Chin loosing weight after injury

[chinchillasrox]

About a week ago my chin had an injured back paw that we took him to the vet for. We were given Metacam for pain. Since his injury he has went from 436 grams to 400 grams. Should we start handfeeding him? I dont have any critical care on hand and would have to order it. Should we grind pelllets up and mix it with baby food (such as pumpkin) and handfeed him? We have had experience handfeeding because we had to hand rear him and his brother. I am worried so please help me out here.
Thanks

 

[AZChins]

Are you still giving him the Metacam? Sometimes that can affect the appetite of a chin, where the chin still eats but not as much. The Critical Care isn't a bad idea to have on hand in case he keeps dropping weight. That's quite a bit for such a small chin. You could use ground up pellets for handfeeding if you'd like. Is he still eating on his own?

 

[chinchillasrox]

I have not seen him eat pellets but I have seen him eat hay, oats and gnaw on sticks. I gave him the Metacam yesterday. I also called the vet yesterday because the metacam seems to space him out really bad and they said to keep giving it to him for inflimation but try to do a half of the dose. I have not given it to him tonight, I dont' want him to get spacy and not eat. If I do have to hand feed should I use the kit recipe or something else?

 

[ticklechin]

IMO if a chin is not eating on its own, it needs to be hand fed until it starts eating on its own. In this case since the chin has the ability to eat, I would not feed the full amount, I would feed 3 10ml feedings a day for a few days then cut back and stop. What dose are you giving of the metecam?

 

[chinchillasrox]

Well things are looking a little better. Oli ate some ground up pellets and water, and his weight is up to 405 g. Should we mix some baby cereal in with it? If I remember right it helps them put on weight better. Also would he eat it better with something that tastes better to him???
Thanks