Does this look like hunchback?

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AJ Muscella

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2013
Messages
14
I just want someones opinion on this. Does this look like my little guy has hunchback? If it does is there a way to fix it? I've read that hunchback is from malnutrition, but there's always a fresh supply of hay for him and my other little guy - of whom lives in a separate cage. They both get fresh Timothy hay every day; they also have Oat hay, and Meadow hay (all hay is Oxbow brand) scattered through the cage to encourage foraging. So I don't know how he could be malnourished. View attachment 20539

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The pictures are not visible, but certain body types of chins can look like hunchback when sitting a certain way, chin would have to have been sick or starved where a sudden drop in food intake happened for this to occur.
 
I don't know why the pictures aren't visible. If someone can walk me through that so y'all can see, I'd appreciate it. But I feed him Oxbow pellets.
 
Dale Earnhardt has a hunchback. He was a rescue that has been with us for a little over a year (he had at least 3 previous homes). He's at least 6 years old and has a history of ear infections. He is now completely deaf and never moves in a straight line. He was on the crappy Kaytee food when he came here, but he didn't actually eat it, he was anorexic. I cold switched him to Mazuri and gave him tons of fresh hay. I think it took 3 days for him to eat any of it when he first got here. He now eats just enough to survive and is extremely picky about treats and sticks. I've tried supplements, and they work for a bit but as soon as he stops eating them he loses all the weight he puts on. Luckily he loves the bluegrass hay from KMS, and tolerates Mazuri pellets. He's my happiest, friendliest, most active chin, and has become my favorite in the short time he's been here.

The first picture, he's the black velvet on the top shelf, this is from last week when we were on vacation at my mom's house. It's a great comparison of a normal chin (Rufus on the bottom) and him with the hunchback. The second pic is his favorite sleeping spot. Third pic is my fiance holding him about 6 months ago. And the last picture is the week we brought him home, August 2012.
 

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Was the chin acutally diagnosed with a blood test that it had hunchback which is hepatic lipidosis? If the chin has/had hepatic lipidosis, it needs to be on a low protein/fat diet and Mazuri is not a good choice in feed for liver patients.
 
Dale was not, at least not that I know of. I didn't get a full vet history with him, and when I took him in when we first got him the vet was more concerned with his ears (which were fine other than not being able to hear). Is hepatic lipidosis the only cause of hunchback in chins? Do you have any links that I can read up on the topic?
 
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