so......can chins get depressed?

[mishellyshel]

I really think my Stitch is depressed. He just hasnt been the same lately. I try to get him out of the cage every night but sometimes he will not let me pick him up to come out.
His recent displays of odd behavior are that last month he sprayed urine on me and now this month he is not eating his pellets.
I have been trying to pay extra attention to him, greeting him first in the morning. The last couple days I have give him extra treats (like a piece of krysta's cookie or 1/2 of stacy's cookie, couple rosehip pieces, 1/2 cheerio) because that is really all he is eating, aside from a little hay.
Aside from the extra attention is there anything else I can do to snap him out of it?? Tonight I am going to try and give him some lifeline, but last time i put the syringe in his mouth he was mad at me for hours! Im perplexed.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Chins can get depressed but Stitch may have a medical problem. Not eating can be a medical problem and can lead to bloat. I would have him checked over by your vet. Be sure to have his teeth checked with an x-ray.

 

[mishellyshel]

i have a chin with malo and stitch is not exhibitng any signs of teeth issues. no pawing, no drooling, no grinding. i have been giving him extra wood treats and he mows thru them fiercely. and is eating all the treats, just not the pellets.
but the bloat is what scares me. i have been watching his poop and i just emailed my vet to see what she thinks.
she had given me a recipe for "puffed pellets" once before, so tonight I am going to try that and the lifeline. if he doesnt start to show improvement over the weekend, i will have to take him to see her.
i will just be so upset if something is wrong with him.
i am currently handfeeding & administering meds to Richie 3 times a day, another sick chin will be rough.

 

[AZChins]

They definitely can get depressed. Normally it is from a major change in their lives like their schedule is turned upside down, they have a cage mate leave or pass away or they get a new cage or go to a brand new home.

He could be having some tummy upset or something minor, maybe even a little virus. The life line will definitely be a help!

 

[Siylvat]

i have been giving him extra wood treats and he mows thru them fiercely. and is eating all the treats, just not the pellets.

What treats are you giving? Do you mean just the wood or are you giving him other treats besides his food. if you are, I would stop giving anything other than wood (and food&hay) for a while. Maybe he is getting full on snacks.

eta. just re-read your first post. Yeah, just give him the food. If he gets hungry enough he will eat it. If he still doesn't eat it even with no treats. then I would get worried.

 

[burritothechinchilla]

They definitely can get depressed. Normally it is from a major change in their lives like their schedule is turned upside down, they have a cage mate leave or pass away or they get a new cage or go to a brand new home.

Burrito seems a little sad lately, could it be because I moved her into her FN 142?

 

[AZChins]

It could be that she's not used to it...or that she's exhausted from exploring it. They really do get used to their cages and declare them their territory. Sometimes they have a hard time accepting a new cage, but they tend to get over it. However, I have heard from some breeders that some of their chins have to remain in a certain cage because the chins flip out upon going into a new cage.

 

[burritothechinchilla]

It could be that she's not used to it...or that she's exhausted from exploring it. They really do get used to their cages and declare them their territory. Sometimes they have a hard time accepting a new cage, but they tend to get over it. However, I have heard from some breeders that some of their chins have to remain in a certain cage because the chins flip out upon going into a new cage.

Yeah, I think that it just might be because its a huge cage compared to her old 24x24x24 one.

 

[mishellyshel]

What treats are you giving? Do you mean just the wood or are you giving him other treats besides his food. if you are, I would stop giving anything other than wood (and food&hay) for a while. Maybe he is getting full on snacks.

eta. just re-read your first post. Yeah, just give him the food. If he gets hungry enough he will eat it. If he still doesn't eat it even with no treats. then I would get worried.

so i am really nervous about pulling all treats and just trying the pellets. i am just nervous that because he will have nothing in his digestive tract and then it will cause upset (bloat, gi stasis, etc....)

 

[Stackie]

You shouldn't fill a chin up on treats if they aren't eating pellets. A chin will not stop eating just because. If they stop eating, there is a problem and they should be hand fed Critical Care and seek veterinary care. A chin will not starve itself from depression- they will eat if they are hungry.

My Smudge became very depressed after the death of his cage mate, and started eating less. But he did not stop eating all together.

Like I said, don't fill him up on treats. Stop giving the treats and watch to see if he eats pellets and/or hay. If not, you need to start hand feeding. He won't go into stasis after a day of no treats if he's not eating pellets.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I agree totally with 'Stackie' - treats have to be stopped and he has to be weighted every day to see if he is losing much weight He might (probably) will have to go to the vet

 

[mishellyshel]

thanks guys. i didnt give him any treats after i came home from work. i filled up and weighed his food bowl this time. i gave him a real nice variety of hay. in fact i stood in front of his cage for about an hour and handed him a few sprigs of oat grass, he likes the ones with the little pods on them and he ate them! gave him some extra wood, but no treats.
he wouldnt come out and was a little afraid of me. i think it all stems from me force feeding him the other night some lifeline. he was really mad at me after that!
so again today, i am going to spend some extra time with him, try to get him out again. lots of hay and pellets and no treats.
i think you guys are right and i am hoping you are. the little bowl i would put his treats in makes a certain noise, so when i picked it up and took it out, he came running. so i am thinking he was waiting for the treats!
by the way, the treats i was giving him were not bad treats, but just too much. in the bowl i would put about 7 oats, 3 pieces of crushed up rose hips and a small piece of a cookie (either crysta's or stacy's), bout the size of the thumbnail.
from now on, after i get him eating pellets again. it will be one of those items a day, including either 1 cheerio or 1 shredded wheat. that is enough variety to give them something different every day.

 

[AZChins]

Are you saying that he may be a treat addict?

It doesn't sound like he was getting bad treats at all. He may just be trained to respond to treats. I like to train the chins with toys and maybe the brown paper bags to get them to be friendly. It takes a little longer to get their attention sometimes, but it works eventually.

 

[rach_leigh]

Glad he is eating better for you!! Chinchillas are demanding creatures and know they have us wrapped around their lil paws...lol!

 

[mishellyshel]

AZ--i'm gonna try the paper bag thing tonight, with a little bit of the hay he likes in it and see what he does.
definitely a treat addict and again, not bad treats, just too many. bad chin mommy!

 

[Siylvat]

No those aren't bad treats at all. Just with giving too much I would be afraid he wasn't getting all the good nutrients from the food that he should be. (cuz he would be eating less of it)

You arn't a bad chin mommy for it, just a sucker for cute begging little chin faces. And come on who isn't?

 

[Stackie]

It's good they weren't bad treats...but if I had the option of eating chocolate or broccoli for dinner every night, I would definitely choose chocolate. Chins are the same.

 

[Olallie]

What is the Paper bag thing? I'm not familiar with that term...

 

[mishellyshel]

just get a regular paper lunch bag and put a treat or some hay in it. you fold it over lightly and then let your chin try & open it and have fun. keeps them busy.

he is eating lots of hay and a few pellets. yesterday is day 2 with no treats. i am hoping with no treats today he starts to eat more pellets.

 

[AZChins]

Keeps them busy and makes them popcorn when they make it crinkle! I love that.

I'm glad to hear that he's eating. Some chins are bigger on the hay than others. My chins say that loose hay is delicious and they will drop everything to eat the hay. I only give out the hay at night and I think that that helps a little with pellet consumption since they only tend to have hay for 8 to 10 hours a day (because they eat it and throw it fairly quickly!)