Chinny not eating on Metronidazole

Hi all,

About a week and a half ago, I noticed my chinchilla, Charmin, wasn't eating much of his pellets and had smaller, softer, and sour smelling poops. His 11th birthday was at the same time ( he did not get his new toy or treats for it )

I took him to our local exotic vet. I was worried he had giarrdia and the doc agreed something was "out of balance" in his gut and gave me a prescription for a water diluted metronidazole without a stool test. The first batch separated when shaken, and I returned to the vet and had it replaced with a syrup based formula; the dose went from 0.03cc to 0.28cc.

Charmin has been on the syrup meds since last Friday, the 9th.

On Sunday, I completely tore down his cage and scrubbed it with a 1:32 bleach solution. I wiped the actual bars and his flying saucer with it. All his shelves got a thorough rinsing in the shower, but I forgot to rinse his wheel.

Monday and Tuesday, Charmin wasn't eating at all, and wouldn't take treats from me. His tummy felt bloated, but he wasn't going to let me massage it. When he takes the meds (and they get in his mouth), he sounds like he is taking down a lot of air. He was also probably pretty stressed by the cage cleaning (6 hours out)

Wednesday, I skipped both doses and gave him quite a few dried green beans and peas (the only treats other than raisins he showed interest in) throughout the day. He also nibbled on a hay cube.

Its time for his first dose of today, and I've noticed he has finally eaten maybe a third of Monday's pellets overnight.

Should I continue the metronidazole? He had it for a 5 day run, which sounds too short.

We never confirmed a parasite, could I have been paranoid and made his tummy worse with unneeded antibiotics?

I do not like treating without a diagnosis. The anorexia could either be from the meds or from illness. I see a couple of concerning things. Chins should never get vegetables (fresh or dried) or raisins. His intestinal bacteria could be out of balance from eating these. Healthy chins have normal bacteria in their digestive systems that help them digest their high fiber diet. When fed foods that are not part of their normal diet or are unhealthy for them, the bacteria can overgrow and cause problems such as bloat, GI stasis, etc. Chins should ONLY receive high quality pellets (not mixed with treats), hay, and fresh water as their main diet. Treats should never include vegetables, fruits, or anything high in sugar. This *could* explain the stool, but there could be another cause.

Secondly, when a chin stops eating they MUST be handfed to prevent their digestive systems from shutting down and dying (called ileus, or GI stasis). You can either mash up their pellets with water or buy some Critical Care. An anorexic chin needs at least 60 mL of syringed food a day.

I would not continue the meds past what the doctor prescribed. Generally, metronidazole is safe to give. However if overdosed or given over a long period of time, it has been known to cause liver toxicity. It sounds like he needs to be re-evaluated, and may need to be put on GI motility drugs if he is not pooping and appetite stimulators if still not interested in food.

What was the reason the vet gave for not doing a fecal float and just prescribing Flagyl willy nilly? What could have started out as bloat now may have become more of a issue by prescribing a antibiotic. Did the vet do any x-rays at all?

I have not continued the Metronidazole. After 2 med free days, we've had a day of glorious poops and an emptying food dish. I have a hunch the syrup formula was not the right thing for a Chin.

The vet's prescription was for an 8 day course, but Charmin only received 4 days. Is there a risk of a relapse with a resilience to the antibiotics? (If there even was a foreign organism)

Charmin also now has some patches where the antibiotic didn't make it in his mouth. It was rather sticky, and has now hardened to the point where I can't brush it out, and he seems bothered by it. Whats the best way to go about cleaning his fur?

Stackie said:

Chins should never get vegetables...

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I monitor Charmin's diet very closely (and have for 11 years). His stools were unusual for what he was eating. He is primarily fed 60% alfalfa, timothy, and botanical hay (he does have a sweet tooth), 40% Mazuri pellets.

I disagree that they should never be fed vegetables. However, I am very selective in choosing ones high in fiber and low in starch and indigestible nutrients. There are dangers with feeding root vegetables, and fresh vegetables definitely have too high a moisture content. Raisins are a rare treat, and I often use one to get "things" moving again when they slow down.

ticklechin said:

What was the reason the vet gave for not doing a fecal float and just prescribing Flagyl willy nilly? What could have started out as bloat now may have become more of a issue by prescribing a antibiotic. Did the vet do any x-rays at all?

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I think he was trusting my knowledge after I presented him Charmin's diet plan and a catalog of recent droppings . The smell was a deciding factor. I was probably jumping to conclusions since he just went "over the hill".

Of the 3 exotic vets in my town, this is the only one that understands how their digestive tract works. The local vet college thought he should be eating nothing but fresh greens :facepalm:. Unfortunately, Charmin and a past chin are most likely the only chinchilla patients the vet I like has seen since his own chins passed more than 10 years ago.

No x-rays, but I was monitoring for an impaction. The last time we had x-rays done was 2 years ago when there was mysterious blood. (Turns out his foot pads were cracking bad from him sitting in urine. He doesn't always make it to his pee corner in his old age.)