humpback chinchilla?

[DoGooder]

Hi! I heard read that chinchillas can get a humpback disease, however, I don't recall the web site where I read that. I'm scared my chinchilla might have that disease because the article said if you feel a bump on their spine that's a symptom and my chinchilla does have a bump on her spine. Has anyone known a chinchilla with this disease?

DoGooder

 

[ticklechin]

That is not hunchback I:E hepatic lipidosis, the chin just has a dipped neck. Hunchback is further back on the spine, chin looks kind of like a camel. Hepatic lipidosis is also known as fatty liver-in chinchillas it most likely brought on by a period of anorexia, when this happens the body needs to find another source of fuel. The natural reaction of the chinchillas body is to send fatty cells to the liver to be broken down there. Unfortunately, the liver is not very good at this and may get clogged up by the fatty cells. This impairs the function of the liver leading to hepatic lipidosis. Chin would be lethargic, drool, have yellow lips and skin, lose more weight and would not eat and the hunch would occur due to the loss of fat.

 

[Spoof]

We'd need more pictures. )

 

[ticklechin]

A good pic of it from Whimsy Menageries website:

 

[The1nOnlyMatty]

Aw Toast! Such a pretty girl.

 

[DoGooder]

ticklechin, thanks for providing the name and symptoms of the hunchback disease!

DoGooder

 

[DoGooder]

ticklechin, thank you for the image of the hunchback chinchilla. My chinchilla doesn't have a bump that large, but I'm concerned she may have a spinal problem.

Spoof and all, I attached a picture of my chinchilla so people can see the bump. I also added pictures to my album here:

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/album.php?albumid=704

DoGooder

 

[momenteller]

I looked through your album, and it looks like a hunchback in my limited experience. My chin Cleo has a slight hunchback. Here is the thread on her, and it may give you insight into what testing is involved, etc.

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19414

Cleo still has a little hump, but it is less noticeable because she has gained 200 gms since moving here.

 

[DoGooder]

momenteller, thanks a million for the information about hunchbacks! I was interested in hearing your personal experience of caring for a chinchilla with a mild hunchback problem! I feel sorry for my chinchilla and I hope she's not in pain. Maybe the reason she doesn't use her exercise wheel for longer than 6 seconds is because of her hunchback.

Presumably she got the hunchback from starvation either because she wasn't fed properly at her other homes or didn't want to eat for some reason. At my home she eats about 1 tablespoon Oxbow/Mazuri, 1 cup of Timothy hay, and 1 teaspoon healthy snacks like roses and millet per day. She will eat a cup of millet if I let her and I'm wondering if I should increase her snacks or I should give her vitamin supplements to help her gain weight.

Maybe she needs a probiotic like the Accuflora brand I'm currently using. I read somewhere that surgery was necessary, but on the link you provided the best remedy is said to be weight gain. My chinchilla is only 1 pound which I thought was a normal adult weight and she's only about 9 months old. I'm glad there's hope for recovery as long as my chinchilla can increase her weight.

DoGooder

 

[Claire D]

What is your chin's weight like? Can you feel her ribs and other bones easily?
What are her droppings like?
What type of food was your chin on before and what is she on now? (please include all foods, treats and frequency).

A healthy chinchilla should have a decent covering of flesh on the bones. Some chins are naturally 'dippy' in the neck and it's not necessarily a sign of illness or problems, more of body conformation.

the article said if you feel a bump on their spine that's a symptom and my chinchilla does have a bump on her spine.

Also, it sometimes depends on how a chinchilla sits - even podgy chins can appear to have a slight hunch back if they sit in a certain position - so the rest of the body condition which also needs to be observed.

 

[DoGooder]

Claire D., I weighed my 9-month chinchilla today and she is 1 pound. I can feel her bones. Her spine feels like bumps the size of cheerios. I can feel all her ribs as well.

Her droppings look normal-black, about 1 centimeter, hard but not dry. She poops all day, at least 250 droppings per day. If she's nervous and in a strange environment she holds it in.

