Yogurt to gain weight?

[dreenbmp]

We have a very very sick chinchilla...we've already took him to the vet, he has a respiratory infection and is very very under weight. there is a long story of how this happened, and I won't go into it. But the vet gave us antibiotics, we've been using them for 3 days, we've been giving him plain saline nose drops, the nose drops help a lot. he is eating and drinking but he is very very week.....we want to try to get his weight up, we have been giving him unlimited alphalpha hay to eat (and some timothy), and oxbow pellets. we've also been keeping a heating pad under his cage to keep him warm....Would it hurt to give him berry yogurt? i've heard it helps to gain weight because yogurt halps produce beneficial flora in the gut, that the pain killers and antibiotics have destroyed. But i don't want to put his little system into overload we are really scared at this point, the vet said it's going to be an uphill battle... and we aren't sure if we can even do anything at this point or not..

 

[tunes]

I would not use yogurt. If he is underweight he needs food that is safe for chins. Tanya at fuzzieskingdom.com has healthy organic supplements that might help. She also has something called Essentials for Life that is a hand feeding formula that will help put weight back on. Locally, you should be able to find Critical Care for herbivores at a vets office and it is a hand feeding formula that should help with weight gain as well. Chins do not need nor do they digest dairy well. You would do better to balance his gut by giving him a high billion count acidophilus instead.

 

[e.murphy518]

I don't know about yogurt, I would guess it is too high in sugar but hopefully someone chimes in on that. I know that some of the vendors in the classifieds section sell supplements. This is where I got mine:

http://www.bbchinchillas.com/Supplies_For_Sale.html

My chins act like it is a treat and chow down on it. Maybe something like that would be good to try first?

 

[ticklechin]

The long story-did this chin have dental issues prior to the upper respiratory infection?
Why did this chin lose so much weight? Are you hand feeding at all?

 

[javachin]

You need to hand feed. The suggestions posted are a great start. If you want to introduce some kind of beneficial probiotic, you can get some in powder form. I wouldn't use straight yogurt though.

 

[akane]

You can get yogurt without sugar but that's not the issue. Adult animals cannot digest dairy and it should not be given to them. Especially herbivores and especially cow milk and products from it. It will only lead to more digestive tract issues not less. I wouldn't even give products from cows to baby chins, guinea pigs, and degus because of how advanced the offspring are and therefore how weak the milk the mother produces is. Goat milk or a formula is much easier for them to digest.

Everyone with a herbivorous pet should have critical care or equivalent on hand. If your local vets don't have it (it's unheard of here) then you can order from some online vendors like calvetsupply.com . It's a complete diet for hand feeding or you can mix it a little thicker and just serve it on a lid or low dish. I've mixed it up with foal or goat kid formula for young ones, pedialyte or gatorade to add electrolytes, unsweetened fruit juice to make it more desirable for those refusing to eat, or an oil supplement like horse coat supplements that are soy, flax, and sunflower seed for putting more weight on.

You can also dissolve their pellets and use that in a pinch but a hand feeding formula like critical care has more fiber added to make up for the hay that is also missing from the diet.

If you need a further supplement for gut bacteria you can buy bene-bac, acidophilus capsules, or while it may sound gross use the clean fresh droppings from a healthy animal mixed in to the hand feeding formula. Chinchillas like other related rodents and rabbits eat certain droppings they produce to get certain vitamins and reintroduce good bacteria back in to their system. Sick animals may not do that which only compounds the problems caused by antibiotic use. It's fairly common among guinea pig rescues to use the droppings from a healthy guinea pig eating a similar diet.

 

[ticklechin]

Looking at your past posts it seems this chin was sick when you got it and is getting worse, and there seems to be no diagnosis by a vet. What is the chins diagnosis and what exactly are you doing to treat it?

 

[dreenbmp]

I took him to the vet before I posted this. But he is doing a lot better, he's almost done with antibiotics. I was just getting more suggestions! thanks everyone!

 

[AZChins]

It's good to hear that he's getting better. Did you buy him some probiotics? That can really help in recovery. Is he eating now?

 

[dreenbmp]

yes, he is eating lots. Perked up a ton!!! I think I might order some Probiotics, he just finished his antibiotics yesterday. we thought he was going to die a week ago...it was really bad...sad times, but now it's ok! we are making sure he is taking it easy. Thank you so much