Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

1

General Chat / kirby and his bad teeth

« on: July 31, 2009, 07:12:17 AM »

I haven't had time to post in awhile but I wanted to send out a note that Kirby,my chinchilla with the bad teeth that I thought was going to die, is doing terrific! I've followed all your advice and he is doing great. All his fur grew back and he has not been drooling. He's actually getting a little fat so we have to watch it a bit, but I think that's because he can eat without pain for the first time in along time. We still moisten his pellets but now he can eat the crunchy ones too. Thank you for all of your help. We would have been devastated if he died. Liz

2

General Chat / Re: male chin wants a girlfriend

« on: June 24, 2009, 07:05:19 PM »

We won't be getting Kirby a girlfriend. I do not have the knowledge to raise baby chins although baby chinchillas are adorable. We just like having one as a pet. I thought he was thinking my arm and the stuffed animals where female chinchillas. With Kirby's personality he probably is trying to be the boss! Too funny! I am also happy to report healthwise he is doing good. His fur he pulled out is growing back. It's so short and fuzzy. He get crabby when I touch his new fur. Do all chinchillas jump when they bark? And do other people call it barking or is there a different way people describe the noise?

3

General Chat / male chin wants a girlfriend

« on: June 13, 2009, 09:19:18 AM »

We have only one standard male chinchilla and sometimes he gets in the mood,if you know what I mean, with dark colored stuffed animals or our hands and arms. He is not neutured. Any one else ever experience this with their males? It is funny when he is being romantic with stuffed animals because he will bark at you if you try to stop him. Liz

4

General Chat / Re: a note on kirby

« on: June 09, 2009, 03:15:30 PM »

Thanks Joanne for telling me about your chin. It makes me hopeful. Ever since I first posted on the forum I have been giving him cuttlebone. I follow all of the advice you give me. I appreciate it all more than you can ever know. Do you think that the cracked tooth will grow out? Or do you think the vet could clip it? I am very nervous about taking him back to the vet to have teeth work done. He hasn't been pulling out hair for the past couple of weeks and I don't want him to get stressed and start again. Any suggestions on what to do about crusty chinchilla hair? What fur Kirby has left is pretty yucky.

5

General Chat / Re: a note on kirby

« on: June 08, 2009, 03:31:42 PM »

Of course since I posted that Kirby was doing OK I noticed one of his front teeth is cracked and there is hair in between the two front teeth. Poor guy. He just can't seem to get a break from these teeth problems. I have acceptted the fact though that chinchillas with malocclusion have a shortened life. I have been researching it and have also noticed his teeth are not the proper color. They are pretty white. This is the first chinchilla we've had in 10 years so I guess I have forgotten how yellow they are suppose to be. We are going to keep Kirby comfortable as long as we can. If we put him through surgery again I don't think he will make it.

6

General Chat / a note on kirby

« on: June 07, 2009, 04:22:03 PM »

Hi everyone. I just wanted to post a note on how Kirby is doing. I bought some of the petromalt Joanne suggested. I think this may have helped something because his drooling has improved. Now he is just a little damp at the corner of of his mouth. He also has not been pulling out his fur any more. His skin where the fur is missing is a little dry though. Any suggestions? He still eats only pellets moistened with water. He'll eat a little bit of dry ones. I don't know if I'll put him through having teeth pulled again. He really stressed out from this last time. We are just really happy that he seems content.

7

General Chat / Re: am I being selfish

« on: May 31, 2009, 11:45:50 AM »

I had to take one of my dogs to the vet on Friday and talked to the vet himself (instead of messages from the vet to the vet techs then to me)about Kirby. He said to give him the weekend. He told me to give him some dandylion greens because the fiberous leaves may help get the hair out of his throat if he has some stuck in there. He wants me to call on Monday and if he is worse or the same that I should bring him in and he would have to gas him to check his mouth and remove any hair if there was some stuck in his throat. He didn't think that his teeth would be the problem causing his drooling because they looked good and did not even need to be filed down when he had his cracked tooth pulled. I guess there was an awful lot of hair stuck in his teeth though last time. Kirby seems to not be as crabby (can a chin be labeled as crabby) so I am optimistic. I would be a basket case with out all of your support here on the forum so thank you so much. Where I live there are not many people who have chinchillas as a pet. I don't know any one else who has one.

8

General Chat / Re: am I being selfish

« on: May 29, 2009, 10:12:28 AM »

Kirby seems a little better today. He is only wet under his chin and he does not seem to be pulling out hair. I don't think he wants to die. He is one tough chinchilla! He is a fighter. He is eating and drinking out of his own free will so he must be doing alright. I am very leary about taking him back to the vet. I don't think I want to stress him out by bringing him there. Since he doesn't seem to be pulling out his hair too much any more I think he was doing it because of stress. I am going to try to post some pictures of him so the veteran chinchilla owners can see how he looks. I think the way he looks makes me wonder if I am prolonging an animals life who feels terrible. He looks pretty bad and is stinky but we still love him! What is everyone opinion on having more of his teeth removed if needed? Do I put him through that or put him to rest if his teeth get too bad? I am willing to care for a chin with barely any teeth. I know he would need a special diet and special care. Thank you all for your support. I wish I would have found you all before kirby was in such bad shape.

