Bubbles at the vets!

[Buddy]

For those of you who would like to know how Bubbles got on at the vets yesterday:

She had her xray and it turned out that the first vet that first did dental care to her did it completely wrong.
She had spurs, and her bottom teeth were too long. It also looked as if she had been biting her cheek when she was trying to eat.
But that was a while ago as it had healed up.

The roots of her teeth looked fine, probably slowly growing upwards but that may or may not be a problem for her in the long term, but right now it was not causing her the pain.
They burred her teeth down, got rid of the sharp edges and the spurs. Hopefully after she's recovered she'll go back to eating and chewing propperly.
Today I brought her lots of new chew toys! She's even tried to chew on them, so thats a good sign

 

[mistywaterwoman]

Unfortunately that is a common enough story! I wish more vets would be properly educated before they attempt to work on a chinchilla.

I am glad she got the trimming, and it should help her to eat on her own for the next 3-6 months. Be sure to watch for signs again, she will most likely need regular trims now.

 

[Buddy]

You think this will happen again?
She seems to only want to drink water out of a glass as well? Doesn't like the fact drinking out of her bottle involves her teeth I'm guess she's still in pain?

Hopefully now she's out of any kind of danger zone

 

[ticklechin]

Rarely is it a one time thing and the dental treatment will need to be repeated again.

 

[Lillybabe]

Roots growing out too far is common in chinchillas, so are spurs and misalignment. It is possible her roots will never grow far enough to give her much trouble but it is also possible they will continue to grow up into her sinus cavity and down into her jaw line. She will need to be watched closely from now on. I'd advise weighing her regularly (once a week is fine) to monitor weight growth. I would keep her on the critical care until she is eating a decent amount of pellets and hay on her own. If she's snubbing hay and you've tried multiple types then she may still be in pain. Once she's eating on her own continue to monitor weight, poops and the amount she is eating and drinking. If she slows down again after this point or is losing weight she'll need to go back into the vet. It is very possible she'll need xrays and filing every 6 months or more. These tooth problems don't usually go away.

 

[Buddy]

Ah okay thankyou.
The vet said it was her back teeth, the front two were pretty much fine, He also showed me two other xrays from two different chinchillas that go in (Probably wasnt allowed, but yeah..) Them two seemed a lot worse off and are apparently very happy.

Hopefully after this week she'll start eating proper pellets. At the minute she's not going near it or her hay and shes just waiting to be syringe fed.

Yesterday she weighed 530 grams. Which is pretty good for a chinchilla who is being syringe fed...
She's not drinking out of her water bottle, so I give her a glass of water every now and then. Obviously watching her.. lol.

 

[Lillybabe]

She is most likely not drinking much because she is already getting plenty of fluid when she's syringe fed. Even on Critical Care she should not be continuing to lose weight. If she's losing weight then you need to get more food into her. You may have to break it up into more frequent syringe feeding.

 

[tcraighenry]

Awww, I hope Bubbles will be ok!

 

[Buddy]

Yeah probably. She has actually put on weight though! 2/3 weeks ago she was 490 grams, so shes put on 40 grams
You can tell she's in pain though, she's wanting more cuddles! Poor thing

 

[kcbee]

Ugh! Poor girl.

I hope she starts feeling better now that her teeth were done the correct way and I hope that she starts eating well.

 

[Lillybabe]

530 grams is still quite small for an adult chinchilla. My Pixie is over 530 grams and she is only 4 months old. She definitely needs to put on some weight, especially if she needs another filing in the future. She'll need some size incase she loses some later.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

530 grams is still quite small for an adult chinchilla. My Pixie is over 530 grams and she is only 4 months old. She definitely needs to put on some weight, especially if she needs another filing in the future. She'll need some size incase she loses some later.

This is not true. Some chins are built differently. It all depends on the individual and that's why it's important to regularly weigh your chinchilla so you know what normal is. I've had full grown chins be 550 grams and 1000 grams. Both were healthy and an appropriate weight for the size of their body frame.

 

[ChinnyMom]

both of my boys are what most chin folk would consider on the low end of the scale for weight, with both being under 550. as long as your chin is healthy, happy, and eating/pooping well, then there is nothing to worry about.

