Chin Dribbling!

[Buddy]

Hi, my chinchilla has been dribbling for around 3 to 4 days now. I've rang the vet and they said to make her as comfortable as possible.
Since yesterday she stopped eating, unless it was soft things. She is still drinking. So I have crunched down her pellets and made it into a mixture kind of stuff with warm water and syringe fed her. She eats yogurt drops as they are soft, but as they are treats she can only have 1 or 2 a week.
and I know, "VETS ASAP!" She got ill this time last year for a good few months so "emergency vet money" is no more. I'm not due to be paid until the 15th so please dont shout at me for not getting her to a vet I physically can't without any money to my name and no family members able to help. Just tell me what else I can do to help her out.
I have £5 so I can get her some recovery food as I doubt her crunched up pellets is really giving her everything she needs?
But is there anything else? She does try to nibble and naw on sticks and stuff so I don't think it's giving her too much pain? Is it her teeth??

 

[Tagna]

Honestly without a vet visit you aren't going to know what you are dealing with. First, I would never give yogurt treats to a chinchilla. They aren't safe for chins.

It is most likely a tooth issue but without an exam and x ray it's hard to say way. When my chinchilla started drooling it was elongated roots and she was put down after a couple of months. I had to hand feed her and manage her pain until I felt she was not getting much out of life.

You could be dealing with something stuck in between her teeth, a point, roots, an abscess or something else.

If she is not eating she needs Critical Care and she needs a vet.

I know all about vet bills and they suck and are high. I have begged and borrowed and sold things in the past. You have to do what you have to do.

 

[Asha]

So sorry to hear about your chinnie being sick I just had a sick chin recently and I know its super stressful!

My first question would be, is she still pooping and does it look normal?

My second question is, what exactly was she ill with last year? Was it similar to the symptoms you are seeing now?

Usually if a chin is drooling, or has the "slobbers" it is a sign of malocclusion.

Can you tell if she is in any type of discomfort? Tooth grinding, lethargic, etc?

If it is in fact her teeth, I really don't have any experience in that department. I'm not 100% sure of what you can do for that without a vet. However, my other concern is that you say she has stopped eating. That is not a good sign obviously, and could potentially cause her to develop more issues beyond the teeth problem.

This is what I would do if I were in your situation:

What I would recommend is definitely get her some recovery food like Critical Care because its got extra nutrients in it to support her body while she is sick. It is extremely important that you continue to feed her if she is not eating for herself because that can cause bloat/stasis which is a nasty problem to handle. When a chin is not eating on their own, the members on here usually recommend getting 60cc of recovery food down the chin each day. This sounds like alot, but break it up into multiple feedings throughout the day and night (Yes, even during the night!). I am sure that other members on here could chime in on the best amount of Critical Care to feed her in this particular situation, but I'm just going off of what I have read/ been told in the past. I think better info can be given to you once you answer the question about her poops. Its crazy how important poops are in the chin world!

The second thing I would recommend is going ahead and buying some probiotics like acidophilus and sprinkle it in with the Critical Care feedings to help support her gut flora. Also, buy some baby gas drops too in case she develops any gas buildup. The members here can help guide you on what signs to look for in case she does develop some bloat/stasis and if/when you need to give the gas drops. They are really helpful to have on hand. Not pooping is a major sign of stasis. Also look for the start of any abnormal poops like if they get really small.

Another recommendation to keep her GI tract moving is to give her a tummy massage after you feed her. Letting her exercise in a chin proofed room is also helpful. Sometimes people also use warm compresses on the chin's tummy area. Provide her with plenty of timothy hay for the fiber. In your case she may not eat it if her teeth hurt, but put it in there just in case there's a chance she does, especially since you said she would nibble on sticks.

Like I said before, I don't know alot about malo or steps you can take at home for it. However, these suggestions are to hopefully help you avoid secondary problems from developing such as stasis. You really need to keep her gut moving. I think we can all agree on here that we just want to do the best we can for our chins, and I'm sorry you aren't able to afford vet care right away. These are the steps I would start with if it were me, I really hope your girl pulls through! Keep us all updated!

 

[Buddy]

She is pooing but they have become tiny and very very dark. She has odd bigger poos but that's obviously when she's eaten syringed food.

and for the reply to my post- I really do not have any money. and telling me that your chin was put down with the same things wrong with my chin is very much not helping me cope with anything! Bubbles is 10 years old and has never left my side.

