Chinnies not eating/ vet has no clue what's wrong

[RebelMonster]

Hi everybody, I am in desperate need of some advice.
I have two chinchilla's and they are both not eating or drinking anything.

Both are males, born march 13th 2007, never had any problems with them.
When I noticed Dribbel started to eat less and less and his poops were changing in size and color, I took him to see a specialized chinchilla vet.
The vet said he had a small spur on one of his last teeth, so an operation was scheduled to trim down the spur. I needed to hand feed him the days before the operation. Last friday he would have been operated but unfortunately he lost even more weight, even though I hand fed him multiple times a day. The vet said he wouldn't make it, so we went home, I needed to hand feed him more and come back yesterday. His brother Dommel also lost weight and was not eating by saturday so I started hand feeding him also.
Yesterday I took my boys to the vet, Dommel had lost more weight but Dribbel fortunately gained 16 grams in 2 days.
Dommel's teeth were checked but nothing was found, the vet wanted to take a closer look so both the guys were put to sleep with anesthetics.
Dribbel's tooth was filed down but the vet said the spur was so little and caused no damage to the cheek or tongue, that could not be the reason why he wouldn't want to eat. Dommel's teeth were checked and they were fine.
So I had the vet to check their blood.
Nothing was found. Liver, kindneys, everything was normal. No bacteria.
The vet has no clue what is going on and neither do I.

I am hand feeding the little guys but Dommel doesn't want to swallow it. He just spits it back out
I don't know what to do anymore. Their food is the same as ever, no different changes in their cage, cage is the same....no plants around the cage (so they could nibble on them). The cage is completey safe.

They are not active, they just sit there. When I sit in front of the cage and I open the door, they do hop on my lap and start exploring everything....those moments they look fine, but other moments they look sad, depressed, I don't know how to describe it...

What can I do? I am so terrified I will lose my chinnies. :cry3:

 

[Stackie]

Has the vet done x-rays of their teeth? What are you hand feeding?

 

[ticklechin]

Did the vet do a fecal float? A full body x-ray? Any changes at all in the household or immediate area around it?

 

[RebelMonster]

Xrays are normal, no roots growing in weird places. I am hand feeding Critical Care from Oxbow. There were no bacteries or unusual stuff found in blood. Today the feaces was checked, no abnormalities there.
I got back from the vet some hours ago, he put fluids in their bellies. They seem to feel a lot better. Dommel is chewing on some hay as we speak!!! He hasn't done that in about a week!
I know we're not there yet. Dribbel has taken 2 small 'snacks' today and eating doesn't seem to be a problem. Maybe they are not hungry because of the handfeeding?
Oh and prior to the operation the vet said I had to feed 1ml of fibreflex per animal so I do.

I could cry right now because of the hay eating....just a small sign that maybe all hope is not lost yet...

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Did the vet check for gas/bloat? Are the both still pooping? How often are you handfeeding?

If they are still dropping weight, maybe they aren't getting enough to eat.

Not sure what you mean by snacks, but until you know what is wrong I would avoid giving treats.

 

[RebelMonster]

The vet has checked everything, they are just fine he says.
Yes they are still pooping. By ''snacks'' I meant a small piece of dried prune. I will stop that. I just hoped it would encourage him to start eating, as it seems he can chew everything very well (Dribbel was the one with the tooth filed down).

Dribbel has gone up in weight, he is now on 487 grams. He also feels much more ''filled''. Not all bones, but you know, meat on his little frame.
Dommel had dropped to 416 grams this morning :cry3: I am feeding him twice what Dribbel is getting now. It is such a struggle to get it in him. He opens his mouth, but is not really chewing. Dribbel chews and swallows it like crazy, Dommel is just resisting. He only chews when I don't hold him anymore so you can imagine how long it takes for me to get some food in his tiny body.

My chins have never been big or heavy. Dribbel has almost reached his old weight. Dommel has always been the smallest but I don't like it one bit he is getting this light in weight. We have another appointment with the vet today at 5.30 p.m. (It's 8 a.m. here currently)

They both have eaten some hay last night. It's not much but at least they are eating hay. They haven't done that in over a week.
Maybe I should throw away the food and get a new bag. Maybe there's something wrong with the batch? I switched to other hay also yesterday and they were sitting so calm and peacefully and just started eating it...

 

[ticklechin]

Did the chins get a chest/full body xray?

 

[RebelMonster]

Yes, there was nothing found in the xrays. No gas, or bloat as you seem to call it
The vet checked them again today and was mildly optimistic since they were eating hay yesterday. They got another shot of liquids.
I cross my fingers and hope they will start eating soon.
They seem quite allright, today they were active and very curious.
Their bellies look and feel normal.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Dawn mentions a few different techniques for handfeeding in this thread (link below).
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44319

You mentioned Dommel only swallowing when you aren't holding him. Maybe the nose tickle trick will help with that.

