Chinchilla Help

[Webster]

I have had two chinchilla now for a couple of years, one is really friendly but the other is a little devil, always was right from the time we had her.

The friendlier one has started to lose weight over the past few weeks, didn't notice till I went to pick her up after an escape session!. Now started weighing her.

Took her to the vets on monday and he is a little mystified as well, She is healthy in every other way, bounding round her cage etc. has no signs of the trots, his conclusion was could possibly be that the other chin is bullying her away from the food or possible rear teeth trouble, as we have heard her grinding, although reading in books, this is natural. I have put a little Alfafa hay in with them yesterday, as I know they like their hay.

Has anyone got any further suggestions? I have tried to contact the breeder, and he hasn't responded to me email as yet as if it is the case, I have not the room for a second permanent chin cage.

Cage size is 5ft high by 2 1/5ft wide

[pigglywiggly]

what colour are her front teeth? a healthy creamy-orangy colour or white?

does she have damp rings around her eyes or runnyeyes?

what are you feeding them on, do they have cuttlefish to chew on for the calcium?

where about are you located? i know i good rodent dentist in the midlands who will rasp them without anesthetic.

[TeddyOscarDigby]

sound like a tooth problem... spurs on the teeth maybe? hav you seen her eating at all? ive heard it s common problem in chins. so is root elongation which is (i think) where the tooth does not get worn down correctly as it is mis-aligned and this causes irragular wearing on the teeth. it ca be managed by a vetinary dentist i think. i know someone with a chin who had terminal root elongation where the teeth have grown so quickly, they have penetrated the roof of the mouth.

its definitely worth checking out. from what ive heard, it is something chins suffer with more commonly than other mammals however i'm not an expert because im a rat lady....

[missmoore]

yep sounds like teeth to me aswell

have you got a decent vet who will be able to look after her

if she is not eating a little pineapple juice will help her to eat again

its such a common problem in chins a friend of mine has over 100 of them!!!

cheri

[pigglywiggly]

with bad teeth the roots of the teeth grow up into the eye sockets, thats why their eyes run.

try the cambridge cavy trust, they`ll be able to put you in contact with a rodentologist who can have a look with the propper equiptment with no anesthetic so you`ll know if its simple spurs which can be treated

'

[Juzza12]

They should have a constant supply of hay, timothy hay is best as it helps grind their teeth down

[Webster]

Thank you all for the replies, I do give her Timothy hay, as for eyes running, nothing what so ever, I have got to take her back next week. She is eating her hay but not sure on the pellets, her teeth are a healthy yellow colour!

I know one of my older rabbits had this problem and yes his eyes did water. but she has nothing.

So it is the chins that can have cuttlefish!, I new one of the collection of animals did.

thank you once again.

Happy new year to you all

[jasonsmum]

Hi i have got a fair few chins at the mo! like a mad house here! and they need cuttlefish in 24-7 not just for there teeth but for other reasons to, all my chins have always been fed on charlie chinchilla cuttlefish and a rasin as a treat with apple and dry toast etc as treats givan once in a while tim hay is great for them. make sure they do have the sand bath in and maybe try hand feeding her to see if you can see her eat and you may know if she is being builled. hope everything works out happy new year to you to

[davebrum]

weight loss can be due to many factors - check the water bottle is letting water out properly as often that is a cause when there are not obvious teeth problems.

Is she pooping at all? As if not there could be a blockage of some sort in the bowels -thje most common cause is a torsion. If she is still sharing with other chins then leave her in a cat box or something for an hour or so so you can see if there are any droppings at all and if theyare normal - can also be useful to take a sample to the vet to check for worms or giardia and other parasites or problems.

you dont mention what foods you are giving, but DO NOT feed mixes that look like rabbit mix -stick to a good ehalthy strong pellet as that way they get a balanced diet - as much as the rabbit mix type chin mixes say they are a balanced diet that does not work in practice as the chins dont eat all of the items in the bowl so can be missing vit and minerals due to selective feeding.

If i can be of any help feel free to PM me