Petromalt for hairballs?

[DoGooder]

Hi! How much Petromalt should I give my chinchilla? The directions say 1 cm for an approximate sized 4 pound animal, but my chinchilla weighs only 1 pound. I gave her an alfalfa cookie topped with about 1/4 teaspoon Petromalt and she ate it quickly and didn't show any aftereffects.

DoGooder

 

[tunes]

None. It is extremely rare to hear of a chin getting a hair ball. I think I've heard of it happening once in the past 12 years, and that was just recently, and I still doubt that it's true.

 

[AZChins]

It's old information about the Petromalt. It isn't harmful really, but it isn't necessary. Chins just aren't prone to furballs and if they get them, it's from a really extreme fur chewer that probably has worse problems that would eventually cause other problems.

Way back when I started with my first chins in 1997 it was recommended quite often to use the petromalt by hobby breeders and some rescues. I've never had a chin with a furball problem here.

 

[DoGooder]

tunes and Susan, glad to hear that chinchillas rarely get hairballs. I also read that Petromalt assists their bowel movements so maybe I will continue to give it to her although she has normal poop but a few times I've seen what looks like diarrhea or vomit.

DoGooder

 

[ticklechin]

If you need to use petromalt for a medical reason, use straight mineral oil-petramalt has alot of sugar in it due to the corn syrup-82grams and barley malt extract-52 grams, sugar is the last thing a chinchillas digestive tract needs during a impaction.

 

[DoGooder]

ticklechin, yes when I looked at the ingredients on Petromalt I saw that it had more corn syrup than anything else. But I gave it to my chinchilla anyway because I thought at the time the medicinal quality was worth it.

DoGooder

 

[Cuddlebug]

There is no reason to regularly give Petromalt to a chin. You said that the chinchilla occasionally has diarrhea. The first thing you need to do is stop the Petromalt. If anything, it will make things worse. When a chinchilla has diarrhea, you need to pull all pellets and stop all treats. Feed just hay for a couple of days. If that doesn't help take the chinchilla to vet.

If you are concerned about him having a regular bowel movement, if you feed him plenty of hay, he should be fine. Hay supplies the fiber he needs to keep his digestive tract healthy and moving like it should.

 

[DoGooder]

Cuddlebug, thanks for the advice about the hay-only diet fix. Luckily, I haven't seen any vomit/diarrhea (?) for the past few days so that problem has been resolved.

DoGooder

 

[The1nOnlyMatty]

There is no reason to regularly give Petromalt to a chin. You said that the chinchilla occasionally has diarrhea. The first thing you need to do is stop the Petromalt. If anything, it will make things worse. When a chinchilla has diarrhea, you need to pull all pellets and stop all treats. Feed just hay for a couple of days. If that doesn't help take the chinchilla to vet.

If you are concerned about him having a regular bowel movement, if you feed him plenty of hay, he should be fine. Hay supplies the fiber he needs to keep his digestive tract healthy and moving like it should.

Agreed! We recently had a long bout with squishy poo/diarrhea. After antibiotics failed to get the job done, we simply removed everything from their diet, including the antibiotic, and took them down to just hay and water, and some probiotic. BOOM! Squishy poo gone and the boys were back to normal very quickly. I say if you're having trouble with occasional questionable bowel movements remove everything that is not a necessity. You may find that the hairball medication is actually causing the poos as opposed to aiding them.

 

[DoGooder]

The1nOnlyMatty, thanks for the tip about a simplified diet! Although my chinchilla likes treats, I agree it's most helpful to give her just hay and water when that's the best diet for recovery.

DoGooder

 

[The1nOnlyMatty]

I cannot accept all the credit for that as Tunes and a good friend of hers were the ones who gave me the initial advice and help. but none the less it definitely helps, if by nothing more than being able to pinpoint an issue.

 

[EMSChins]

I have noticed that you have mentioned vomiting in your post and if memory serves me correctly at least one other post on another thread. Just an FYI - chinchillas cannot vomit, it is physically impossible for them.

 

[ticklechin]

They can't burp or vomit.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Nope, they can't vomit. What you are probably seeing is droppings or food that has been peed on.

 

[DoGooder]

EMSChins, ticklechin, and Cuddlebug, thanks for telling me that chinchillas can’t vomit. At least now it’s easier to pinpoint the problem: either diarrhea or peeing on her food. Normally she pees on one corner of the cage so I guess it was diarrhea. I'm not sure what could have caused it.

DoGooder