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46

Health / Re: Banana flavouring??

« on: April 03, 2018, 06:23:57 PM »

I've never heard of that before where a chinchilla won't syringe feed then eats normally. Usually when they stop syringe feeding recovery it means they've given up and are on their way out. I'm extremely glad to hear your chinchilla is eating and recovering.

I had a chinchilla that had soft feces once. They found coccidia, which is a parasitic infection. The medication they provided was very effective in just a few days.

As far as the taste of the food I don't know. The contents of the diet you are feeding are mostly uncontroversial.

47

Health / Re: Banana flavouring??

« on: April 02, 2018, 08:40:24 PM »

A chinchilla that is not syringe feeding will need intensive care. I recommend consulting with your vet but here is my opinion.

The diet must be liquid and easily dispensable through the syringe. The syringe should be inserted behind the front teeth towards the side of the mouth. Don't be afraid to get the tip towards the back teeth. Do not shoot straight at the throat to avoid choking and aspiration. If the liquid is on the tongue and in the mouth and the chinchilla is not swallowing it is probably not saveable.

I am very sorry you are having this problem. Were you given a diagnosis?

48

Breeding 101 / Re: Week old kit, is Mom okay?

« on: March 30, 2018, 08:35:43 PM »

OK. That's definately not something to try again. I'm very sorry for your loss.  Whatever the underlying cause is of the fluid retention might not make your chinchilla a good surgical candidate though.

49

Breeding 101 / Re: Week old kit, is Mom okay?

« on: March 27, 2018, 03:14:14 PM »

Wow that's awful. How is she doing now? I recommend contacting the breeder and see if you can line up any nursing moms that might be a good surrogate if she doesn't make it.

50

Breeding 101 / Re: Week old kit, is Mom okay?

« on: March 23, 2018, 08:40:19 PM »

Blood is abnormal. You should try to find the cause. Check the teats and look for abnormalities there.

51

Breeding 101 / Re: Week old kit, is Mom okay?

« on: March 21, 2018, 05:36:47 PM »

She's going to be heavier until the babies are weaned as she is producing milk. As long as they are acting healthy I wouldn't be concerned about it if she weighs more than usual. It is weight loss that tends to be a danger sign in chinchillas.

52

Breeding 101 / Re: First time kit owner questions!

« on: March 17, 2018, 11:58:59 AM »

I'm very glad you're having success. Obviously you're taking excellent care of them. I recommend you stay guarded. What you are seeing is still abnormal with that one kit.
You should be able to dust them now. Just not for more than 5 minutes at time, about two times per week. Kits can overheat very easily and exertion can be dangerous for them so make sure do that only when it's cool and keep a close eye on them. Chinchillas don't always know when to stop.

You need to get ready for weaning at 6 weeks 8 weeks absolute maximum, and the small one may need that. Be sure of their genders and do not combine genders or they can impregnate each other, including the mom.

53

Health / Re: Sick Chinchilla

« on: March 10, 2018, 10:15:46 AM »

I'm sorry to say but I'm out of ideas. Something did change. A chinchilla that has had no problems with seizures or exercise for years should not develop them suddenly unless the room temperature is too high.

I do know that feeding a lot of treats can have a serious impact on a chinchilla's health. If you are going to feed dried fruit as a treat is should be no more than two raisins a day, or dried fruit of the same mass as a day. Dried flowers such as rose hips are better than fruit (should be no more than one a day and only for a healthy chinchilla) because they have lower sugar content.

Nuts should not be given. They are high in fat and the liver is sensitive to disease from that. My own chinchillas do not get treats. They just are not healthy and a good pelleted diet plus loose timothy hay diet is all they need and is ideal. They are very social animals and crave attention and they usually are very active at night and bounce around their cages.

I can't seem to find any information on your pelleted diet. A chinchilla should have plain alfalfa-based pellets and there should be no fruits or nuts mixed into the pellets. Chinchillas on a diet high in fruits and nut typically develop dental and liver problems over time. If your pet has been fed the wrong diet all of its life you may be experiencing problems from this. The best thing you can do is transition to a different diet. Do not change it all at once, but mix in the proper pellets over time and add loose hay over a couple of weeks.

54

Breeding 101 / Re: First time kit owner questions!

« on: March 09, 2018, 04:20:53 PM »

Excellent. I'm so glad to hear about things going well. I still think it's too soon to tell as it is still not right. I think it's really neat it's made it this far though. How are the others doing? Also what kind of hay are you using? I recommend mixing in alfalfa while the kits are nursing to give the mom some extra calcium for milk production.

55

Health / Re: Sick Chinchilla

« on: March 09, 2018, 04:15:28 PM »

I'm sorry to hear you are having this kind of problem with your pet.

My first thought is your chinchilla got extremely overheated. If the room temperature was 63C or above it might be too hot for your chinchilla to play and get a lot of exercise. Overheating is known to cause seizures and brain injury and unfortunately in some cases it is not reversible, but it may improve over time.