 

[RebelMonster]

Thanks for the advice, ****oo. I already tried that (i checked some Youtube videos a couple days ago).
Today they are both much more keen on getting food in their bellies! Feeding them is not a real struggle anymore. Dommel is chewing the food and swallowing it perfectly fine. He has a big interest in the syringe, he opens his mouth so I can put some food in, then he pulls back his head when he has had enough. What a difference with a couple days ago!!
Dribbels seems to prefer being fed all rolled up in a towel, Dommel does a lot better when he is just leaning on my hand with his front paws and I don't need to hold him down...

Both seems a lot stronger also. When they resist with their front paws I feel that they are stronger than monday for instance.
So I am a little optimistic. I just really hope that they will start eating by themselves. How long does it usually take?

I am glad that they ''spark'' has returned. Now let's eat, boys! :thumbsup:

 

[RebelMonster]

So a couple days have passed. They gained weight, but still are not eating. Not even some hay. I just don't know what to do anymore.
I have softened their normal food without any luck. I have given them less Critical Care so maybe they would eat a little bit because they would be hungry, but also without success.

What should i do?? The vet says they are perfectly fine and healthy and I should just continue but I am getting really frustrated. I can't hand feed them for weeks, right??!
:'(

 

[RebelMonster]

Does anybody have some tips maybe...?
They both seems to like the syringe feeding, no more struggling. But all I want is for them to start eating by themselves.
When I put food before their noses, Dommel just turns his head, Dribbel will bite the food in half but that's it.

How long does is usually take for chins to start eating on their own again after dental surgery? It has been 8 days now that they had the surgery. Maybe I am impatient..?

 

[ticklechin]

8 days is not really long, especially for a first time filing, it can take 2 weeks or more. When its dental you just feed until they are ready to eat, I will start to wean off syringe feeding when the chin is seen eating on its own, until then they are fed. It sucks but dental chins are so unpredictable on how dramatic they are going to be, a drama queen can make the tiniest point seem like a spear.

 

[RebelMonster]

Thanks, ticklechin.
So yesterday was the last day of Metacam. (Painkillers). From today on they will have no more painkillers. They've had them for 12 days.
So I think Dribbel has eaten some food last night! I checked their bowl this morning and when I put it on the scale, 6 grams less food in it
Hopefully he will pick up more food the upcoming days. I haven't seen Dommel eating yet but he's somewhat of a dramaqueen, very easily stressed out and stuff. I really hope everything will be okay soon.

 

[RebelMonster]

Well that was quick, but the boys haven't eaten anything anymore on their own.
The day before yesterday was the last day they had painkillers.
I don't know what to do anymore. I softened their own food, I tried everything I could think of. Both of them lost some weight last nigt, about 6 grams each. I know it's not that much but it irritates the *bleep* out of me. Nothing that I do seems to lead to anything :'(

Getting really frustrated, every day that passes and they won't eat I lose some hope.

 

[ticklechin]

Put them back on the metacam and see if that helps, if it does it will tell you if there is still pain somewhere. Chinchilla teeth are innervated, meaning there are nerve passages in the tooth structure, if a vet is aggressive at a filing then those nerve endings are exposed and it takes time for the saliva to seal the tube endings-its sort of like a human who gets a filling and your tooth is sensitive for awhile after. A really talented vet (very rare bird when it comes to chin teeth filings) will avoid this with precision filing. Teeth issues just suck but you just have to go with the flow, feed as needed and be patient.

 

[RebelMonster]

My boys are losing weight again even with the handfeeding. I tried to cut back some of the critical care because I noticed they ate some of their pellets but they are not really eating for themselves. But when I give them less critical care they won't eat more...so they are losing weight. I am worried they will starve themselves when I don't give them the 'normal' ammount...

 

[ServantofBlueberry]

If it was me, since they arent eating I dont think I would try to cut back on the critical care. Maybe you should try the stuff Fuzzies Kingdom sells, I have heard a lot of people on here say that their guys prefer it to critical care.

http://www.fuzzieskingdom.com/herbs/remedies/syringe-feeding.html

 

[RebelMonster]

It's not the problem that they don't like the Critical Care, they do like it. Handfeeding is not a problem. That goes well.
The thing that bothers me is that they just won't eat their pellets. The dental-thing has been 2 weeks ago, not much has changed. Dribbels eats some pellets but not a lot, when I give him less Critical Care (So hopefully he would be hungry and start eating on his own) he loses weight like crazy. Weight loss in 2 days: 14 grams!
Dommel just doesn't want to eat solid foods period.

Tomorrow I will recieve some painkillers, carprofen drops. I have no clue if that will help. They have been off painkillers for a week now.

I know I keep on repeating the same song but I just don't know what to think of it. Maybe they are being stubborn. You know, that they find it easy to be fed, no need to start eating on their own since they won't starve, right?
I am scared to feed them less Critical Care because I'm afarid they will starve themselves. I know they CAN eat pellets, because every night some grams of pellets are eaten, they just refuse to eat a normal ammount

 

[ServantofBlueberry]

Sorry for your frustrations. I have never had a tooth issue, I pray that I dont. I know that BOTH of mine would be complete drama queens and I would probably be going through the same thing. Good luck.

I wonder if they are eating the pellets, or just taking them out to try and eat them but then throwing them down because they are still in pain??