 

[Buddy]

bubbles has always been small. She was the runt of the litter. However she did used to eat like a pig lol

 

[Lillybabe]

I understand weights can fluctuate but I stand by what I say. I haven't heard of that many female chinchillas being at 530 grams and certainly not in the 400 gram range where Bubbles is now. She is definitely on the smaller side. I didn't say this means she's underweight... however, we know she's underweight don't we? Any chin with teeth problems who hasn't been eating is going to be underweight. Isn't it possible she's always been small because she's always had teeth issues? If it hurts to eat she's going to consume less than other chinchillas. She's also a standard isn't she? I was told standards are typically larger. Of course I understand fluctuation.... some chins are just smaller than others. However, size I would argue can also be a sign that something is wrong.

 

[Dreamlite]

Size is not a indication of trouble. Wieght flucutation yes but not adult size. Yes males are usually smaller than females but also not always the truth. I have had adult females top out at 480 grams, that's just their size. I had one male for several years that was 495 constantly. Why are some people 100lbs fully grown and others 300? That's just body frame and individual build. Certain colors tend to be larger or smaller than others but the fact that this chin was sold to a pet home and not to a breeder sugests that it was deliberately not used in breeding due to the small size.

With that said, if she is holding her wieght and acting good I wouldn't change anything. Obviously if she starts loosing wieght of doesn't want to eat as much she may need her teeth done again. One rescue I took in had to have his teeth done every 4 months for almost 3 yrs before the root enlogation got bad. So just be aware if it happend once it will happen again, its just at what intervole.

 

[Buddy]

I'm confused. Bubbles is 530 not 400 grams :S
She hasn't always had teeth problems... She's been extremely health up until mid march...
She's 9 years old..
She probably is underweight she has been a lot bigger, but she has always been pretty small for a standard female anyway,
Lets just hope she pulls through ey

 

[Lillybabe]

The issue with teeth problems is it is extremely difficult to pinpoint when they started. Unless she's had yearly xrays (which no one does unless they have an ill chin) there is no way to say when her teeth issues really started. By time a chinchilla stops eating or slows down there is already a serious problem. If they are not wanting to eat then they are in a lot of pain which means the problem has been going on a while. Since rodent teeth can grow so fast there is no telling if the chinchilla has been in pain for a week, or for months, or even a problem that's been getting worse over years. You said she has never been that fond of hay. In my opinion that alone could be a sign that she's had problems with her teeth for a while. My girls who are healthy as can be, absolutely devour hay. Most chinchillas people seem to mention on here are also quite fond of hay. However, as I mentioned before hay is a lot harder to eat. I mentioned 400 grams earlier because you said that she'd dropped into the 400 gram range. As far as size being an indication, I did not say it *always* was. But if my chinchilla got to be a year or so, and they didn't eat hay, and they were less than 500 grams I would certainly have them looked at by a vet. Yes, they could just be a smaller chinchilla, but they could also be showing early signs of maloclussion. In my opinion you can't know about malo too soon. The earlier you know the more that can be done for the chinchilla. With regular filing they could live happily for years depending how fast the malo progresses. By time they are in so much pain they are dropping weight, it could be too late to do much for them. They could be so small that they do not survive the surgery or make it through recovery. Also, size can be impacted by diet. Some pellets like Mazuri I have heard linked with smaller chinchillas.

 

[AZChins]

I wouldn't consider 530 to be tiny. Some chins are just that size. Weight means very little really. Body composition and muscle tone are far more important than just giving a weight - understanding what you see in a healthy chin is far more than just putting the chinchilla on a scale. If a chin is maintaining a weight, it's fine.

I've been using Mazuri for a long time. I don't have small, malnourished chins. I've never heard of it being "linked" with smaller chinchillas.

Not every chinchilla out there is going to be 900 or 1000. If that were the case, we'd probably stop having many chins around considering that very large females and males may not have babies very easily for many different reasons.

 

[EMSChins]

Agreed, I have several chins in the mid 500's that are perfectly proportioned. I also have several in the 800- 1000 gm gm range also perfectly proportioned, Frame and size of the chin have a lot to do with how much weight a chin can carry, Fluctuation in weight of a chinchilla when it is an adult is what you need to watch when monitoring for health issues - not comparing weights of one chin against weights of another or weights of one color chin to weights of other color chins. Totally unrelated.