Weight loss help please

[redforlife]

Hi i am hoping to seek some advice from fellow chinchilla's owner out there.
I have a chin who has lost about 60gram over the period of roughly a month. He was actually 520gram when he's still fine. I have recently paired him with another female and shortly afterwards he got a diarrhea which he had recovered 2-3 weeks ago. But his weight has suffered a 60gram setback since the diarrhea. He is still eating fine and everything..he has developed a hunchback because of the weight loss. Should i be giving him CC to help with his weight gain although he is still eating fine? I am quite concerned as his weight has not been increasing since he has recovered from the diarrhea. He is also slightly withdrawn since he was paired with his new cagemate. There's no fighting or whatsoever just a bit of squabble. Could he be stressed out with his new cagemate because of personality incompatibility?

 

[Brittany]

You need to start eliminating variables to figure out what is causing the weight loss. I would start by separating him into his own cage. It could be the stress from being with this particular female. If it was my chin I'd give him a week, and if I didn't see improvements we'd be going to the vet. If he stops eating or starts getting constipated I'd start feeding Critical Care immediately and get him to the vet as soon as possible.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

I agree with separating him from the cagemate. Is he drinking water OK? Have you done a hair ring check?

 

[redforlife]

Thanks for the reply Brittany. I will be seperating him into his own cage and maybe will have his cage mate next to him. They are very cuddly together when they are resting just that the female is tends to be bossing him around and they end up with minor squabble and very light fur slipping when they tries to get into each other way at the door when it is play time. So far he's doing fine with this poop and i am constantly checking on him. I was thinking will giving him CC help although he is eating fine?

 

[Brittany]

Thanks for the reply Brittany. I will be seperating him into his own cage and maybe will have his cage mate next to him. They are very cuddly together when they are resting just that the female is tends to be bossing him around and they end up with minor squabble and very light fur slipping when they tries to get into each other way at the door when it is play time. So far he's doing fine with this poop and i am constantly checking on him. I was thinking will giving him CC help although he is eating fine?

In my opinion you need to figure out the cause of the weight loss BEFORE adding any new variables. To do a thorough job I would completely separate him from the female (don't keep their cages side by side) If he's scared, he'll remain scared regardless of if their in the same cage or just side by side. I would not feed CC right now UNLESS it becomes an emergency situation (not eating, not pooping, etc). If it's not stress it could be due to teeth issues, illness, or something else. If you start feeding CC without determining the cause then you'll just be masking the problem.

 

[redforlife]

Thanks so much for the advice. I have seperated him from his cage mate and so far he's drinking fine. I have done a hair ring check and its clear. Will be supervising him closely to see if he's eating, drinking and pooping fine. The problem is he's eating and drinking fine with no obvious symptoms. If there's anything unusual i will definitely get him to the vet.