Chinchilla stopped eating — out of ideas

[shelverman]

I have a geriatric chinchilla—19 years young, until about a month ago.

Background: He's had dental problems for about 5 years, but a yearly trim has kept them manageable. Throughout his various dental issues, he has NEVER stopped eating. (His ability to eat well has varied, but his desire to eat never has.) He's had mild drool and a weepy eye for years, but his energy and appetite have been great.

About a month ago, he spontaneously drooled VERY heavily for one day. The next day, his drool was back to its usual (slight) amount. However, he stopped eating. Ever since, I have been making weekly vet visits and feeding him Oxbow Critical Care via syringe. However, we are not seeing improvement.

We have tried:
• trimming his teeth
• meloxicam for pain
• buprenorphine for pain
• X-rays and blood work
• simethicone, just in case

The weird thing is that he doesn't have any real symptoms besides his unwillingness to eat. He's not pawing at his mouth, stretching his belly on the ground, etc. He just sits in a corner and sleeps all day.

The only noticeable symptoms are these:
• not eating (except for a daily raisin, sometimes)
• drinking less and less, to the point that he's barely drinking now
• occasional diarrhea (possibly spurred by the daily raisin, since it seems to have gone away since I stopped offering that)
• increased weepiness in his weepy eye (which has been weepy for years, probably due to tooth root growth)

The only things left for me to try are
• more pain medication
• probiotics (Avipro Plus, Bene-Bac, acidopholous)
• a $500 ultrasound, just in case it turns up anything the X-ray missed

Here's the thing. After 19 years, I'm willing to accept that my little old man is at the end of his life... but I can't bear the thought of putting him down without knowing what's wrong. What if it was something that could have been fixed? I'm determined to try everything I reasonably can, but I'm out of ideas. That's why I'm asking for your input.

Best pain medication?
Best probiotic?
Is an ultrasound worth it?
Is there anything else I should know or try?

Thank you for your time.

 

[Dreamlite]

How recent were the last xrays done? Do you have any pics of them?

 

[shelverman]

No, my vet has never given me copies of X-rays. (Should they?)

The X-ray was taken 3-4 weeks ago, when the problems began and the teeth were trimmed.

 

[ticklechin]

So does the chin have overgrown roots? If so it could be to the point where the root have breached the bone of either the eye socket or jaw and now are actually under the skin or eye-does the chin have the root bumps under the jaw?

 

[shelverman]

Yes, he's had root bumps under his jaw and a weepy eye for quite a while—years, I'd say. (He was diagnosed with dental disease at 14, so I've known since then that he would worsen over time. The real question for me is why he worsened so suddenly and so much.)

 

[ticklechin]

I don't want to be a Debbie downer but that is the course elingation follows, a fast down hill slope.

 

[shelverman]

Yes. In fact, he passed away during the night last night... which is really sad for me, but also a relief. I was facing the decision to euthanize the next day (or day after) and am glad that we did not have to go through that.

P.S. – I think it was a typo, but what did you mean by "elingation"?