As for her first illness a year ago she became ill with Stasis after not eating. At first they thought it was her tooth but there were no obvious signs so they just got rid of a few spurs and pointy areas. I then took her to a second vet as I felt I was getting propper care there. They found no big issue and couldn't understand why she was not eaten. Her teeth were in fair enough condition after they xrayed her. By the end of it she became so week that she only had a few hours if that left to live. So they injected her with a course of pro biotics and thankfully it saved her life and that's why she is here today. But all of that bad bacteria that she had from the antibiotics proscribed to her from the firs vet has destroyed her gut and every now and then she becomes bloated (even though she has been eating and drinking and her poos have been perfectly fine) She gets a course of probiotics and she's fine again.
This isssue is something nothing, and something bigger. And I honestly cannot afford any treatment as of yet. I will phone them first thing tomorrow and see what they can off but that is it unfortunately =[

 

[Buddy]

She is also NOT lethargic. She wants out and comes out of her bed as soon as I open her cage so that's a good sign for now. She doesn;t seem in too much pain. She wont touch hay unfortunately only soft foods =[

 

[Tagna]

Many chinchillas are put down with malo. It's a fact and it is the worst thing about malo. I'm not going to sugar coat things. Malo sucks, the ending sucks. It is a painful and horrible thing to deal with. For the chin and the owner.

Your chin needs a vet. I have been where I don't have money and had to borrow but my animals never went without a vet when they needed it. You don't know what your chin has until a vet sees them.

Sorry it's not the answer you want but it is the truth.

 

[Asha]

Based on your description of her poos, it does sound like there is def some GI issues going on. Glad to hear she is NOT lethargic, that's a good sign. Perhaps she has developed more tooth spurs since time has passed which is causing the drooling and not eating? Since chinchillas' teeth are always growing, it could be a possibility that more spurs/pointy parts have developed again. I don't think you can do anything about that by yourself, but there are things you can do to alleviate secondary problems like her smaller poops.

You probably know alot of this already since you have had experience with stasis in the past, but here's a couple reminders...

So based on the information you have given, I would say start syringe feeding Critical Care ASAP. Small poos can mean the gut is slowing down and we don't want that. By feeding her every couple hours with the CC, it will help stimulate the GI tract. Members here usually recommend 60cc for chins facing stasis issues, and you will want to spread the 60cc out over many feedings. For instance, you don't want to force her to eat like 20cc at once, that would be waaaayyy to much, and can make matters worse. With my chins, they usually will eat 5-10 cc per feeding. I also write down each time I feed and how much was consumed to keep an accurate record. Since you don't have much funds for buying supplies, if it were me, I would pick the Critical Care and probiotics out first (I had also suggested some baby gas drops in addition earlier).

Since you cannot go and get an injection of probiotics (I never knew they could inject it, that's pretty cool!), you have a couple options. Purchase either some acidophilus (sp?) tablets and crush them up into a powder that you can add to her CC feedings, or there is also a product called Benebac which is sold in pet stores. I had a member tell me that acidophilus tablets often have a higher good bacteria count than the Benebac so opt for those if you can find them. I'm not sure how much the tablets cost, but Benebac is around $3-4 I believe.

After each feeding, give her a good tummy rub. I usually take three fingers and place them on my chin's abdomen and rub in a gentle, circular motion. I've read about members doing this for about 10-15 minutes I believe. Also encourage her to exercise, and let her run around a chin proofed area. Exercise helps gut motility so its very good that she is not lethargic and will likely be willing to do this. Finally, use a warm compress on her tummy. You can do this by taking an old sock and putting dry rice in it. Tie a knot in the sock, and then put it in the microwave for 30 sec. Once you take it out, be sure to feel the sock and make sure its not too hot. My microwave even at just 30sec made my sock waaayy too hot so I had to wait a few minutes before using it. This is a link to one of the stasis threads on here: http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6553 and it helped me alot.

Keep a close eye on her activity level. Mark her water bottle so you can see how much fluid she is taking in and how often. Monitor her poos. I would encourage you to avoid giving the yogurt drops. As Tagna mentioned, they are not good for chins and this is because of their high sugar content in general. In your case, treats are not good especially because you are fighting GI issues.

I will add of course, you already know that you need a vet. My suggestions are just that, suggestions. It may help, it may not. However, these are the things that I would try until I could see a vet.

I realize you are experiencing alot of stress right now. One of my chins was very, very sick recently and I was a nervous wreck! I was with her 24 hours a day feeding and caring for her. Hang in there!

 

[Buddy]

I know, and atm I'm working on finding money for her. I have £20 that is enough for a checkup and possibly pain killer. But not enough for real treatment. I also need to add that Bubbles had a new bed a week ago,- completely destroyed now obviously. But she had been pulling and pulling on it for none stop for two weeks, maybe that had course some damaged to her teeth? Its flees and she's literally pulled all the whole of the bottom out. I'm thinking maybe her pulling on it so much and so hard could have caused some damage?

