Chinchilla not eating/drinking but still runs around

[ScarletJoy]

Im currently am taking care of this 2 year old chinchilla for only 3months and i just upgraded the cage yesterday.

But i noticed today, that she was not eating and drinking much, very less poop too

But when i brought it out for playtime,she was still very active and ran around.

So i was wondering what could be wrong with my chinchilla, i also saw it had a new sleeping position after i changed the cage. Please give me advise!!

 

[Amethyst]

Chins hide illness very well so still being active isn't an indication that nothing is wrong, just she isn't on deaths door yet. A vet visit is a good idea, but to help try to narrow down the issue and see if it's something you might be able to treat at home I need more info.

When you say not eating or drinking much, for how long has that been going on and how much is she eating and drinking?

Also is the poop just less or is it also smaller or in anyway different then normal?

Could she have eaten something she shouldn't have?
Has there been any change in diet?
Has she had any treats? if so what?

Also what is the temp in the room?

 

[ScarletJoy]

Chins hide illness very well so still being active isn't an indication that nothing is wrong, just she isn't on deaths door yet. A vet visit is a good idea, but to help try to narrow down the issue and see if it's something you might be able to treat at home I need more info.

When you say not eating or drinking much, for how long has that been going on and how much is she eating and drinking?

Also is the poop just less or is it also smaller or in anyway different then normal?

Could she have eaten something she shouldn't have?
Has there been any change in diet?
Has she had any treats? if so what?

Also what is the temp in the room?

Its only been 1 day since it js not eating and drinking much

The poop became very less,not so sure about the size

I gave her smth new yesterday which was oats

The room temperature is 26 degrees

 

[Amethyst]

Ok, well oats can cause gas, they aren't really recommended as treats anymore because gas problems are so common. Being gassy would cause poops to be less and often smaller in size and also make them not want to eat or drink because trapped gas hurts. You can try some infant gas drops, the dosage varies depending on what you can get in your country either 0.3ml or 0.5ml, but you want 20mg of simethicone per dose every 8-12 hours, you can't really overdose if you get the amount a bit off though, extra is just peed out. If she isn't better after a couple doses or she stops pooing completely you need to get her to the vet.

I assume you mean 26C? If so that is way too hot for chins, anything over about 21 will cause them to start to suffer from the heat and anything over about 24 they can suffer heat stroke and die since they are literally cooking in their fur. Just because she hasn't died yet doesn't mean it's not doing damage to her organs every time she is in hot temps, which can shorten her life and lead to organ failure. Over heating can also cause the chin to not want to eat or drink because they don't feel good, and not eating or drinking can cause them to not poop as much. It's also best to not let the chin out of the cage if the room is above 20, chins have die from heatstoke in temps as low as 22.

 

[ScarletJoy]

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[ScarletJoy]

Ok, well oats can cause gas, they aren't really recommended as treats anymore because gas problems are so common. Being gassy would cause poops to be less and often smaller in size and also make them not want to eat or drink because trapped gas hurts. You can try some infant gas drops, the dosage varies depending on what you can get in your country either 0.3ml or 0.5ml, but you want 20mg of simethicone per dose every 8-12 hours, you can't really overdose if you get the amount a bit off though, extra is just peed out. If she isn't better after a couple doses or she stops pooing completely you need to get her to the vet.

I assume you mean 26C? If so that is way too hot for chins, anything over about 21 will cause them to start to suffer from the heat and anything over about 24 they can suffer heat stroke and die since they are literally cooking in their fur. Just because she hasn't died yet doesn't mean it's not doing damage to her organs every time she is in hot temps, which can shorten her life and lead to organ failure. Over heating can also cause the chin to not want to eat or drink because they don't feel good, and not eating or drinking can cause them to not poop as much. It's also best to not let the chin out of the cage if the room is above 20, chins have die from heatstoke in temps as low as 22.

Ohh thanks so much for the help!!
I will monitor her for the time being,if its really gets worse i will bring her to the vet

And should i feed her oxbow critical care? If yes,how much should i feed?

 

[Amethyst]

With luck it's just a bit of gas and the gas drops do the trick, I would try that before the critical care. If it's a gas bubble causing the issue you need to break it up before she can eat, after the gas drops you can try to see if she will eat some critical care but I wouldn't force it. If it's something more serious you don't want to be pushing food into her if she has a partial blockage or something going on.

The amount of critical care depends on if she is eating at all or not, the amount they need in a day is about 50ml ( mix of one part critical care and two parts water) per 500g of weight per day to maintain weight. I would start with just making up a small amount if you want to just see if she will eat.

 

[ScarletJoy]

With luck it's just a bit of gas and the gas drops do the trick, I would try that before the critical care. If it's a gas bubble causing the issue you need to break it up before she can eat, after the gas drops you can try to see if she will eat some critical care but I wouldn't force it. If it's something more serious you don't want to be pushing food into her if she has a partial blockage or something going on.

The amount of critical care depends on if she is eating at all or not, the amount they need in a day is about 50ml ( mix of one part critical care and two parts water) per 500g of weight per day to maintain weight. I would start with just making up a small amount if you want to just see if she will eat

For how long should i give the gas drop? 1-2days?
And how long does bloat usually last for?

 

[Amethyst]

If it's just gas it should resolve within about 12 hours (or after 1-2 doses), if not better within 24 hours it's not just gas and you need to go to the vet. If it progresses to actual bloat (constipation, hard swollen belly, stretching and pressing their belly on the floor, things like that) you need to go to the vet, the stomach and intestine can twist and even explode, killing the chin. It can also cause the gut to shut down, meaning they can't digest anything anymore and you need gut mobility drugs from the vet to hopefully get it going again.

Chins can't burp or fart, they pass gas as bubbles in their poop so if they get a gas bubble too big it needs to be broken up small enough to pass in their poop.

 

[Amethyst]

Here is a good explanation about dealing with gas and bloat Treatment and Prevention of Bloat

 

[ScarletJoy]

Here is a good explanation about dealing with gas and bloat Treatment and Prevention of Bloat

Thank you so much!