gut moving as you know. Best wishes for Bonner!

 

[mishellyshel]

how bout mixing 1/2 CC & 1/2 crushed pellets to get him used to the taste again?

i have been handfeeding my one chin since may.........finally in october he started eating a little on his own and each month he eats more and more on his own. i only supplement a little with handfeeding. sometimes he doesnt even want it. so as long as his weight is steady or increases i dont sweat it.

as for depression. when my one dog died my other dog was depressed for a year. and after that she became my shadow.
maybe bonner needs time and a little extra attention to counter his loss. or another cagemate when he is feeling better.

i also agree about the sulfa not being strong enough. maybe one more round of baytril teamed with handfeeding will get bonner back to himself.

 

[Smiley1]

Update On Bonner!!!

OK well I ordered lifeline....he will not touch it. So I mixed it with CC and hand fed him Saturday night for the last time. It was his last dose of Sulfatrim and Motility drugs also. I ordered Tradition from Ryersons as well and his new water bottle (can't keep it working) so he is using a coop cup just fine. Anyway, I woke up Sunday morning to all his food GONE!!! Hay GONE!! He started eating on his own. Poops are fine, peeing fine. Hair matted under the chin from CC LOL. and he was down to 660g from 824g. He is now 687g!!!! eats every bit of his food every night.

 

[Sugarmama]

Woo Hoo! That's awesome news.:thumbsup:

 

[Anna]

I'm so happy he pulled through! Keep a good eye on him!

Great job, though

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

Just a thought - it could be he wasn't getting enough water. I had that happen once, the water bottle I was using seem to work but the chin wasn't getting any water (I realized later) . I notice after a couple of days that the water wasn't moving at all. Also noticed that she wasn't eating much. I was going to take her to vet the next day But first I put in another bottle and she drank like crazy - then she ate like crazy.