BoundNoFtWaL
Well-known member
Hey all. I adopted a chin last Sunday from a guy on craig's list. Sigmund is about 4 years old. He and his cage were in horrible condition when I got him. His cage, plastic shelves, dust house, and wheel were covered in dried urine and poo. His belly was also covered in both and he had mats around his haunches. There was no bedding in his cage just lots of hay thrown about also very dirty. He was being fed some nasty food with big chunks of, I don't know, carrots maybe and pineapple, mixed in with pellets. He was also being feed sunflower seeds and peanuts. The containers I was given with his food had bugs in it. He was alert and running full speed on his wheel at 11am when I got there. The apartment he was in had to be in the high 70's. We're in Vegas and it was probably 112 that day. I was also given a smaller cage which was almost as dirty as the one he was living in, and a large ball for him to run in.
I brought him home with me in the smaller cage with the AC on full blast. He sat huddled in the corner while I sanitized and scrubbed everything else he owned. I threw the food away. I threw the plastic dust house away. Still have the ball but will not use it. I know they are not good for Chins. Oh, it reeks of smoke (the guy was a smoker) even after I scrubbed it. Well, I got his cage cleaned. Threw away the plastic shelves. Sanitized his food bowls and replaced them. I threw away his water bottle because there was something moldy looking growing in it! I gave him one of Stitch's spare glass water bottles. (Stitch is my other Chin)
He's now in the cage with a fleece blanket as bedding. I put a cuddle bone, some apple twigs, pumice stone, and timothy hay cubes in there for him to chew on. Stitch is eating Mazuri, and that's what I replaced Sigmund’s food with. We're doing a cold switch because of the condition of his previous food. He didn't really eat much the first couple of days. I put some hay in there too and mixed half a capsule of PB8 Pro-BIOTIC ACIDOPHILUS 14 Billion Good Bacteria. He's been nibbling.
I tried to clean his belly off with a damp wash cloth Tuesday and he sat in my lap for quite a while. I made sure to dry him well after. I noticed a wet spot in my hand where he was standing but it was only maybe a drop or two of liquid. I thought maybe he had peed on me, but it wasn't very much liquid at all. I didn't think much of it, I know they do that some times. Gave him a couple of dust baths and most of the yucky on his tummy came off. I also cleaned and sanitized his wheel and replaced it. He happily ran on it until Wednesday evening.
I heard some squeaking from the living room about 2am and came out see what was wrong. Some times Stitch drinks really loud at night. Stitch was fine. But, Sigmund was playing on his wheel. He had peed in the corner of his cage and there was a bit of blood near the potty puddle. I picked him up and he had a scratch on his penis. But, didn’t flinch when I touched it to check how much damage he had done. It appeared to just be an external scratch. I called the Vet and made an appointment to have him looked at.
We went in on Thursday and she looked him over, cut out the big mats on his bottom, combed him through with a comb, let him have a dust bath, and felt his tummy. She said there's no bumps. But, he was dripping a little. We aren't sure if it's because he felt threatened and he was trying to spray. She said he could also possibly have a UTI and to keep an eye on him. Other than that he’s really sweet and looks good. Seeing as how he’d only been with me for 4 days and they had to hold him down to trim the mats he could have just been nervous or afraid. I asked about what tests and what not we would do to check for UTI and she told me about a test she could run where they'd have to collect some pee from him which would be about $60 and also run an ultrasound for stones which would be $120 something. She told me to try to get him to take a little yogurt to stimulate the good flora in his tummy and reduce acid levels. I questioned her on the dairy product and she said yogurt's different because of the bacteria. Normally you shouldn’t give fatty dairy products but, the lactobacillus is good for the GI track. I was kind of hesitant still.
