Chin ate 1/2 oz of chocolate!

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Grace04

Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Messages
5
Location
Upstate NY
Hello,
My male chin is about 9 months old, and he weighs around 1.1 lbs. He got into a milk chocolate covered nutrition bar sometime last night, between 1-6am. He ate most of the chocolate coating, and a fair amount of the bar as well, which has chocolate chips in it too. I'm estimating that he got about 1/2 oz, maybe a little less its hard to tell, since the whole thing weighs 1.75 oz. He isn't visibly distressed, he's sleeping right now, but he was really energetic a bit ago, literally bouncing off the walls from all the sugar I'm assuming.
I called my vet and they haven't gotten back to me yet, plus I wanted to get your guy's opinion because I know a lot of vets don't know too much about treating chins. Is there anything I can give him? Would simethicone or burnt toast help? I really don't know..... Is there anything my vet should prescribe/do for him?
Thanks for your help :)
 
I would prepare for stasis and/or bloat and have on hand motility drugs, metecam, simethicone, critical care, and treat if symptoms occur-not much can be done until then IMO.
 
Ok, what do stasis and bloat look like in chins, what should I watch for? I have simethicone and critical care, what motility drug would you recommend? My vet got back to me and she doesn't really know what to do either, other than to keep a close eye on him, so whatever advice you can give me would be a great help.
Thanks :)
 
That thread was really helpful thanks :). I know that when dogs and cats eat chocolate the toxin theobromine will build up in their kidneys, so I'm assuming/hoping that the same goes for chins. I went out and bought a really cheap water bottle with only one ball in the spout (vs. his normal two) so hopefully he will drink more water. I also looked up chin-safe herbs that help increase urinary output, and I came up with Rasberry Leaf. So I bought some capsules that contain just the leaf without anything added from my local health food store. I cut one up just a few minutes ago and put it in his bowl and he ate about half of it right away so hopefully it will help. I also gave him a ton of fresh hay so he can pick the best pieces out and eat a bunch to keep things moving in his GI. Plus I'm not letting him out of his cage to run so all his energy is hopefully going towards digestion/metabolizing.
He's moving around a bit, and his belly feels ok, but I don't really know what it felt like before this.... he isn't the most cooperative chin when it comes to being held and fiddled with. I have a chinchilla doll (a chinibuddy) in his cage all the time, and he has been sleeping next to it on and off all day. Hes actually sleeping on top of it right now! He doesn't normally sleep by it much, so I think he is in a bit of pain and is looking for some comfort :-(
Once it gets a bit later I will be able to tell how bad he is feeling - hes much more energetic in the evenings normally.
 
Exercise is actually not a bad thing during a GI crisis in chinchillas, its speeds things up and moves things along, let him have whatever normal type of play he gets.
 
I hope they are ok, if they end up ok this is total LOL. I really hope it works out I can see my chin going crazy over finding chocolate.
 
I don't know about the motility drugs, the two mentioned in the stasis thread are both prescription, if there's an over the counter one I don't know about it, is there?
An update, I let him out for his normal playtime as was suggested and he was less rambunctious than normal, but not lethargic. He was more cuddly and spent more time resting underneath my bed than usual.
He is pooping as of a few hours ago, but they are really thin, much thinner than normal, does that mean something? If it would help the poos I can give him simethicone, critical care, acidophilus....?
I don't know how long it takes a chin to go into stasis, but as of right now he is doing ok.
 
Back
Top