Chinchilla eats plastic

[Waffleschin]

Hi, please, please help me!!! I was gone for a week and had someone let out my pet chinchilla (he lives alone because he doesn’t get along well with others) and feed him and when I came back a plastic bag that had been kept to close to the cage was grabbed by him and I found a large portion of it shredded up in the cage, I immediately vacuumed it up and changed his fleece liners but what should I do I’m worried he digested it and I know how toxic plastic is to chinchillas, he seems fine right now and doesn’t look sick or anything. Thanks!

 

[Amethyst]

If it was food grade plastic, as in a bag that had food in it or is intended for food like a food storage bag, it's very unlikely to be toxic, but you still need to worry about it causing a blockage. It takes roughly 12 hours for something to go through a chinchilla's system, so it's a good idea to keep a close eye on the chin to make sure he is pooping ok for the next 24 hours just to be on the safe side. If he is still doing ok after 24 hours the plastic likely all passed through without issue. However if he stops pooping, stops eating or drinking, is acting sick or bloated, or anything like that it's best to get him to the vet. A lot of times chins will shred things more then eat them, so hopefully you got lucky and that is the case here.

On the other hand if it wasn't a food bag, or had something unsafe in it, I would try to remember what was in it in case the chin has a bad reaction to it to help the vet treat him.