So, I was reading everyone's posts on acidophilus and went and got some. I tried yesterday to get him to eat some of the acidophilus, mixed with water off a spoon, but he wasn't having it. So, I tried the yogurt with it, but he wouldn't have it either. I've seen him at his water bottle a few times and he's nibbling on his hay. His poo count is less than it was yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon around 4pm I saw him sitting in the corners of his cage doing what looked like was trying to pee. He'd rear up into the corner and kind of squeeze his back legs together, best way I can describe it was like he was flexing his bum. And he was making these really quite crying sounds. I feel so bad for him. I've been feeling dehydrated myself for the last few days, so I kind of know how it feels. He was sitting on his food bowl doing the same baring down like I described kind of gripping the edges with his hands and feet and crying a little at about 7:30pm last night. I tried rubbing his tummy a little while he was doing this and he didn't flinch, but could feel him shaking and flexing his little belly. After he moved I saw a little streak on the bowl, kind of dark like maybe he peed, but it wasn't enough to even soak down to the food. (I'll be going out today to pick up a bowl to mount to the side of his cage so he won't sit in it.) Night before last night’s blanket had spots on it like he was leaking when he walked about, and there was a little piddle in the corner. I put his freshly washed blanket on top of his cage and he climbed up to check it out. He was up and about and climbing all over his cage last night and chewing on his pumice and sticks. I changed out his blanket last night and there were two corners where he had peed.
Oh, the vet also told me a little apple cider vinegar might help the tummy, but she didn’t say how much or how often. I’m guessing I’ll need another syringe to feed it to him as he probably won’t like the smell of it. Anyone tried to feed their chin’s vinegar? I know he weights 1.1 lbs. they weighed him on a cat scale. What can I do? I was going to try to pick up some rose hips and try to get him to take one with some of the acidophilus in it. I’m hesitant to give him the shredded wheat because the vet said they are prone to bloat. And if he's having problems going I don't want to plug him up more. I asked her about supplements and she said she wasn’t sure about them as she’s not a nutritionist, but sugary fruits and stuff with honey in it shouldn’t be given to them. I know a lot of posts here have suggested using lifeline for different things, but there's honey and wheat in it. She wanted me to watch him, but I don’t know for how long. I’m not sure how long he’s been having problems going either. Like I said he wasn’t living in the best conditions when I got him.
Got a cal from the vet today checking on him from a tech, our vet isn't in until tomorrow. I told them what's going on and made an appointment to have him looked at again. He's been with me a week now. Am I being too cautious? Anyone, any advice?
I brought him home with me in the smaller cage with the AC on full blast. He sat huddled in the corner while I sanitized and scrubbed everything else he owned. I threw the food away. I threw the plastic dust house away. Still have the ball but will not use it. I know they are not good for Chins. Oh, it reeks of smoke (the guy was a smoker) even after I scrubbed it. Well, I got his cage cleaned. Threw away the plastic shelves. Sanitized his food bowls and replaced them. I threw away his water bottle because there was something moldy looking growing in it! I gave him one of Stitch's spare glass water bottles. (Stitch is my other Chin)
He's now in the cage with a fleece blanket as bedding. I put a cuddle bone, some apple twigs, pumice stone, and timothy hay cubes in there for him to chew on. Stitch is eating Mazuri, and that's what I replaced Sigmund’s food with. We're doing a cold switch because of the condition of his previous food. He didn't really eat much the first couple of days. I put some hay in there too and mixed half a capsule of PB8 Pro-BIOTIC ACIDOPHILUS 14 Billion Good Bacteria. He's been nibbling.
I tried to clean his belly off with a damp wash cloth Tuesday and he sat in my lap for quite a while. I made sure to dry him well after. I noticed a wet spot in my hand where he was standing but it was only maybe a drop or two of liquid. I thought maybe he had peed on me, but it wasn't very much liquid at all. I didn't think much of it, I know they do that some times. Gave him a couple of dust baths and most of the yucky on his tummy came off. I also cleaned and sanitized his wheel and replaced it. He happily ran on it until Wednesday evening.