9

General Chat / am I being selfish

« on: May 28, 2009, 08:05:52 PM »

Kirby is not doing any better. He is still eating well and chewing on his chew things. But, he is still wet with a runny nose and pulling out his fur. His behavior has gotten very strange over the last two days. He will let us pet him but if we try to pick him up he lunges at us and bites us. The bites do not hurt but he's never done that before. I know he was never a healthy chinchilla so my question is;am I being selfish and prolonging the life of a chinchilla who is miserable? We just love him so much. I wish there was another vet in my area that I could go to for a second opinion. I don't think I trust my vet too much any more. I don't want to give up on him but how do you know when enough is enough? Please post your thoughts.

10

General Chat / Re: kirby the drooling chinchilla not doing well

« on: May 27, 2009, 11:40:57 AM »

I don't know if he's drooling still and that's why he's wet or if he's wet from pulling out his fur. The side that his is pulling his fur out of is the side that was wet from his drooling before he had the tooth pulled. I have been letting him have dust bathes because he really wants them and I thought it might help dry up his fur. He ends up with clumps in his remaining fur and on his paws. Should I not let him have dust bathes right now? He is eating well but the critical care has to be basically mush or he will not eat it. He might not have enough teeth to eat anything else. He was missing a tooth when we got him(our vet found out the first time he had an x-ray) and he's had 2 more pulled since. Strangely though he is chewing on his salt wheel, mineral stone, and this other rocky chew block we have for him and drinking well. He has never chewed on any of them before. On Saturday he did not want to be touched which is unusual for him because he loves to be pet and snuggled.  He was very lethargic and would not move off his top ledge. He was so wet. He is much better than he was but he's still not good. Could he maybe have hair tangled in his teeth or stuck in his throat from ripping out his fur? Could that be making him wet? As for our vet, he is the only that treats exotics. There is a vet school about 3 hours away but I don't know if Kirby would be able to handle the trip in the condition he's in.

11

General Chat / Re: kirby the drooling chinchilla not doing well

« on: May 27, 2009, 08:05:42 AM »

They did not give him any pain medication and he just seems to be pulling out the wet fur. The vet said there is nothing else he can do for him.

12

General Chat / kirby the drooling chinchilla not doing well

« on: May 26, 2009, 06:55:57 PM »

My chinchilla had a cracked tooth removed on friday and has not been doing well since. On Saturday I thought he was dying. I called the vet and he gave him an antibiotic. He's a little better. He'll come over to get pet and he is eating the critical care recipe. He really likes it and is eating well.( I also ground up some cuttle bone in the critical care)He does not want to be handled and he is still droolly and his nose is runny. Also he is pulling out all of his fur. I am not sure if he's wet from pulling out his fur or if he's pulling out his fur because it is wet. Has anyone ever had their chinchilla do this or have an idea why he's doing it?

13

General Chat / Re: drooling chinchilla

« on: May 22, 2009, 12:13:27 PM »

So I took my chinchilla, Kirby, into the vet today. He had a cracked tooth which also had hair inside of the cracked part. The vet said the rest of his teeth look great and did not need to be filed down. Hopefully, he will be good. I went and bought him a cuttle bone so I'm hopeful that with the calcium from the cuttle bone and a better food that his health will be better. Maybe his tooth cracked because he did not have enough calcium in his diet. I'll keep you all posted with how he's doing.  Thanks

14

General Chat / Re: drooling chinchilla

« on: May 21, 2009, 02:55:32 PM »

Thank you guys for being so supportive and for all the information! That food on the link to Dr's. fosters and smith is the stuff i have been feeding him. I live in a small town in Wisconsin so there are no other chinchilla foods available in our stores here. I have no problem ordering food for him on line though so thanks for the links and names of foods. I had a hard time finding a vet that would see our chinchilla. Our vet did say that he had spurs and sharp points in his mouth. Now here is another question, When we had his teeth filed and the 2 pulled he had to be put completely asleep. Is this what has to be done for every tooth trim? He did not come out from the anesthesia very easily. Also do you think he is in pain from his teeth?

15

General Chat / Re: drooling chinchilla

« on: May 20, 2009, 07:57:57 PM »

Thank you everyone for all of your input! The first thing I'm going to do is switch his food. He does only pick the treats out of the fiesta and leave the pellets. So Drs. Foster and Smith is the place to get food for my chin?