Meatball is getting fat again!!!

[Chinniechantel]

Meatball is our favorite chinchilla in the world. He is a rescue we got about 5 years ago. He came in at 666 grams (I know, creepy) anyway, after about a year he developed malo. He slowly lost weight, and went down to 490 at his worst. We fed him CC 3 times daily, took so many x rays but the vet just didn't think removing the molars could happen with him so weak and she thought that was our only option, to keep feeding him until maybe he gets stronger.

He still seemed to have quality of life and does well on pain meds- tramadol for long term use- and now he is steadily gaining again- 2 years after the malo diagnosis. He is 640 now, almost back to his Meaty Meatball self! It has been a slow, hard road, but we are so very happy. He is our only dental chin, and he just is a doll. He has a personality of a dog and does not know he is a chinchilla. He thinks he's a person, and has an attitude to boot. We are going to go get another set of x rays now that he is healthier and see if we can remove the 2 molars giving him trouble. Please keep him in your thoughts, he is a very special chin and I cannot even imagine losing him. My husband would be even more devastated. He loves this chin more than life, it was this chin that he fell in love with first and that is how I ended up living my dream and breeding and having 100 chins!

 

[Harleychin]

I'm so glad he's doing better!I hope they can take care of his teeth now and you can all live happily ever after.:thumbsup:

 

[BellaBella]

Congrats! My little demon, Bella, weighed in at 666 for a while. She has since surpassed that and is up around 712 now. It's nice when they plump up!

 

[lauralynne]

Yay for meatball (and a "gold star" to you for taking such good care of him). Let us know how the xrays turn out. Is it just the molars he has problems with? (So would having them removed make for a long-term solution? That would be great!)

 

[swilborg]

The gals & I send good vibes your way! ( And I love that name :thumbsup: )

 

[Chinniechantel]

Yay for meatball (and a "gold star" to you for taking such good care of him). Let us know how the xrays turn out. Is it just the molars he has problems with? (So would having them removed make for a long-term solution? That would be great!)

Yes, his front teeth are fine and it is just 2 molars on his left side, so hopefully this would be long term, but of course it could happen to the other side. I have not heard too many stories about how chins do after molar removal, does anyone have experience with that? I would like to go to the vet armed with as much info as I can. I am actually seeing an exotic oral surgeon my vet recommended to see if they feel more comfortable doing the surgery, since my vet has not done this before on a chin.

 

[Rickman]

Good luck with Meatball!!

 

[mishellyshel]

chantel--my vet also recommended this procedure but because she is not a dental expert she was going to speak to a couple of her contacts and see what their opinion is.
Her main concern was Richie's ability to chew and/or swallow.
the exotic specialist that I took him to did remove one of the crowns of his teeth but did not "pull" any. i will keep meatball inmy thoughts.

 

[Jenn]

Meatball sounds like a fighter and I sure hope he continues to battle this and win!

 

[Laurie]

With a name like Meatball how can he not be fat! LOL! Keep up the good work, Meatball!

 

[Newt]

Well done Meatball for growing so nicely, and well done you too Chantel for being such a wonderful chin-nurse!
Best wishes for the x-rays, hope you get some good news xxxx