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

Health / teeth

« on: June 01, 2011, 04:17:29 AM »

It's me again! I was just reading through some old posts on here and I saw one that said that bumps under the chin are a sign of maloccusion. Is this always the case? I was worried about that with one of my chins and had him checked over a year ago. The vet (an exotic specialist) agreed that he does have lumps there but there was no sign of anything wrong with his teeth. He eats, drinks, poops and pees fine, but reading that made me panic that he might be in pain/danger without me realising! He has plenty of chew toys and hay which he uses all the time, and generally seems like a happy little boy. He's about 7 (don't know exactly as he's a rescue).

2

Health / Not drinking enough water?

« on: June 01, 2011, 03:54:38 AM »

Hi there! One of my chins, Toby, seems to go through phases of drinking very little, which he's doing at the moment. He's peeing and pooping ok, but his water hardly goes down at all. It's not the bottle as I swapped his and his brother's, and it hasn't made a difference. He won't even take water via a syringe unless it's mixed with pineapple juice! It's not his teeth as he had an xray a couple of months ago and they are fine. He seems ok but I worry that he'll get dehydrated. He gets 1ml pineapple juice per day under vet's instructions as he has a tendency towards small poo which occurs even when he is drinking water, but I'm worried that this isn't enough liquid to sustain him. His brother Sammy drinks loads more than him.

Thanks in advance!

3

General Chat / Bugs

« on: March 16, 2011, 06:02:34 AM »

Hi everyone

A few months ago we noticed that we were getting the odd bug in our chins room - I think that they must have come in pellets or hay. They are small and brown and can fly - I don't know exactly what type they are and neither does my animal expert friend! They don't seem harmful and don't bite or sting. The chins aren't bothered at all, but I'd like to get rid of them. I don't usually kill anything but when they're in my babies room it's different! Is there any method to get rid of them that won't harm the chins? Thanks!

4

Q & A / Food

« on: February 17, 2011, 04:50:38 PM »

hi there. I currently feed my boys pellets for breeding and active chinchillas, but was wondering whether I should switch to age active as they are approx 7 now (they're rescue so not 100% sure). I'd be grateful if someone could tell me what the best age is to change? Thanks!

5

Q & A / chinny run

« on: August 11, 2010, 05:34:46 AM »

We will shortly be decorating the chins room as we are trying to sell the house and the ripped wallpaper look isn't so great! The chins will be moved to the living room for a couple of days, but we can't let them out there due to wires, expensive wallpaper etc. Has anybody ever made the equivalent of a rabbit run to keep them in a safe area? I hate the idea of them not getting their nightly run - plus, they aren't currently in the same cage so I like to let them play with each other when they're out.

Thanks!  

6

Health / Lying flat

« on: July 20, 2010, 01:25:49 PM »

Sammy often lies flat if he's hot after running about and also when he's sleeping. However, recently he does it every night about 5 mins before he's due to go back in his cage and we've also noticed him doing it in his cage during the evening when he'd normally be active. His brother has only done this once when he had gi stasis. I wasn't worried about him lying down when he sleeps and when he's hot but doing it for no apparent reason has worried me because my friends chin did this when she was dying of stomach cancer. Other than this his behaviour has been normal - eating and pooping and running about! His poops are slightly lighter in colour than they used to be, but I assumed this was because of the summer salad mixer thing I put in with his pellets. I've checked inside the poo and they're normal.

Thanks!

7

Q & A / Rolling in wee

« on: June 03, 2010, 06:52:15 AM »

Hi there. My chins came from a rescue when they were about 4, and have always peed in one corner of the cage. Lately I've noticed that Sammy has a spiky wet looking back that gets dust stuck to it when he has his bath. I touched it and to me it smells like pee. A few weeks ago he had some poos stuck to him. I've notcied that he often does a 'dust bath' movement even when he isn't having a bath, so I guess this is what he's doing. Him and his brother are separate at the moment so he must be doing it to himself! Does anyone have any tips on how to clean him up? He HATES being held so I guess it could be tricky! I'm hoping he's stopped doing it and it will go away - he let me 'comb' the area with my fingernails last night, which made it look a bit better. Any suggestions welcome! Thanks xx

8

Health / Poop

« on: May 06, 2010, 03:36:31 AM »

My chin (Toby) was doing small hard poops so I took him to the vet who has diagnosed GI Stasis and prescribed some meds. For the last couple of days, he has been pooing plenty in the evenings, and then throughout the night the poos seem to reduce in size, and during the day he doesn't do any new ones. He did eat several during the day yesterday, but there were none in the cage. He has been x-rayed and there's no obvious blackage or gas, and he has been eating plenty of hay and drinking pineapple juice in addition to water. I was just wondering how much they poo during the day, as usually the cage has the nightime poos in until I let them out in the evening, but I've been clearing his out in the morning so that I can monitor it. His brother did some during the day, but not a huge amount in the cage - again he seemed to eat most of them. He has a follow up appointment at the vet tomorrow, so I'll see how he is, but I've been getting really worried with no poos during the day, but then he goes and does loads at night, which reassures me a bit but I still stress!

Thanks.

9

General Chat / Chins fighting?

« on: April 15, 2010, 02:38:54 PM »

My chins are currently separate because one had his tail amputated a while back and the other kept nibbling the stump. I assumed this was just grooming but last night and tonight when they were out they kept grappling and trying to jump on each others backs. Is this playing or fighting? Generally they give each other a sniff and a quick groom - this is the first time I have seen this behaviour. Thanks.

10

Health / tail bruising

« on: October 26, 2009, 03:45:16 AM »

One of my chinchillas, Toby, had to have 10cm amputated off his tail after cutting it on something in the cage and then nibbling it until he got through to the bone. The op went fine and he now has no dressing on the wound. It has scabbed over nicely, but on Friday night he had nibbled at the area just above the wound, and now there is a pinkish semi-circle there. He seems fine, and we put him back into the same cage as his brother last night, which they are v pleased about! I have been spraying his tail with bitter spray that does the trick most of the time but obviously failed me that one time! Does anybody know whether this could just be a bruise, or do I need to take him back to the vet (AGAIN!)? They have both been unsettled over the last couple of weeks as his brother became constipated due to a hair ball (sorted now, thanks to a genius new vet), so if possible I'd like to avoid anymore upset!! Thanks xx