Is it normal for appetite to decrease with age?

[nsiemens7]

Hi, I have a 12 year old chinchilla who has had a decreased appetite over the past month that seems to be getting progressively worse. We have been in and out of the vet over the past 2 weeks trying to figure out what is going on. The vet thought she had enteritis and treated her with baytril, reglan, and probiotics. Her meds were completed 4 days ago and the vet told me to see if once she is off the meds if her appetite will pick up again....but it's not. I'm worried because I don't want her to continue to lose weight or get sick from not eating enough. She is drinking plenty of water though and she is still pooping, and the stools appear to be normal size and consistency. I ordered an herbal supplement from fuzzies kingdom, and some peppermint leaves, nettle leave, and some chamomile to see if I can entice her to eat...but I'm still waiting for those items to arrive in the mail. I've heard mention of an elixir called Replenichin sold on AZ Chins online store. Should I look into this more? I'm not familiar with it, and I'm sure it is safe but would like some input before I buy it. I have tried orchard hay, alfalfa hay, timothy hay, and she doesn't want to eat any of it. She is on Mazuri pellets and is only eating a minimal amount of those. I have started feeding her 10-20mL of critical care per day to keep her GI tract moving until she wants to eat more on her own. She's lost interest in her favorite treats like rose hips, and currently has no interest in sticks of any kind. Her teeth are normal...no problems there. Many people I have talked to say that older chins usually do need to be supplemented or enticed to eat to keep the weight on. I'm doing everything I can and would really benefit from any additional nutritional advice anyone can share. Thank you in advance!

 

[Strevale]

Try crushing up her pellets and mixing it with water and making a mash and see if she will take that.

 

[Riven]

Did you have her teeth xrayed?

Have you been giving a probiotic?

I'm not sure what the Replenichin is, but is Susan sells it, it's something that she uses personally I'm sure.

Is she just eating less or is she losing weight? If she's not losing weight I wouldn't worry about it. If her poops were normal and fecal was normal there's no way I'd put my chin on baytril because it's so hard on them. It takes more than 4 days to rebuild the good flora that it destroyed.

I would start with seeing if she's losing weight, you said she's not eating, but you didn't really say she was losing a lot of weight or how much. I wouldn't rush into shoving a bunch of different things into her right now because if there is a problem you won't know what really caused it if you put her on all kinds of new stuff.

 

[ticklechin]

What diagnostic tests were done, was the chin put under and was a oral exam, perio exam and x-rays done including a chest x-ray ? Was a fecal float done? Was blood taken? Giving crushed pellets or some kind of supplement is not going to take care of the original problem, that has to be diagnosed and corrected if possible, old chins do not slow down on appetite nor do they lose weight for no reason.

 

[symphle]

I cant help much but I will say weve used replenichin (it was a gift) and it helped our rescues gain a significant amount of weight. Their fur also perked nicely and we noticed it helped their GI stay in check.

 

[ticklechin]

This is not a rescue according to the OP, so weight loss from stress and the such really does not apply and the chin needs to be diagnosed and the situation corrected, not just covered up with a supplement.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Replenachin is not a supplement. It is a digestive aid that can help clean up the digestive tract which helps the chins feel better and absorb more nutrients from the food. I had several chinchillas that came from the same source and all chinchillas were diagnosed with entiritis. 6 months after their original replenachin treatment, they have all gained 100g of healthy weight. They don't gain fat or ridiculous amounts of muscle, they just fill out to a healthy weight. I have before and after pictures of a few of the chinchillas that I do not mind posting.

Also, as a chinchilla is recovering from illness, replenachin can help them very much. It encourages the chinchillas to eat a lot more hay, but does not put them off their pellets either. It works great on older chinchillas and gives them a burst of energy. I watched my 9 year old chin popcorn for the first time since she was kit when I gave her replenachin.

The chin the OP posted about has been seen by a vet and given medication. What is needed now is recovery to help the chinchilla get back to a normal, healthy weight and appetite. Using replenachin won't affect anything else going on with the chin and it won't hurt.

nsiemens7, I would give the replenachin a try with your chin. Sometimes decreased appetite like you are experiencing is caused by internal problems due to age and nothing will help. If your chin is just going off of feed because of a bad bout of entiritis, the replenachin will help. It is not a miracle cure or a supplement for weight gain, it is simply a digestive aid that helps your chin feel better and absorb more nutrients from their food. Them feeling better will help in increasing appetite.

 

[ticklechin]

What is the mechanism in this home made item that cleans the digestive tract? And what makes the intestines absorb more ingrediants? What makes the appetite increase? Since ingrediants are not listed can you explain it please?

 

[ticklechin]

And I am not being snarky, looking at the digestion system during necropsy, the inner linings are pretty clean so I wonder what needs to be cleaned and what is it that does this cleaning?

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Dawn I don't think that replenachin actually "cleans" the digestive tract. It is a digestive aid.

I have used replenachin and found it to be beneficial. Animals supplemented with it gained healthy weight over time and their health was invigorated. Most of the animals I gave it to were older breeders and each one benefited from it. I feel replenachin is a good product. It does not cure illness and should not be used as a substitute for vet care.

 

[ticklechin]

If it does not cleanse it, then why is it advertised as such, from the website it cleans intestines, of what and why I have no idea.

