Oldest chinchilla is rejecting pellets, eating only hay

[Squirrel_Butt]

Last night I noticed my oldest chin Chip's poos were smaller than usual. Today they stopped completely. He is eating his hay cubes, and anything else but is not touching his pellets.  I ground them up and tried to syringe feed, but he wouldn't have it. I then put some on my finger and he licked it off, but he stopped that after a while. He acts normal when he is running around my room, but when he is in the cage, he sleeps alot unless I put my hand in there and pet him. He still uses the dust bath. He has never had any tooth problems. Do elderly chins develope them out of nowhere? He is going to the vet tomorrow for an emergency appointment.

[chinclub]

How old is he?  A good tooth/mouth check is to give a raisin.  A normal chinchilla will usually gobble them up.  A chinchilla with mouth issues usually has a hard time eating one.  I'm also wondering if there is a chance of blockage. 

[Squirrel_Butt]

He came back from the vet today. He had sharp points on his bottom teeth.  He's going to be groggy through tomorrow. He has to be syringe fed, but has shown no interesst in the syringe. I have to place dropps of critical care on my finger and he licks it up. But now that he is groggy he isn't even interested in it. I'll try again later.


I think he is 15. I have had him for almost 10 years.

[GrayRodent]

You mentioned there was no stool output since the 10th. Is this still true?

[Squirrel_Butt]

You mentioned there was no stool output since the 10th. Is this still true?

No there were no stools since the 7th.

He is pooping now. His bottom teeth had points on them so they were clipped and filed down. What he isn't doing is taking the Critical Care from the syringe from me.  I tried feeding him through the cage bars but after tasting the critical care, he knows what it is and doesn't approach the syringe anymore. One of my previous chins was easily able to be fed that way.

Everyday on my way to work I drop him off at the vet to be fed, and then I pick him up on my way home. I'm not able to restrain him and hold the syringe in a position in which I can see his mouth.  Family members are PROHIBITED from touching the chins as last time someone tried to assist me with giving Chip eye drops, he got his eye poked with the dropper.

My family's incompetence doesn't stop there either. The other day I thought I left the plastic food container on Chip's cage so I called home to tell my dad to have my mom remove it from the top of the cage. I get home and I find the plastic water bottle from Raisin's cage taken off and put to the table next to her cage. Mom said " That's what dad told her to do, and found it strange that I would tell her to remove a water bottle from an animal's cage but did it anyway."  They sure got the Riot Act from me.

[GrayRodent]

I'm glad that the system is flowing again. It's a shame you can't get someone else to help you hold it. Does the vet use a different technique to hold the animal or does he have an assistant help out?

[Squirrel_Butt]

I'm not exactly sure how they do it. I dropp him off on my way to work and I pick him up on the way home. 

I saw him trying to eat his pelllets last night. Some were dropped but others were eaten.

[Squirrel_Butt]

Here is an update:  An X-Ray revealed that there is a possible tumor in his bladder or colon. The vet sent the X-Ray to a specialist. We will make our decision from there.

[totolover]

How is he? He is really old. My first chin lived with us 8 years. My current chin is 6.

[Squirrel_Butt]

Well... good news. The specialist doesn't think it is cancer. What he did notice was an abnormality with his back. I have him on pain meds now.  I'll know in a few days if he is feeling better.  He was able to take his dust bath without any problems.  In light of this news, I'm not administering the bath until cleared by the vet to do so.  I'll call the vet if anything changes.

[jmdebb]

this is great news!!!

[Squirrel_Butt]

He is acting like his old self again. He is eating more of his pellets now. He is going back to the vet in 2 weeks for follow up.