Help new member with chinchilla

[MCD]

Hello everyone,

I’m in need of your expertise as I don’t know anyone with chinchillas. I have a 1 and 4 months old chin. His name is Chip, Chip has been a very naughty and adventurous boy, not very sweet but he kinda is in his own way.
Saturday evening, I left him out of the cage roaming around and the living room and he was totally fine, being his adventurous self together with my other chin Calvin. But Sunday morning came and he was laying almost lifeless on the bottom of the cage next to Calvin. He was very weak and lethargic and could barely move his hind legs, I realized they were not pooping so much, so I immediately went and bought some new hay as it seems like the one I was giving them for a week wasn’t really helping, although, I saw they ate it. Since yesterday I’ve been forcefully giving him water with a syringe as I don’t see him jumping to the platform where he has his pellets and water and provided him with a bit of food he ate without any problem, also ate a bit of hay and ate a raisin as I saw it’s recommended in case of an intestinal obstruction. Calvin seems to be totally fine, he’s 7 years old. But Chip, still struggles a bit to jump, is still lethargic and finds comfort in laying inside of his bath dust. Today he hasn’t eat the pellets I’ve been offering him and neither the raisins. I keep on giving him water with a syringe.
Unfortunately, here in the Netherlands there are very few veterinarians specialized in chinchillas, so was difficult to find a clinic open on a Sunday and the vet close by where I take Calvin for check ups is on holidays until next week. I made an appointment with another vet a bit far from my area tomorrow at 10am. Please let me know your thoughts, any recommendations are welcome!

 

[tunes]

Is it possible that they got into something that could have poisoned them? Could they have chewed an electrical cord? Did he fall? What's the temperature like in their area? Can you get (or make) food that can be syringe fed?

I need a little more information to try and pinpoint what's going on. The vet is definitely in order, either way.

 

[MCD]

Is it possible that they got into something that could have poisoned them? Could they have chewed an electrical cord? Did he fall? What's the temperature like in their area? Can you get (or make) food that can be syringe fed?

I need a little more information to try and pinpoint what's going on. The vet is definitely in order, either way.

Hi Tunes,
Thanks a lot for your reply,
Chip has slowly getting better. Took him to the vet, they checked his teeth and stomach, x-rayed him and he’s totally fine, was only a bit dehydrated. Now he’s almost back to normal, a bit lethargic but fine. He’s got a treatment with painkillers, a solution for his gastric mobility and liquid food, as he still eats very little. Now that you mentioned it, I was thinking that probably the room got too cold for him or something like that? I have everything chinchilla proofed, so no cables or plants laying around while they are out of the cage.
Thanks again for your interest and your reply.
Hugs,
Martha and the chinchillada (Calvin and Chip)

 

[Amethyst]

Now that you mentioned it, I was thinking that probably the room got too cold for him or something like that? I have everything chinchilla proofed, so no cables or plants laying around while they are out of the cage. I have everything chinchilla proofed, so no cables or plants laying around while they are out of the cage.

Chins can handle pretty cold temps, so long as it wasn't below about 5C in the room it's unlikely it was too cold for a chin over a year old. It's generally heat that is more of an issue for them, you ideally want to keep it below about 20-25C.

I know you say it was chin proofed, but it's not uncommon for chins to chew on walls (especially drywall), baseboards, furniture, etc, which is often painted or treated making it unsafe for chins to chew on or ingest. As well as any rugs, carpets, or fabric (like on chairs or couches) that they can sometimes nibble on if you aren't watching carefully. I would also keep in mind that a fall of more then about a foot can hurt a chin if they land wrong, but they can easily jump 5 feet if they get the mind to.

I would also be very careful with using raisin, I'm not sure where you read they should be given to chins for intestinal obstructions but they can cause a lot of harm. They are not healthy for chins at all and can cause digestive issues (like gas, bloat, and diarrhea) as well as other health issues.
What you described sounds similar to having gas or bloat (a build up of gas). In that case, aside from going to the vet, the best thing to try is gas drops (for human infants they don't make ones for chins). Here is some more info on bloat to see if that sounds like what it could be the issue https://www.cuddlebugchinchillas.com/information/health/bloat.html

 

[MCD]

Chins can handle pretty cold temps, so long as it wasn't below about 5C in the room it's unlikely it was too cold for a chin over a year old. It's generally heat that is more of an issue for them, you ideally want to keep it below about 20-25C.