Product Name: Replenachin Revitalizing Elixir

Description: Replenachin elixir is formulated to cleanse the digestive system without the harshness of antibiotic treatments and effectively shows results within seven days. This cleanse results in better nutrient absorption from food consumed by chins and removes toxic accumulations in the intestinal tract. It is safe and effective for chinchillas of all ages.

Replenachin is added directly to the drinking water and does not have any taste or odor so it will not impact a chin’s thirst adversely. It may be used for whole herds of chins or just for a few that are needing a boost to their health. The formula may be used in waterbottles or watering systems. The green color allows the chin owner to easily see which waterbottles have been treated with Replenachin.

You may administer a Replenachin cleanse every six months, once every other season – choose Fall and Spring or Winter and Summer for the cleanse. The result will be a chinchilla with a much improved immune system, better absorption of nutrients from food, increased energy, increased muscle mass and better tone, droppings more consistent in size and shape, and improved coat and skin. Results can be seen in the first few days but may continue to be seen for up to three months. In the days after the cleanse is complete chins are more receptive to probiotics populating the intestinal tract with good bacteria that can aide in digestion, but this is not completely necessary.

This program is very effective with helping chins that have had moderate to severe digestive issues in the past. It will help to bring digestive problems under control in just 7 days. This is a great program for rescue chins or new chins in quarantine. It is advised to provide adequate amounts of fresh grass hay to optimize the cleanse.

 

[lilchinchilla]

The ingredients are clearly posted up.
The main component in the cleansing process is GSH.

If you've not read what GSH is:
http://www.beverlynadler.com/html/gsh.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/93734-benefits-glutathione/

There are of course other ingredients for boosting energy and appetite stimulating, but the key ingredient is GSH for the cleansing process. I did mention GSH a few times back in the day on CNG (chinsngliders forum, I am not sure if you remember my posts about it or not.), as I have used it for numerous years with my own chinchillas.

 

[ticklechin]

A google research of "oral glutathione digestion" the results for the most part reflect this statement, if it can't survive a human digestive tract, not sure how it will do going through a chinchilla stomach and cecum.


Oral Glutathione
Ingesting direct Glutathione does not raise Glutathione levels since it is poorly absorbed through the digestive system. The fragile tripeptide (3-amino acid) structure of Glutathione makes surviving the digestive tract a near impossibility. Additionally, your cells must generate their own Glutathione to be effective

http://www.immunehealthscience.com/oral-glutathione.html

http://www.pointofreturn.com/glutathione.html


http://www.nutritionadvisor.com/glutathione.html

 

[ticklechin]

I am not saying the product is bad, just wondering about the cleansing thing. Some things you just use because they work, I use lifeline but don't know exactly why chins do well on it.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

It cleanses toxins not fecal material.

 

[lilchinchilla]

GSH synthesized works fine for oral consumption.
You can read about it being used orally here:
http://www.vitaflex.com/res_gshhealtha.php

Investigations in humans have used 15 mg/kg as an oral bolus to increase the plasma GSH concentration two- to fivefold. The transit of orally administered GSH to tissues is thought to occur via absorption from the intestinal lumen, export from enterocytes into the blood, and uptake from the plasma into cells.10,14 Gastrointestinal transport of GSH appears to be via nonenergy-requiring, sodium-independent, carrier-mediated diffusion.15

Various epithelial cells, such as enterocytes, alveolar cells, renal proximal tubular cells, endothelial cells, and retinal pigmented epithelial cells, are capable of exogenous GSH uptake, which supports the function of GSH-dependent detoxification systems.10,13 This allows GSH concentrations to be maintained better than by synthesis alone. Increasing plasma GSH concentrations by oral administration has been shown to increase the availability of GSH for transport into these tissues.

Substrates for GSH synthesis are provided either by transport of amino acids into the cells or by transpeptidase activity at the cell surface, which is responsible for salvaging amino acids from circulating GSH for reuse in the intracellular resynthesis of GSH. The cellular concentration of GSH, therefore, is regulated by a complex process of precursor amino acid transport across cell membranes, intracellular synthesizing enzymes, feedback regulation, and intracellular GSH complexing via conjugation of GSH with a variety of electrophilic compounds through GSH transferase reactions.

Major Functions of Glutathione

The major functions of GSH can be explained by its role in detoxification, redox reactions, and the storage and transport of cysteine. Because a major physiologic function of GSH is to provide cells with a reducing environment and to destroy the reactive oxygen compounds and free radicals formed in metabolism, organs that have low concentrations of other antioxidants (such as catalase and superoxide dismutase) are thought to be more dependent on GSH for detoxification of reactive oxygen species than are organs that have alternative antioxidants.20

Hope that helps, Dawn. I have family to get to who are hungry and wanting their dinner, or else I would explain everything in more laymen terms for you. There is a lot more to replenachin than just GSH but that is one ingredient of it that is key to cleansing.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

I am not saying the product is bad, just wondering about the cleansing thing. Some things you just use because they work, I use lifeline but don't know exactly why chins do well on it.

I agree about using things because they work but not knowing exactly why. I trust the women who developed the product immensely. In 10 years this is the first supplement I have used.

 

[Asterix]

After reading all the scientific facts

After reading the threads and links I just want to ask were can I get this replenechin in the uk or I should try imunocall and on what dose for a chin.I must ask if this products are available in the UK with the same name..