Fed chinchilla pasta piece that was too large

[nicawick]

Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated!

I fed my 2 chinchillas a piece of dried pasta which I am now scared was too large for them.. one of them seems completely fine and was eager for playtime, but the other wouldn't come out during play time, and is just sitting and not moving at all, sometimes he'll move his head. He'll look at me but thats about it, and he's usually the energetic friendly one.

I tried to rub his belly, and he didn't run away, I am really scared that the pasta swelled in his stomach and that something horrible is going to happen as a result.

I am a new chinchilla owner so I wont make the same mistake again but I hope someone can let me know if it seems like I need to take my chin to the vet right away or not..

also when I went up to the cage to check on him, he was huddled beside the other chinchilla and started squeaking loudly.

help?

 

[e.murphy518]

I am not a senior member or anything but it sounds like he's lethargic and in pain, I personally would take him to the vet just in case there is some sort of blockage in his digestive tract or at least just to find out why he seems to be in pain. Hopefully another member will chime in soon to let you know how urgent it is.

Definitely no more dried pasta or really any other human food, as tempting as it is to give them treats. Just stick to chinchilla safe treats and use them sparingly good treats that you can buy at the grocery store are organic plain shredded wheat and slow cook plain oats (not the instant oat meal)

 

[greychins]

I'm not sure how much would be too much... I mean, we give shredded wheat, and if they chew it up in small pieces, then it's fine, but if they were to somehow swallow a large chunk, that could cause a problem. Same thing with the pasta

My personal thoughts -- if you think he's acting off, I'd take him in. A drastic change in behavior is never a good thing. Peace of mind, for me anyway, is worth a vet visit if I think something may be wrong.

Is he still eating/drinking/pooing?

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

Eating/drinking/pooping is a prime question and if any of those are off I would be rushing to a chin-experienced vet asap.

Also: pasta is not a chin safe treat. Dried rosehips, a pinch of old-fashioned plain oats, maybe a little wee shredded wheat square or plain cheerio every now and again, but that's about it. Please spend some time searching the forum, there are lots of threads on safe treats, safe food, etc.

 

[javachin]

Take him to the vet. It could be completely coincidental that you gave him pasta and it could be something else altogether. No more pasta in the future...

 

[AZChins]

It's probably not the pasta. Dried pasta would have to be ground down by the back molars to be swallowed, so a large piece probably wouldn't cause an issue in the stomach. Now, it could cause a problem if the chin choked on it.

I hope he's doing better now.