I know you say it was chin proofed, but it's not uncommon for chins to chew on walls (especially drywall), baseboards, furniture, etc, which is often painted or treated making it unsafe for chins to chew on or ingest. As well as any rugs, carpets, or fabric (like on chairs or couches) that they can sometimes nibble on if you aren't watching carefully. I would also keep in mind that a fall of more then about a foot can hurt a chin if they land wrong, but they can easily jump 5 feet if they get the mind to.

I would also be very careful with using raisin, I'm not sure where you read they should be given to chins for intestinal obstructions but they can cause a lot of harm. They are not healthy for chins at all and can cause digestive issues (like gas, bloat, and diarrhea) as well as other health issues.
What you described sounds similar to having gas or bloat (a build up of gas). In that case, aside from going to the vet, the best thing to try is gas drops (for human infants they don't make ones for chins). Here is some more info on bloat to see if that sounds like what it could be the issue https://www.cuddlebugchinchillas.com/information/health/bloat.html

Hi Amethyst,

Thank you so much for your reply,
I’ll keep an eye on them about nibbling on the walls and rugs (which Chip does). I mentioned to the vet about giving them raisins and she didn’t object about it, but who knows? Right now, he’s back to normal, with the exception that he peed in his dust bath and the tunnel where he was playing, where he usually never does. But probably is because of what they used to hydrate him. I’m happy he’s all back to his old self! Also, thanks a lot for sending me the info about his bloating. Have a lovely day!

 

[Amethyst]

Hi Amethyst,

Thank you so much for your reply,
I’ll keep an eye on them about nibbling on the walls and rugs (which Chip does). I mentioned to the vet about giving them raisins and she didn’t object about it, but who knows? Right now, he’s back to normal, with the exception that he peed in his dust bath and the tunnel where he was playing, where he usually never does. But probably is because of what they used to hydrate him. I’m happy he’s all back to his old self! Also, thanks a lot for sending me the info about his bloating. Have a lovely day!

Yeah giving raisins is kind of confusing, they use to be the go to treat when chins first really became popular as pets about 30-40 years ago since most chins love them. However over time we found out the side effects of giving high sugar treats have on chins, short term things like digestive upset and seizures, as well as long term if fed regularly they can cause things like tooth decay, organ damage and failure, obesity, and diabetes. Unfortunately since most of the info in books on care for chins as pets was written back in the 1980s that outdated info is still being spread around, and sadly what most vets will see in textbooks too. Unless they personally own, do research on their own, or specialize in chinchillas, most vets don't know much about chins, and tend to lump them in with "similar" animals like rabbits and guinea pigs, meaning they assume that some fruits and vegetables are not only ok to give but are a normal part of their diet.

Before anyone starts saying "but my chins lived 20+ years eating raisins all the time", I know there are chins out there that have lived long lives being fed sugary treats like raisins, however it's kind of like smoking cigarettes for humans. There are people that smoked cigarettes ever day and live over 100, as well as back in the mid 1900s smoking was actually recommended by doctors, but now we know all the health issues they can cause, and that most people will suffer (and even die) from the effects it has on their body.

 

[MCD]

Yeah giving raisins is kind of confusing, they use to be the go to treat when chins first really became popular as pets about 30-40 years ago since most chins love them. However over time we found out the side effects of giving high sugar treats have on chins, short term things like digestive upset and seizures, as well as long term if fed regularly they can cause things like tooth decay, organ damage and failure, obesity, and diabetes. Unfortunately since most of the info in books on care for chins as pets was written back in the 1980s that outdated info is still being spread around, and sadly what most vets will see in textbooks too. Unless they personally own, do research on their own, or specialize in chinchillas, most vets don't know much about chins, and tend to lump them in with "similar" animals like rabbits and guinea pigs, meaning they assume that some fruits and vegetables are not only ok to give but are a normal part of their diet.