I heard some squeaking from the living room about 2am and came out see what was wrong. Some times Stitch drinks really loud at night. Stitch was fine. But, Sigmund was playing on his wheel. He had peed in the corner of his cage and there was a bit of blood near the potty puddle. I picked him up and he had a scratch on his penis. But, didn’t flinch when I touched it to check how much damage he had done. It appeared to just be an external scratch. I called the Vet and made an appointment to have him looked at.
We went in on Thursday and she looked him over, cut out the big mats on his bottom, combed him through with a comb, let him have a dust bath, and felt his tummy. She said there's no bumps. But, he was dripping a little. We aren't sure if it's because he felt threatened and he was trying to spray. She said he could also possibly have a UTI and to keep an eye on him. Other than that he’s really sweet and looks good. Seeing as how he’d only been with me for 4 days and they had to hold him down to trim the mats he could have just been nervous or afraid. I asked about what tests and what not we would do to check for UTI and she told me about a test she could run where they'd have to collect some pee from him which would be about $60 and also run an ultrasound for stones which would be $120 something. She told me to try to get him to take a little yogurt to stimulate the good flora in his tummy and reduce acid levels. I questioned her on the dairy product and she said yogurt's different because of the bacteria. Normally you shouldn’t give fatty dairy products but, the lactobacillus is good for the GI track. I was kind of hesitant still.
So, I was reading everyone's posts on acidophilus and went and got some. I tried yesterday to get him to eat some of the acidophilus, mixed with water off a spoon, but he wasn't having it. So, I tried the yogurt with it, but he wouldn't have it either. I've seen him at his water bottle a few times and he's nibbling on his hay. His poo count is less than it was yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon around 4pm I saw him sitting in the corners of his cage doing what looked like was trying to pee. He'd rear up into the corner and kind of squeeze his back legs together, best way I can describe it was like he was flexing his bum. And he was making these really quite crying sounds. I feel so bad for him. I've been feeling dehydrated myself for the last few days, so I kind of know how it feels. He was sitting on his food bowl doing the same baring down like I described kind of gripping the edges with his hands and feet and crying a little at about 7:30pm last night. I tried rubbing his tummy a little while he was doing this and he didn't flinch, but could feel him shaking and flexing his little belly. After he moved I saw a little streak on the bowl, kind of dark like maybe he peed, but it wasn't enough to even soak down to the food. (I'll be going out today to pick up a bowl to mount to the side of his cage so he won't sit in it.) Night before last night’s blanket had spots on it like he was leaking when he walked about, and there was a little piddle in the corner. I put his freshly washed blanket on top of his cage and he climbed up to check it out. He was up and about and climbing all over his cage last night and chewing on his pumice and sticks. I changed out his blanket last night and there were two corners where he had peed.
Oh, the vet also told me a little apple cider vinegar might help the tummy, but she didn’t say how much or how often. I’m guessing I’ll need another syringe to feed it to him as he probably won’t like the smell of it. Anyone tried to feed their chin’s vinegar? I know he weights 1.1 lbs. they weighed him on a cat scale. What can I do? I was going to try to pick up some rose hips and try to get him to take one with some of the acidophilus in it. I’m hesitant to give him the shredded wheat because the vet said they are prone to bloat. And if he's having problems going I don't want to plug him up more. I asked her about supplements and she said she wasn’t sure about them as she’s not a nutritionist, but sugary fruits and stuff with honey in it shouldn’t be given to them. I know a lot of posts here have suggested using lifeline for different things, but there's honey and wheat in it. She wanted me to watch him, but I don’t know for how long. I’m not sure how long he’s been having problems going either. Like I said he wasn’t living in the best conditions when I got him.
Got a cal from the vet today checking on him from a tech, our vet isn't in until tomorrow. I told them what's going on and made an appointment to have him looked at again. He's been with me a week now. Am I being too cautious? Anyone, any advice?