My second thought is that some breeders of chinchillas do not exercise good judgment in breeding and their chinchillas may be born with genetic defects, such as epilepsy. Chinchillas with epilepsy can have these kinds of seizures.

My third though is that it could be related to a diabetic or blood sugar problem. This would require further investigation. If the chinchilla has dental problems it could be caused my malnutrition.

Without having a proper veterinary exam with the proper tests all we can do is make some guesses. If you cannot keep the temps lower than 63 then you should not let your pet out for exercise. Even at normal temps 30 minutes may be too long for chinchillas. They do not require that kind of activity so it's not going to hurt your pet to cease letting letting it out.

How long have you had your pet? How old it it? How often have you been letting it out like that? Is it at a healthy weight? Are you keeping track of its weight? The only way to really know if it's not eating properly is to keep track there. I recommend once a week for a while until you can figure out what's going on.

56

Q & A / Re: Just looking for a little insight

« on: March 03, 2018, 09:38:27 PM »

That's interesting. Maybe try introducing some background noise like a TV or radio. Music (at a soft to normal level) can have a calming effect on chinchillas by drowning out noises in their environment. Perhaps it could have a desensitizing effect.

57

Breeding 101 / Re: First time kit owner questions!

« on: March 03, 2018, 09:32:55 PM »

Congrats on your new kits. If the one with shut eyes has survived and the eyes are still shut you will need to get them opened. This is not normal for chinchillas and will cause damage to the eyes if left that way for days on end. I'm sure you have read that but I'm reiterating in case someone else is reading this. You can use a damp rag or cotton swab. It is also a sign of immature birth and a sign of poor health, and with the failure to nurse on its own top of that there probably isn't a lot you can but encourage rotation and see if the kit continues to nurse. The other two kits will probably do just fine. Sounds like you're doing well.

58

Q & A / Re: Just looking for a little insight

« on: March 02, 2018, 08:41:17 AM »

I think you're doing well. If you can hold them at all that's great. It's a process. Chinchillas are also territorial animals. They will act differently in their cage.
I have a grey chinchilla that kacks and makes a lot of noise when I put my hand in his cage, however as I approach him he will press into my hand to get scratched and rubbed, so the noise isn't as much of an indicator as what they are doing. Fleeing from your hand is not a good sign though and chasing them can cause more skittishness. If you are going in to pull your pet out then do it quickly.

Perhaps you should just try standing still with your arm in the cage for a few minutes. A tame chinchilla will usually roam around the cage and eventually become fixated on your hand. Try not to reach over them but come up and scratch their chin and chest area (not to take them out but to interact in the cage). Gauge the reaction not just the sounds they'll make.

It is going to make it harder when you let them roam around outside of the cage. For example my very tame grey chinchilla will always flee if he gets loose. He knows he'll be chased until gets corralled into a specific location that he eventually goes to. He seems to like the chase. That is not necessarily bad behavior, but normal behavior.

To build trust I recommend interacting through the door and bars of the cage on a regular basis. Once they are not afraid of your hand then proceed.

59

Memorials / Re: RIP my sweet baby

« on: February 22, 2018, 10:48:29 PM »

I'm very sorry to hear that. That is very sad. The critical care probably wouldn't have fixed the problem if it was dental.

60

Q & A / Re: Chinchilla Psychology - Fighting V Playing

« on: February 22, 2018, 10:45:08 PM »

Congrats on having a new cage setup. I really don't want to discourage you at all about your setup. It looks like you've put a lot of effort and time into this, but, there's a few problems and I think you're going to discover them over time.

The first thing that seems off to me is the shelving. Solid shelves are usually not that thin. Your chinchilla is going to chew through these rapidly. If they are laminate board/plywood that is not safe for chinchillas.

The plastic bottom is not usually compatible with chinchillas, however, looking that the bar spacing I think you'll be okay as long the chin doesn't find an edge on the plastic to chew on. If he starts shredding the plastic I encourage you to find a cage that is of all metal construction.

The plastic tunnel probably won't work for you. Chinchillas are notorious for destroying plastic, and it has been known that plastic causes fatalies in chinchilla by obstructing their stomach and intestines. I recommend using a fleece tunnel instead, however, with fleece items some chins will destroy them. If you see that happening cease using fleece in your cage. It is rare but can be hazardous if the items get damaged or fleece is ingested in quantity. I recommend removing this immediately.

The water bottle may be okay. This cage does have unusually narrow bar spacing and that may prevent them from damaging it through the bars. Glass bottles are recommended. My chins chewed through a plastic one before so make sure to check the level each day (with is good practice anyway) in case they get to it.

Make sure they have access to food and water. I did have chins where one did not leave the other one alone, it started losing weight, and I separated them. They were very aggressive. I tried to introduce them again and they started pulling fur and it was coming out in clumps, which is a danger sign. When fur flies it's time to separate them. Years later they are much more ameable towards each other if I put them together in the same space but I'm still going to keep them separate.

Have fun. Looks good otherwise.