She arrived with the following foods:

Oxbow chinchilla pellets

Chinchilla Daily Diet, brand: All Living Things (sugary treats, sunflower seeds, etc.)

Alfalfa Cookies, Heart Shaped Treats, F.M. Brown's Sons

Sweet Meadow Timothy Hay

Sun-Cured Western Cut Timothy Hay (generic package says not for retail sale)

I got my chinchilla a month ago (July 9th). Her owner said she preferred hay to pellets, and I noticed she did eat a lot more hay than pellets. Three weeks ago I started feeding her Mazuri brand pellets hoping she would eat more, but she likes the Oxbow better. She eats a heaping tablespoon of Oxbow/Mazuri per day normally but some days she won't eat any.

It's difficult to measure hay consumption, but I stuff a 4" diameter hay wire ball with hay per day, and she normally eats most of it so I guess she eats about 1 cup packed hay per day. 2 1/2 weeks ago I gave her a branch of millet which is covered with 1" thick millet about 10" long, so I guess that was about 1 cup of millet seeds. She ate it in half a day. When I gave her a wheat branch (1/4 cup wheat) she ate it in half an hour.

She also loves dried roses but I only gave her one per day till I ran out, and then I ordered whole organic rose hips. Once a week I give her the alfalfa heart-shaped cookies she's used to from her other home. I used to give her a cheerio per day, but since she likes whole grains I no longer feed her cheerios.

I noticed her cage had no wooden chew toys, sticks or any wooden furniture. I assume that's why she chewed all the plastic items. Her cage was filthy so I guess it wasn't changed much.

Her previous owner said my chinchilla was 2 months when she was purchased from PetSmart last February, so I don't know what kind of food she was given there. The woman who sold her to me seemed very glad to get rid of her. When I mentioned it must be sad to leave her pet, she gave me a blank stare, and she said she doesn't have time to care for her, chinchillas are not the right pet for her, and that she might get a dog next.

My worry is should I give my chinchilla more treats which I know she will eat a ton of, but then she won't eat the healthy Oxbow/Mazuri. Also, I read 1 pound is normal weight for a chinchilla but then why is my chinchilla bony if she weighs normal? She's active and alert, and mostly calm in my presence walking up and down my arm, resting on my shoulder, etc. so I don't think she has psychological issues. Maybe she needs more exercise to put on weight.

DoGooder

 

[Spoof]

It should eventually go away with good food and care, though it can take 4-8 months. I've never done anything special to the cases I get in and they have all come out of it.

DoGooder, I haven't been following your threads, how long have you had her?

 

[ticklechin]

I still say its dipped neck, its hard to describe the subtle difference between it and hunchback. If that chin fills out some the condition would look better IMO.

 

[Spoof]

Dawn, I can see why you would think that.

If you compare the features and proportions of the chin, look at the health and glossiness of the fur and brightness of the eyes I would say that it is filled out. It's ears say it is younger but the brown tipped fur and oxidization point to an older chin. To me she looks like a classic pelter that was bred to be long and skinny.

Fat, skinny, short or long they should never hold themselves to appear hunchback. If they do they are experiencing some sort of internal discomfort and are trying to relieve it. In my experience a chinchilla with a conformational dip in the neck will have a very slight and smooth curve in the spine that runs from behind the shoulders to the base of the skull.

 

[Claire D]

Oxbow chinchilla pellets

Chinchilla Daily Diet, brand: All Living Things (sugary treats, sunflower seeds, etc.)

Alfalfa Cookies, Heart Shaped Treats, F.M. Brown's Sons

Sweet Meadow Timothy Hay

Sun-Cured Western Cut Timothy Hay (generic package says not for retail sale)

.......................
She eats a heaping tablespoon of Oxbow/Mazuri per day normally but some days she won't eat any.

....................... 2 1/2 weeks ago I gave her a branch of millet which is covered with 1" thick millet about 10" long, so I guess that was about 1 cup of millet seeds. She ate it in half a day. When I gave her a wheat branch (1/4 cup wheat) she ate it in half an hour.

