weight loss

[JackoAndJerome]

My chinchilla, Jacko has malo, he had his teeth seen by the vet at the end of April and on Thursday, after an 8g weight loss in 17 days, he had his teeth done again by the vet.

However since Thursday he now has a dribbley chin, which was clean before the op on Thursday. He is a lot brighter since thurs but is still hesitant to eat. He had a check up on Monday evening which my vet was still concerned so we are doing daily weight checks. However he has lost another 8g since yesterday. He has had a few pellets and a bit of hay and water, and will accept food by hand (but eat it very slow) I am ringing my vet on Wednesday night to confirm a plan of action re: weight loss....

Is there anything I can do to help or is he just not feeling right after having his teeth done on Thursday?

Any help would be appreciated as I'm growing increasingly concerned for him.

 

[Dreamlite]

He needs to be force fed if he is loosing that much weight. Is he on any meds from having his teeth done? He should be on pain meds, probiotics and such. Do you have any critical care?

 

[Vyxxin]

I second forcing feed. Unfortunately MOST dental chins need handfed critical care if he's not eating enough you may end up dealing with stasis and/or bloat aside from the malo. Can you give more info, such as that requested re: pain meds, probiotics, critical care?

 

[ticklechin]

You need to ask the vet for some Science Recovery and a syringe to feed him. Chin teeth are innervated and the drooing is a pain response, if the teeth were overgrown, the vet needed to trim a lot and the teeth will become sensitive. Or if there was a soft tissue injury during the filing it will hurt. I always use pain meds on malo chins after filing and if the chin is a mess a antibiotic is used also as a premed and postmed. Has he ever had dental x-rays? If not, that needs to be taken care of since malo chins develop issues that can't be seen by the vet. Rapid weight loss can cause issues on its own on the liver so you really need to start feeding asap, the chin needs at least 60ml of the science recovery a day broke up into 10-15ml feedings.

This is just my opinion, I don't like the term force fed, I never force feed since if that is what you are doing the chin has a very good chance of aspirating the food, hand feeding is more passive and takes longer, chin eats at its own pace and the slow process of a bit at a time for a chin who is fighting will end up with a better outcome, the chin will recognize sooner its food and not something you are trying to drown it with.

 

[JackoAndJerome]

Ok thank you for your help, I am speaking to vet in an hour so will ask for some critical care or science recovary to be put up for me. (Is one better than the other?)

No I have only been offering him food, I have crushed some pellets with water in the mean time to encourage him to eat as much as possible and increase his food intake.

He was given metacam, which I was told would be all he needed, and ranitidine to improve gut movements.

I will ask for X-rays to be done in addition as I have a feeling these haven't been done (I saw a different vet to normal for this dental exam at my practice but am now consulting with my previous vet)

The teeth weren't as overgrown this time as the last as we caught it really early, which is why I can't understand why he isn't picking up like he was the last time.

He is still bright and energetic when he has his runs out of the cage, and he is still pooing, just not as frequently as his brother which encourages me that he is still eating, all be it not enough.

Thank you for your advice, I will implement as much as possible.


Oh also (sorry for the long posts) he lives with his brother, should I separate them or keep them together, I feel he is less stressed being with jerome than without. And then I worry about putting them back together if this is suggested! But as I said he is still quite bright in his self considering what he must be going through!

 

[ticklechin]

My worry, based on my experience with malo chins with active mouth infections, is its just that-they have and can get active infections in the mouth that can be transmitted to healthy chins, it happened to me. I quarantine malo chins from the rest of the herd, nothing that they can put their mouths on or where their drool can get comes in contact with the rest of the herd. Its a tough call on your part-its detrimental to the malo chin who needs all the support it can get, but it can be a issue with the partner chin, its a hard choice to make on your part.

 

[JackoAndJerome]

Ok, thank you, I will see how they get on apart as I want the best for my little Jacko.

I've had X-rays done, they werent particularly conclusive, unfortunately, but have him on science recovery, antibiotics and painkillers, just seeing how he does over the weekend, then back to the vet... again! he is having good days and not so good days.

Thank you for all of your advice and support.