Before anyone starts saying "but my chins lived 20+ years eating raisins all the time", I know there are chins out there that have lived long lives being fed sugary treats like raisins, however it's kind of like smoking cigarettes for humans. There are people that smoked cigarettes ever day and live over 100, as well as back in the mid 1900s smoking was actually recommended by doctors, but now we know all the health issues they can cause, and that most people will suffer (and even die) from the effects it has on their body.

I see, it makes sense. I’ll stop giving them raisins totally if that’s the case. Is there anything you could recommend me to give them as treats? I buy them seeds bars and some cookies and wafers that have no sugar. Many thanks again for taking your time to send this info.

 

[MCD]

Here’s a picture of Chip with the wafer

 

[tunes]

Some breeders were in the habit of giving raisins to chins at shows because chins would stop eating and become constipated. I think that trickled down to pet owners.

 

[Amethyst]

I see, it makes sense. I’ll stop giving them raisins totally if that’s the case. Is there anything you could recommend me to give them as treats? I buy them seeds bars and some cookies and wafers that have no sugar. Many thanks again for taking your time to send this info.

Seeds are also unfortunately not good for chins, they (along with nuts) are too fatty and can lead to obesity as well as fatty liver disease. They do eat seeds in the wild but it's more like grass seeds and other plant seeds that a low in the fatty oils, not the kinds of seeds commonly sold as treats for rodents and birds. Most of those seed sticks I've seen are also held together with honey, which just like other sugars is not good for chins. A much healthier option is certain herbs and flowers, as well as certain low sugar "fruit" like rose hips and hawthorn berries. Some people that use to give raisins have also have switched to goji berries instead as a special treat since although they are still high in sugar they contain less then raisins. Goji berries need to be given very sparingly, like one per month (it can be broken into pieces to give smaller treats more often) if you still want to give a sweet treat (think of it like a piece of candy).

Here is a list of safe treats I got from a chinchilla group on facebook, many of the items are sold in health stores and for making tea



In reality chins don't actually need treats at all, I know the chins will disagree, but a diet of just hay, water, and a good quality pellet only food is really all they need. Most chinchilla pellets already contain sugars, both to help bind them as well as to make them tastey to the chin, hay naturally contains sugars (more or less depending on time of year it's harvested), also if you give chew sticks with bark on them, bark also contains natual sugars. So when giving treats you are really not just adding sugar to their diet, you are adding additional sugar.

I'll just add this little info pic about why chins need a simple diet.

 

[MCD]

Seeds are also unfortunately not good for chins, they (along with nuts) are too fatty and can lead to obesity as well as fatty liver disease. They do eat seeds in the wild but it's more like grass seeds and other plant seeds that a low in the fatty oils, not the kinds of seeds commonly sold as treats for rodents and birds. Most of those seed sticks I've seen are also held together with honey, which just like other sugars is not good for chins. A much healthier option is certain herbs and flowers, as well as certain low sugar "fruit" like rose hips and hawthorn berries. Some people that use to give raisins have also have switched to goji berries instead as a special treat since although they are still high in sugar they contain less then raisins. Goji berries need to be given very sparingly, like one per month (it can be broken into pieces to give smaller treats more often) if you still want to give a sweet treat (think of it like a piece of candy).

Here is a list of safe treats I got from a chinchilla group on facebook, many of the items are sold in health stores and for making tea

View attachment 22244

In reality chins don't actually need treats at all, I know the chins will disagree, but a diet of just hay, water, and a good quality pellet only food is really all they need. Most chinchilla pellets already contain sugars, both to help bind them as well as to make them tastey to the chin, hay naturally contains sugars (more or less depending on time of year it's harvested), also if you give chew sticks with bark on them, bark also contains natual sugars. So when giving treats you are really not just adding sugar to their diet, you are adding additional sugar.

I'll just add this little info pic about why chins need a simple diet.

View attachment 22245

Yes, definitely Calvin especially would disagree with you haha! But yes, it’s better to give them something that it’s best for them. It’s quite confusing that those treats are getting sold without the consideration that can be damaging for the chins. Anyway, thank you so much for all the information