How to hand feed

[cooljm94]

I am curious if I am hand feeding my chinchilla right I looked at videos on youtube but all the chinchillas were very cooperative unlike mine. She has a slight infection and is on medication but still ops not to eat. I took her to the vet and they did do a quick dental exam (she was suprisiningly cooperative) but she doesn't feel as well. Since on medication she has gotten better and has now started to resist me picking her up and nipping at me when she doesn't want to be held any more, with that hand feeding has become more difficult. So heres how I hand feed
I hold her and my mother feeds her. I don't force the food, we tend to either put it at the tip of the syringe and she eats it off that or we put it on her lips and she has to lick it off.

Is hand feeding the same as "force feeding"?
Should I be forcing her to eat by "injecting" the food in her mouth?
Can anyone send me to a link of a video or photos of a hand feeding for a diva chinchilla (lol)?
how do you hand feed?
Also she has made a mess all on herself with the critical care, any suggestions on how to get that off or if I even can?

 

[ticklechin]

Drama King Chinchilla

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfRkg5sJ2QU

 

[cooljm94]

Thank you so much my chinchilla is the same way!

 

[Tanya]

Some chins may refuse to eat a hand feeding formula when you hold them; they prefer to eat on their own. You can try feeding your chin while she is in her cage using a small spoon. Here are a couple of pictures one of my customers sent me:

Also she has made a mess all on herself with the critical care, any suggestions on how to get that off or if I even can?

You can moisten a towel/washcloth with warm water to clean critical care off her fur.

Should I be forcing her to eat by "injecting" the food in her mouth?

If your chin refuses to eat hand feeding formula, you can wrap her in a towel quite snugly (burrito style), so that only the head is out (small kitchen towel works well) and syringe the feed into the side of her mouth aiming at the cheek. Only squeeze a small amount at a time and not too quickly to avoid choking, give her time to chew and swallow.

You can offer some alfalfa hay. Provision of alfalfa hay is recommended for sick and recuperating herbivores. It's rich in nutrients; alfalfa also promotes weight gain and stimulates the appetite.

 

[Laurie]

Be careful when hand feeding aka force feeding via the syringe. As Tanya said you want to squirt out a small amount at a time into their mouth. Do not push a lot in thinking you want it to go directly into their belly. This can aspirate the chinchilla--ie get into their lungs which is detrimental to chins and could lead to infection and possibly death. Give the chin the chance to slurp, chew and swallow before putting more into their mouth.

 

[Claire D]

Patience is the key to hand feeding a chinchilla. Well, that plus a little experimentation.
Every chin is different - some are happy to eat on their backs like Dawn's chin in the video, some prefer to be more upright, some prefer to be lightly held, some need to be wrapped securely in a towel, some eat facing away from you, some facing you, some in the cage. Some chins prefer their OCC thick, some thinner, some warm, some cooler, some prefer to be syringe fed, some from a spoon, some will eat firmer balls of OCC, some prefer a bowl left in the cage ..............

If you can feed a chin in a calm & relaxed manner (easier said than done, I know!) then that helps too. Try different techniques, positions & consistencies of food until you find the one your chin likes.