hand feeding water.

[Anna]

If I am to hand feed my chinchilla water, how many mL or CCs should I be giving him a day? I don't wanna overdo it....

 

[starleomach]

Why are you hand feeding water?

 

[Anna]

He won't drink it appears. I give him fresh filtered water daily and watched the last bottle carefully and he hasn't been drinking at all. It works too, I checked. I don't know how else to keep him hydrated. Another question, I make his critical care and his lifeline preetty goopy, he seems to like it better that way. Would the water in that theoretically keep him hydrated enough?

 

[Anna]

Also, I have just been using a teeny 1 mL syringe and been giving him droplets off the end until he won't drink anymore, but I don't know when enough is enough or if he needs more during the day.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

If you are hand feeding him, the water in his food is enough. Chins that I have hand fed, never drink water also. In fact, they get more water in the hand feeding than most chins get drinking water. If you give him more water, he won't have enough 'room' for the food

 

[ticklechin]

If the chin is not showing any symptoms of dehydration such as loose skin-skin that when pulled up gently won't retract fast, droopy ears, little or no urine output, lethargy then the chin is getting enough in the food. Rather than risk aspiration during water hand feeding, only do it if needed.

 

[moon]

Agreed. If he's urinating, he's drinking some. It may not seem like much to you, but in combination with what he's getting in the hand feeding, it's a lot for that little body. Also, chins come from an arid region, so physically are capable of living with less water than we would think possible. Not suggesting that the chins we have now could survive out in the wild, but there is a genetic predisposition to living in arid regions. . .

If you're really worried about it, you could try to stimulate his drinking by hanging a bottle of 1/4 to 1/2 unsweetened apple or cranberry juice and the remainder water IN ADDITION TO his regular bottle (I usually don't go for half and half, but put less juice - it works just as well), or rubbing the nozzle of his regular bottle with a raisin to attract him. Juice grows mold very quickly, so if you do the juice thing, you're going to want to make sure to change it out and wash the bottle every day to prevent mold from growing.

 

[mishellyshel]

my hand fed chin urinates more than the rest. you can monitor output by lining the bottom of the cage with white paper towels.

 

[Anna]

If you are hand feeding him, the water in his food is enough. Chins that I have hand fed, never drink water also. In fact, they get more water in the hand feeding than most chins get drinking water. If you give him more water, he won't have enough 'room' for the food

This makes me feel way better. Thank you. I guess that thought crossed my mind, about the handfeeding having enough water, it just struck me as odd that he wasn't drinking anything. He isn't lethargic or experiencing any signs of dehydration. Thanks guys