Not sure what to watch for! Help!

Chinnyluver · Dec 11, 2011

Okay, so I basically had the worst night ever. When I was cleaning the cage I pluged the vacuum in behind Cindy's cage thinking she coulnd't reach... wrong. I caught her chewing on the cord. I've been watching for twenty minutes and don't think she got shocked. I'm just worried because she might have swollowed the plastic. What signs should I watch for in case of impaction?
Then when I went to Annie and Shadow's I found that they had torn to shreds one of their shelf covers! I was fleece with hidden seems but a huge part of the fabric was missing completely. I'm worried they ate it. Basically I'm really worried and scared for all three of my babies and need as much advice as possible.:cry3:

GrayChillas · Dec 11, 2011

If they become lethargic, have a decrease in eating, or their poos change shape, consistency or color is what I would watch out for.

I would just watch them closely and look for anything out of the normal.

I hope they're ok!!

rainey · Dec 11, 2011

Aw I'm sorry that happened all at once! I've had a chin chew completely through a very fat wire and he was okay, it was even plugged in and on. Not saying that it's okay for them to chew, but don't panic yet! She probably didn't actually ingest that much of it.
For the fleece problem, did you find any remnants of the fleece at all in the cage? I don't have any experience with chins eating that, but just do as Graychillas said. Also I'd take out the fleece in the cage and make sure they are eating and drinking normally. And tomorrow if you see less or smaller poops or anything, you might want to separate the pair that are together so that you can be sure which one of your chins is and isn't pooping properly.

Do you have a vet you can get to tomorrow if need be? Just be prepared but don't worry yourself to death yet. Hope they are well

Chinnyluver · Dec 12, 2011

Thank you guys for responding so soon! I'd honestly rather leave the fleece in for now since they have the plastic treys and that's worse. I think they chewed it because they ran out of food. I ran out the door this morning so it hadn't been filled since the day before... they've never done it before so I think if they seem fine I'll give them a very strict probation, first strike and your out kind of thing. Yes, I do have a vet nearby but I have school and then cheerleading and won't be able to get home until 6:30. But my mom can watch them carefully as she works from home. I didn't see any remnants of the fleece. Reading what I just wrote again, I think I exagerated on how bad the chewing was. It was about a two inch or so wide whole, the an entire ledge cover. It probably just stretched some too. I tied it back together and slit it on so the whole is on the bottom of the shelf and the cover is still functional and everything... meaning the tear wasn't that bad. Do you think the fleece could have just ripped more after they created the hole? When would the signs begin to show up? Everybody appears normal now and they are all eating. Have only seen Shadow drink so far. I just feel especially bad about Cindy because it was my own stupid mistake.

BeginnerChinLover · Dec 12, 2011

Hopefully all 3 fuzzies will be okay! After they made the hole it may have stretched...fleece doesn't rip that easy, though. You never know!

I think it can take up to 48 hours for signs to show, but just keep an eye on them and their poops!

Good luck!!

Chinnyluver · Dec 12, 2011

Everybody looked normal this morning, running up to the cage and bar chewing for attention. Lots of poop so far! Looks like their eating and water bottles are going down. I'm going to mark them with a dry erase and watch it for the next few days to make sure it stays that way.