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[lxc95]

OMG my mischevious chin has taken a HUGE bite out of a fruity gummy candy!!! Im really worried and I dont know wether or not I should be taking him to the vet. He's acting fine right now but I need to know if i should be concerned. Does anyone have any advice? 

[ThreeLilChins]

Amy and I our not vets.  We fell that your chin should be all right. Just the other week on the forum someone had a chin that got a hold of some reefer. We once had a chin eat a piece on a button off a shirt. Just keep a close eye on the chin. Make sure he/she is drinking and eating. Sorry we couldn't be of more help.

[Joyce]

  Oh my gosh, a gummy candy!  These little guys get into everything they can and will try to eat anything they can sink their little teeth into.
The gummy candy will probably pass without problem but I am not a vet and nobody can say for sure.  So, PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CHIN"S POOP!!!!  This is crucial.  Watch his water and food intake as well and make sure it is normal.  If the poop starts to get really small or he is not passing poop at all you must get him to the vet right away.  This would probably signify he had developed a blockage and needs quick help!
Unfortunately we have had 2 chinchillas now with bowel blockages.   In both cases the chins became very lethargic, stopped eating, drinking and passing any poop at all.  One died and one lived after passing a blockage about 4 pennies in length after on a very rigorous treatment at the vet and home health care for several weeks.  She needed to be given a GI stimulant called Cisipride (or Reglan) to help move things through her GI tract and out.  She also needed IV fluids, to be fed Critical Care as well as fluids by mouth, and Metacam which is a non steroidal anti inflamitory. 
Our other chinchilla was not as lucky and we just recently lost him before Christmas after a 2 day struggle.  It was a very sad time for us here.
I am not giving you this info to terrify you, but to help give you a heads up just in case you notice anything change with your chin.  It will be important for him to be seen immediately!  In the meantime if I were you I would just call your vet and let them know, maybe they have some advice that can help out.
I just speak from experience here and anything that involves the GI system is taken very seriously.  That is why I am posting this, to help anyone if they should ever run into a situation similar to ours.  Hopefully none of you will ever go through what we did but if my post can save another chins life..........
The chin we had that recently died showed no symptoms until the very end and it was too late.  Chins mask their symptoms very well being animals of prey.  There was nothing else we could have done.
We always give our chins an extra papaya cube or a raisin or 2 to get thing moving if they seem constipated.  This may help your chin a bit, but ask your vet first!  It would not be a substitution for curing a true GI blockage in any way.
Sorry I got so winded.  I hope everything goes well your way and that gummy candy is passed quickly.  Please do keep us posted.  Your info could help another person.

[lxc95]

Thank You very much for sharing your experiances with me. So far, besides being kinda hyper... He is acting normally. Ill keep ya'll posted.

[Joyce]

I should have mentioned above that all intestinal blockages don't necessarily have to be from a chinchilla "eating something" (such as plastic etc,,,) 
Our Mia formed a blockage after she had her 2 kits.  Her system just developed (probably) a GI Stasis and the bowel blockage began there.  Like I said she was a very strong chinchilla and was able to pass it, most would not have been able to do so. 
I always tell people to keep a close eye on their chin's poops daily, it can really tell you alot.

[Jo Ann]

Joyce is 100% right!  None of us (including CAchins) thought Mia would make it.  She was a real fighter and had excellent medical attention and the never wavering love of her human family.

    It is very important that we be extra careful not to have open food around a chin ... they will eat anything they can sink their little teeth into.

    Make sure your guest are told not to feed anything to your chin, also.  A couple of years ago, a girl that e-mailed me had a real bad situation ... a guest of her parents fed her chin a BBQ rib ... it died in less than 24 hours. 

    Always be concerned when your chin consumes something that is not made for him/her and watch them carefully.  Chinchillas are new to the pet world ... we are finding out daily things that are/are not good for them because they are being exposed to things they have never come in contact with before ... don't let your little one become a "test case".

    Prevention can go a long way!

 
Jo Ann