She also loves dried roses but I only gave her one per day till I ran out, and then I ordered whole organic rose hips. Once a week I give her the alfalfa heart-shaped cookies she's used to from her other home. I used to give her a cheerio per day, but since she likes whole grains I no longer feed her cheerios.

..............................................

My worry is should I give my chinchilla more treats which I know she will eat a ton of, but then she won't eat the healthy Oxbow/Mazuri.

I would cut all treats from her diet, especially the millet and wheat branch.
What she needs are good quality pellets and hay only for now. Until you have seen her eating all her pellet ration and some hay I would not give her anything else.

Chins are junk food addicts and are poor fat processors - fatty seeds/nuts etc are not recommended for chins due to the potential to develop fatty liver problems. You're absolutely right that she's going to hold out for the unhealthy but tasty stuff over her pellets and hay. Don't give her the option and you should see an increase in her pellet munching.


I would stick to just the normal, bland, high fibre diet (pellets and hay plus an occasional pinch of alfalfa) for at least 4 months with absolutely no additions except nutritionally balanced herb or supplement mixes from Tanya (for example: http://www.fuzzieskingdom.com/herbs/remedies/appetite-weight-loss-rabbit-chinchilla.html).


I would also weigh her once a week to keep track of the weight trend - do you have a scale which has grams on it? I would use that rather than the old fashioned metric scale - it is more accurate to weigh in grams and easier to monitor slow or minimal cumulative weight loss/gain that way.

Also, I read 1 pound is normal weight for a chinchilla but then why is my chinchilla bony if she weighs normal? ..................... Maybe she needs more exercise to put on weight.

Weight is a bit of a red herring for chins TBH. Just like us, every chin is slightly different and 'normal' can mean different things depending on body structure.
That's why I was asking if she has a decent covering of flesh on her bones - she may well be a slim, petite chin but, from your description, I would suspect she needs to build her weight up a bit. She should not feel bony but you should be able to feel her bones (rather than her being a big ball of furry lard ).

 

[momenteller]

Is there a reason why you are trying to introduce Mazuri if she enjoys the Oxbow? Oxbow is a great pellet. I would do what Claire suggests: free feed the Oxbow, continue to free feed hay, and cut everything else. And also purchase the gram scale.

Best wishes for your girl!

 

[DoGooder]

Spoof, thanks for giving me a timeframe to see results of a change in diet! As for how long she’s been with me I got her on July 9th, so she has lived with me for 31 days.

Ticklechin, I don’t know anything about dipped neck. Is it a disease or a healthy unique anatomical quality?

Claire D., your suggestion to put my chinchilla on a bare hay and Mazuri/Oxbow diet seems like good advice, though I’m afraid my chinchilla will think I don’t love her anymore because I won’t give her treats. I guess I can put her treats in the freezer to keep till the hunchback is healed.

As for the weight I put her on a balance scale that I use for myself and mailing packages. It is very exact and measures in quarter pound increments. But maybe a gram scale would be more accurate.

Momenteller, when I first got my chinchilla she ate almost none of her Oxbow, probably about 10 pellets a day maximum. That’s why I got her Mazuri hoping she would like it better. The first time I gave her Mazuri she immediately started eating it and moved the bowl to her sleeping quarters. But then she grew tired of it and now she only eats Oxbow.

DoGooder

 

[ticklechin]

The chin IMO is just the body type you see in a petstore, when they eat sitting up it can look like it but again I feel this chin is not suffering from hepatic lipidosis, just mediocre quality. Just feed a healthy diet of hay, pellets and water.

 

[Cuddlebug]

The chinchilla will not feel that you don't love it anymore if you stop feeding the treats. They are not capable of thinking like that. Many chinchillas are fed a diet of only pellets and hay and they are all doing just fine. Even when you do treat, it should only be one or two treats a week. That means one or two period, not one or two of each kind. Your chinchilla is not eating pellets because it is stuffed to the brim with treats. If you do stop feeding the treats, she will probably not eat for a few days. If this happens, do not give in. She is just holding out for the junk. Once she gets hungry enough, she will eat her healthy food. She will not starve herself waiting for the treats.