Won't eat Oxbow Critical Care, not eating much. Help!

[ticklechin]

I use childrens simethicone and give 1 full dropper ever 3 or 4 hours until the problem is gone, call the vet again and ask for motility drugs, some vets are pissy and wont give both that do the best job-reglan works mostly on the upper GI tract, propulsid mostly on the lower, so one will do. Follow the advice in Sparkys thread about the massages and exercise to help things move along. I would also ask for metecam if you dont have it already and if you do ask for the max dose amount. The water amount in the CC should be enough-to check for hydration pull up the skin on the scruff of the neck (the part a momma cat would use to pick up a kitten) and see if it retracts quickly, if it stays up the chin needs hydration and the vet may need to give sub-q fluids. With gas, feed small amounts frequently, 5ml every couple of hours, follow with the tummy massage and a run around.

 

[Pixie]

She is on infants simethicone. The vet told me to give her half a dropper, but I started giving her 1 dropperful last night when I read a different post from you to do it every 3-4 hrs. She was on metacam, but they took her off it because they didn't know if it was metacam or baytril that was making her gassy and not eat. Which motility drug would be the safest?

I just pulled up her skin and it retracted quickly.

If I did 5ml of feedings, how many times should I do that a day? I work, so I'm worried about this.

 

[ticklechin]

You can't really OD on the simethicone, it stays in the GI tract. I have never had a issue with metecam causing gas of the 1000s of times I have used it. Propulsid must cause less issues since when I have had mild gas in chins the vet RXs that, with serious bloat they RX both. I have not has any issues with either. Feed as many as you can, maybe one early in the AM, once before you leave, one when you get home, one after dinner and one before bed, something like that, because the chin is gassy you just can't get as much food in them as you would like, you just have to do your best. Gas can last a few days and after that the chin may still not want to eat. Bloat is a nightmare to deal with, I hate it more than any other chin issue.

 

[Pixie]

Ok, I'll start using metacam again. I ordered the lifeline and the other syringe feed, they should be here soon. I took part of the day off of work so I can keep syringe feeding today. I'm also going to get some fleece today for bedding because I can't see her poops in the care fresh bedding. I let her run around this morning, and she kept hopping up in her cage and hiding in her house which lets me know she isn't feeling good cause its usually hard to get her back in her cage.

Vet said to give her 0.04 ml of metacam every 24 hrs. Is that how much you give your chins?

Also, should I try dipping the syringe with CC in it in the simethicone, to see if she will eat it that way?

 

[ticklechin]

You can dip the syringe, it sometimes works. I give metecam every 12 hours, vets have ideas about it seems, I use 3 vets, two RX every 12 hours, one every 24, I use the 12 hours but give what your vet Rxed.

 

[Pixie]

Update on Judy: I got the Essentials for life formula in the mail yesterday. Judy loves it, although I still need to wrap her up like a burrito and feed it to her or else she won't eat it as much as she needs to. But it's not as much as a struggle as it was with the oxbow CC.

She is still hardly pooping though. I'm giving her Reglan every 12 hrs and 1 ml of simethicone. Should I give her more simethicone? I'm giving her 1ml of simethicone every four hrs. It says on the box, 20 mg of simethicone 1 fl oz (30 ml). The brand is Comforts for Baby, Infants Gas Relief Drops. I wasn't sure if the amount of simethicone for infants was different for every brand. What brand do you use? They didn't have Infants Gas X at the store.

I'm also massaging her tummy when she lets me, which is only for a few minutes and then she hops off my lap. I'm giving her reiki as well on her tummy and letting her run around outside of her cage.

Besides her not pooping hardly at all and not drinking water, it looks like she's eaten some alfalfa. I am giving her extra water with her food. She likes her food to be liquid or runny. Any other ideas on getting her to poop? I'm gradually increasing the amount of food she's getting. She's at about 50-60ml right now which is a huge improvement as its been a real struggle to give her the CC and I couldn't give her that much. But now the Essentials is making it easier for her to eat more. I am worried that the food is fermenting in her tummy if she's not pooping much, which could cause more problems. Adding extra water to her syringe feed wont make her have diarrhea will it?

 

[Pixie]

Oh, and she's pretty active and running around while she's outside her cage. But she mostly stays in her house when she's inside the cage.

 

[ysy]

No, adding water to her syringe food won't make her diarrhea. She will need all the hydration she can get to move things along. You seem to be doing everything right so I just have a couple of questions for you.

Has she totally stopped pooping or is just producing very little poop? Totally stopped pooping means you don't see any poop for 24 hours at all. If she is still not pooping within 2 days of force-feeding/massages/exercise, I would be at the vets getting a tummy x-ray to find out what we're exactly dealing with. I have had instances where bloat progressed to an impaction of hardened poop - and this requires a very different treatment where force-feeding will do more harm than good. If she has started pooping but very infrequently after the massages and the force-feeding, then it's just a matter of continuing the supportive care and the poop will come.