 

[Buddy]

Thank you for your help! Tomorrow I will buy her some Recovery food. it's a shame as I chucked the rest of her tub of it 2 weeks ago. (How annoying!) The probiotics she usually has is prescribed by her vet and its called fibreplex or something- Usually given to Rabbits but in Bubbles' case she had small doses twice daily. As for the sock- I'm sure Bubbles will love this! I had to fight and fight for her to stick on top of the rice sock lol. Atleast she is still pooing for now - that is a sigh of releif for me. and I know she isnt as bad as last year with her bloat and stasis as I can't feel bloat and last time she had stasis she didn't want to leave me, and she lay in bed with me 24/7, but this time she's not too bothered and her ears are perky and shes' very alert- unlike before. So I'm guessing I've caught her problems fairly early? That would be down to my constant worrying if she's okay or not...

 

[Asha]

Well, at least you could see what the vet says. That is much better than not seeing the vet at all. When it comes to my chins, I know I always feel better getting answers whether they are good or bad, at least I know one way or another. Perhaps your vet offers payment plans or some type of care credit program?

As far as the fleece goes, I wouldn't think that it would damage their teeth? Perhaps someone else would have a better answer to that one.

 

[Buddy]

Well my dad has said yes to lending me as much money as I need for her treatment. So yay! So I will be ringing the vet first thing tomorrow and get her an appointment for half 5 ( I know late but I need my dad there!)
Also, I have asked about a credit program and they said they couldn't do that unfortunetly. However last year some of her check-ups became free which was good as I was paying out over £800 already on her treatment. I did ring the vet thursday night when I first noticed she didn't look too well and they said to get as much food in her as i possibly could so I'm just crunching up 10 or so pelets every now and then and mixing them with water until tomorrow when I can get her recovery food

 

[Asha]

You are welcome! I know how stressful it is to have a sick pet. I really do wish you both the best. It is good that she is already on probiotics. If you have to wait til tomorrow to get the Critical Care, then you def need to be continuing to crush her pellets up and feed her that way, and feed her often. Remember to keep that gut moving, you want to keep seeing poops! The more normal looking the better too. It sounds to me like you have caught the signs of stasis early because poops are still present, they are just getting smaller. Stay on top of the feedings, massages, compresses, and exercise especially while you are waiting to get to a supply of recovery food. Let us know how she progresses!

 

[Asha]

Our posts must have just crossed! lol. That is great news!! So glad your dad is able to lend you the money! So happy for you! The vet will def be able to give you the answers you need Let us know what they say

 

[Buddy]

I will keep you updated, thank you

 

[Cuddlebug]

Another possibility is that she had some sort of digestive issue going on, caused by eating the fleece when she tore the bed apart. Even fleece isn't safe if they eat it.

 

[Buddy]

I dont think she was eating it. She was pulling it apart and I was finding clumps of it in her bed and around her cage

 

[Buddy]

Thought I'd give everyone a heads up!
Bubbles was given some Fibreplex to help her gut movement ect... Seems to have worked, her poos are a lot bigger and she's become a lot brighter. (This could be because she's taking more food from the syringe than she was yesterday though?)
She has dental surgery on Wednesday, just wondering though, should I carry on feeding her syringe food even though she's due an opp.?

ALSO.....
I've discovered a new area that becomes wet. It's under her nose just above the start of her mouth- I'm not sure if this is from the nose or from the top area of her mouth??? :S It's really hard to describe it but the only thing i can really say is 'it's where the slit is and just below it??'.. sorry if this confuses you. But I have just noticed it and just she has left a damp circle on her wood shelf- not seen that before. Any ideas???

 

[Asha]

Glad to hear her GI issues are looking up! Its probably a combination of the motility drugs and increased food intake that is helping her perk up. That's great! As far as feeding before an operation, I would ask your vet the proper procedure on that one because I'm not sure.

As far as the wet nose, it would probably be one of two things: One, maybe she was rubbing her mouth area with her paws and accidentally smeared some drool further up near her nose and made it look wet. Two, if the wetness is coming from the nose then that could indicate some type of upper respiratory illness I think. I would keep an eye on her breathing and make sure she doesn't start wheezing or something. Also keep an eye on any other odd symptoms that arise of course. I'm sure someone with more experience with URIs could be of more assistance.

 

[Buddy]

Oh great :/ More illness for her I don't no if it is coming from her nose though, as her nose is actually completely dry. It's the top of her mouth- I dno.. it was just really wet but maybe she just put that area of her mouth in the wet patch of her wood shelf.
And wheezing? What does wheezing sound like?

 

[Buddy]

She sneezed a few times, but she's always sneezed since I've had her. I've changed different things and nothing stops it. And the vet have investigated her sneezing <-- if that's even what it is --> and they didn't find anything wrong.
Oh, I so hope she hasn't got a URI on top of her tooth problem