is my chinchilla sick?

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floridahkilos

Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2019
Messages
6
hi this is my first time owning a chinchilla i have had him for a few months now he is a male age is unknown though because he's a rescue today i woke up and i found his food bowl empty so i poured some food the thing is ever since i poured food i think it was 10 am i haven't seen him eat any of it i can't be 100% sure because i poured a little bit too much my main concern is he's been playing outside his cage for about 30 minutes now but there are no signs of poop usually he poops ALOT i checked his teeth earlier they seem fine his eyes are not teary and i did see him drink water today the thing is my chinchilla have always been quite so i can't tell if this is his normal quite or "there's something wrong with me quite" i'm currently writing this post while he's walking around my room he only seems quite when he's inside the cage i can't afford taking him to the vet right now is there anything i can do also is he sick or am i just being paranoid:cry3:
 
Unfortunately chins hide medical issues very well, they act as normal as they can for as long as physically possible. If he isn't pooping or eating that is a very bad sign. You can try getting him to run around, sometimes that helps get things moving, but if it's been a few hours and still no poop he likely has a gut blockage and needs to go the vet. A chin's gut bacteria starts to die off when it's not working after about 12 hours of not eating. Within 24 hours the gut starts to shuts down completely and the chin can no longer digest anything and goes into gut stasis. Once the chin goes into stasis there is nothing you can do at home, you need a vet to help try to start up the gut again (even then it's not guarantee).

I know you said you can't afford it right now, but could you ask any friends or family to help? or even see if the vet is willing to do a payment plan?
 
hi just a quick update right after i wrote that he pooped (only 3 poops tho which is still not good) and he's also eating now and is being a little bit more energetic than yesterday should i still book him an appointment?
 
If not pooping normally then yes, he could still be constipated.
 
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