 

[ticklechin]

What goes in comes out as long as the poo is still coming, as you get closer to the 60ml+ a day every day and as long as the gut is still moving you will see more and larger poo. The reglan should keep things moving along with the gut along with getting her to run around. The 20mg simethicone is fine and giving her alot is fine also, it stays in the gut so you can't really od it, what is not used it expelled. Sick chins wont drink water, she should be getting enough with the runny food but you should mix that up and make sure you are giving enough food by making it a bit more firm in some of the feedings, like the consistancy of a thick milk shake, if you give too much liquid you are giving too little food and that means too little fiber, which is what she needs.

 

[Pixie]

HOORAY! She is definitely pooping, and the poops are getting bigger and more frequent. She has actually pooped more the last 3 days since we have increased her food.

It looks like she's trying to eat as there is crumbled up pellets outside of her food dish and crumbled up hay outside of her hay dishes, I'm not sure if she's ingesting the food though. She's still not drinking water out of her water bottle yet, but her poops are definitely looking better and she seems to have more energy. How long does is usually take for chinchillas to start eating and drinking on their own?

We got Lifeline in the mail today and I just started adding a little bit to her essentials syringe feed.

I give her 1tsp of Essentials to 3-4 tsp water. On the package it says 1 part to 2 parts water, but since she hasent been drinking water on her own I have been adding an extra teaspoon or 2 of water every time I feed her. I have been giving her 10-13ml 5 times a day now. By the end of night it's really hard to get anymore in her. She resists and and then gives my hand a nibble as if she's saying she's done and does not want anymore. Does it sound like she's getting enough? How can I tell for sure if she's eating on her own? When I do see her attempt to eat, she twirls the food her mouth and then spits it back out and I can't tell if she took any bites of it.

 

[ticklechin]

60ml a day is fine as long as she is not losing much weight. After bloat it can take days for a chin to start eating on its own, for now hand feed her for a few more days to give the gut a chance to settle down, when she seems to be back to a good attitude you will start cutting back on the feedings, cutting the last one of the day off every day until there are no more feedings, you should weigh her daily during the wean to make sure she does not lose alot of weight meaning more than 20mg a day.

I like to place hay and pellets around the cage, little piles, chins seem to think WOW lookie I found something and you will notice it will be missing if she is eating.

 

[Pixie]

How do I weigh her every day? She has piles of different kinds of hay around her cage now. It looks like maybe she has eaten a little bit of them....I see crumbs, but I'm not sure yet.

 

[Pixie]

Do you recommend anywhere that would sell a decent priced scale to weigh her?

 

[ticklechin]

Walmart, Kmart, Target should have them in the kitchen section, you need a scale that weighs in grams, sometimes even office supply stores will have them.

 

[Pixie]

How do I get her to stay on the scale while it weighs her?

 

[ticklechin]

You can put her in something with a cover, put the item on the scale first, turn the scale off, turn the scale on, put her in the item with the cover, that will give you the weight-mine just stay in a bowl, you might just use a bowl first.

 

[Pixie]

Well I have very good news! Judy drank a bunch of water from her water bottle last night and I saw her eat 5 pellets in a row as well as some hay. I don't have to force feed her anymore. She is taking the syringe food through the cage. I still need to get a scale..hopefully I can pick one up tomorrow night.

I started taking her off 1 feeding today, but she's still getting about 52ml. Hopefully that's enough. She seemed really hungry tonight and kept wanting more food from the syringe when I had just given her 13ml. Should I have given her more?

Also, I have not needed to clean her fur thankfully. I'm not sure if it was the lifeline, dust bath, essentials, her grooming herself, or all of it, but her fur is looking great! I actually wasn't sure she was going to make it. It was a real battle to get the oxbow CC in her after her body started to shut down from the baytril. A couple days ago she seemed so much better, like she really wants to live. Yay! I'm not sure she would have lived if I had not joined this forum because the exotic vet that has been seeing her obviously isnt as knowledgable about chinchillas as I would have liked him to be. I have learned so much! Thank you! Xoxo

 

[ticklechin]

YAY! The water drinking is the one key sign the chin is feeling good-sick chins rarely drink on their own and the pellet eating is great. I would start to wean her on the last meal of the day, for a day or so, then cut out the next to last one, wait a day or so and so on until weaned, as long as you see water missing and food missing. Try to get a scale so you can make sure the wean is not too soon by monitering weight loss, its important because you can weigh the food dish also to make sure pellets are being eaten, weigh it at night and in the moring, but once you see she has the capability of eating she needs to start on her own, chins can become addicted to hand feeding once they feel better and hold out for the syringe!

 

[Pixie]

So I had a friend that was staying here recently and she was helping me do the feedings when I'm at work. Most days I work from 12:30pm-7:30pm on the weekdays. She left last night so I won't be able to feed Judy during those times now. I can do 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. This is not ideal, but its my only option at the moment. So she will be missing a feeding in the middle of the day. Do you think that will be ok instead of missing the last feeding of the day? How much should I give Judy in 4 feedings now? I don't want Judy to hold out till the evening to get the food.

 

[ticklechin]

If you are getting 10-15ml in her per feeding and since at this point she has shown she can and wants to drink and eat on her own, 4 feedings are fine, you want her a bit hungry so she wants to eat on her own but you also want to make sure she is getting enough to make sure that gut stays working, 40-50ml a day during weaning is fine, it will taper to nothing pretty soon if she continues to do well.