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

[Mt. Zion Chins]

as Dawn has said sometimes it takes a long time after teeth surgery for them to want to eat on their own. If they are not eating you HAVE to hand feed them. There is no choice unless you want them dead. Also when hand feeding I feed 75-100 ml/cc a day so they gain weight and not lose it. I hate to discourage you but I had a real drama queen that I had to hand feed for 6 years before she died (teeth problems). As long as I fed her she was a happy chin and loved attention. I took her every where with me when I went somewhere longer than a day (including camping in a AC conditioned RV) - she loved it.

 

[RebelMonster]

I am still feeding them, offcourse i am not letting them starve themselves.
Tomorrow I will get carprofen drops, I think they are in a little pain still. I really hope that's the answer.
Overall they look and act fine, except for the non-eating.

And for the pellets: i can tell they are eating them because they are nowhere to be found in the cage

 

[ticklechin]

If you were in the USA I would suggest getting a small amount of Calf Manna or Equine Senior pellets or Bephar + to try to get them to eat, sometimes it takes giving them something crunchy they like rather than old boring pellets-they can become addicted to hand feeding especially if they really dig critical care so I will wean using something else crunchy yet tasty.

 

[ticklechin]

Also, have you actually watched either of them eat something recently? Did they eat something tasty like this? (I made these videos with 2 malo chins and a normal chin using raisins and a papaya treat, to help a owner in the past)

Normal chin raisin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjkGZNs0wMo


Malo chin after filing about 2 weeks-very slow and methodical chewing, mouth swipe at end

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwApTjMqOrk


Malo chin in need of filing, won't touch it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTGxuoaqnAo

So give them something tasty and watch them eat-if its inhaled they are b-sing you and can be weaned, if not, there is still something going on. Dental chins are frustrating.

 

[RebelMonster]

Ticklechin, your videos don't seem to work? First time I tried to see them i got 'this video is private' and the other times it just says 'error'.
Dribbel is taking his favorite 'snack' but indeed eats slowly.
Dommel is just rejecting everything. I really think he is able to eat because last night I heard someone chewing something crunchy (not nibbling on wood toys, real eating sounds) and when I checked the cage, Dommel was eating. When he saw me he just stopped and looked really caught in the act.
After that my husband saw him eating hay, when he saw my husband he dropped the hay and looked at him with 'busted' written all over his head!
So I guess Dommel is kind of a drama queen.... But it is frustrating he won't take treats or starts eating on his own when I cut back on the critical care.

 

[ticklechin]

The slow eating tells me there is still pain in the mouth, the other one sounds psychological, chin is angry with something.

 

[RebelMonster]

Really? Angry? I have no clue what that would be. He seems happy. Nothing has changed in his routine, nothing has changed in the cage or in the livingroom.
The other one is eating faster.
How do I ween of the critical care? Give them less obviously but how? Cut back 1/3 to see how that goes? Or less?

 

[ticklechin]

When I wean, I cut off the last feeding of the day, wait a couple of days and weigh daily,
then the next to the last feeding ect until weaned. Usually you will have some loss, 20mg is not unheard of.

 

[RebelMonster]

Ok, so if I try to wean them in a couple days (if they still continue to eat some on their own) it's not unusual for them to lose a little weight? And by 20 mgs you mean 20 grams?
I am so terrified that they will lose to much weight.

So sorry for all the (maybe stupid) questions, but in 7 years I never had any problems with them. I am thankful for this forum!

 

[ticklechin]

Grams, LOL. The only time I get worried about some loss when weaning is if the chin is already skinny, meaning under 400 grams. Those chins I will try to get weight gain first then wean. 20 grams is my personal limit I would accept for loss-that is not based on anything scientific, just my experience it causes no issues.

 

[RebelMonster]

Thought so, LOL!
Dribbel is at 472 grams, Dommel is currently at 427.
Dribbel is about the same weight as he was, Dommel is still 13 grams under his normal weight. He just fluctuates between 420 en 435 grams the last week.

Hopefully all will be well soon....

 

[RebelMonster]

Well....here we are again.
The boys are still not eating on their own. I can't figure out why they don't want to eat. I went back to the vet last night, she checked them out again, nothing is wrong. No tumors, no other weird stuff going on. Poops are normal. Behavior is normal.
I cut down the critical care, they now get 30 ml each a day. They are eating about 15 grams a day on their own(for them both, so 7 grams each probably) but no matter how much of little CC I give them, they are not picking up on eating more...
I am giving them the option of 2 different types of food. Also two different types of hay so they can chooese which one they want to eat. I am doing everything I can but nothing works :'(
They have lost weight again. Dommel is down to 403. :'(
The vet prescribed some medicine for their stomach and bowels to hopefully stimulate their appetite.

I don't know what to do anymore. Been handfeeding for about 5 weeks. Results are minimal.
I am very very upset. I don't think they will make it if it continues like this.

 

[ticklechin]

They appear to have the capability of eating since some food is passing the lips without being forced, I would ask the vet for a appetite stimulant such as cyproheptadine or vit b complex shots to try something over nothing.

 

[RebelMonster]

They are on those meds since monday. I took them to the vet monday and she prescribed those medicine. I am giving the meds every day as prescribed.
They've stopped eating completely since they had the meds on monday.

I don't know how much more I can take myself. This is stressing me out, I am just keeping them alive, nothing more. There is no progress.
:cry3:

 

[RebelMonster]

Hi all, I came back to give an update.
So everything went downhill, Dommel seemed to be very sick from all the meds. So I took him off all meds. I also took Dribbel off all meds. In the next few days Dommel seemed to feel a little better, day by day. After 3 days he started eating on his own! I cut back the CC, within 12 days both of the boys were eating on their own, some days better than other.
Since we had a vacation planned (back in december) for june 2014, I brought the boys to my parents (they took care of them). I installed their cage, they seemed fine. Dommel was 400 grams and Dribbel 465.
During the entire vacation my dad sent me messages with whatsapp and pictures.
When we got back, they both were very much alive, and a couple hours after the plane landed and I went to pick them back up. Got them back home, they immediately went for their food bowl.
Everything went better from that moment. Dommel hadn't lost any more weight during our vacation.
He is now on 426 grams and Dribbel on 531 grams (WOW, he has never been heavier than 485 grams). They seem happy, alive, cute, and very, very affectionate.

I love my boys so much, and I am thankful they made it.

 

[ticklechin]

YAY, good news!