cuddlycuddles
chinchilla freak
Hi,
It's been a while since I posted on the forum... Larry, one of my chinchillas, is not doing well and I could really use your collective wisdom at this time (since our vet does not have any solutions).
I first noticed a couple of weeks ago that Larry was crumbling his pellets and making more mess in his cage than usual- when I weighted him, he had dropped close to 80 grams of weight. I took him to the exotic vet the next day (the first available appointment) and by that time his poop was very small and dry. They examined him- he didn't appear dehydrated, but they said his gut was empty of food. I insisted that they check his teeth and no issues were detected, although the x-rays showed some gas in the GI system, but not much. Blood work came back normal. They also tested for Giardia and that test came back positive, but no action was recommended (because he did not have diarrhea). We were sent home with Critical Care and some Cisapride Solution (motility drug to help move the CC along).
Two weeks forward, Larry is active, he eats spoonfuls of Critical Care (that I prepare and leave in a bowl for him to eat) and he drinks water/pedialite mixture from a syringe.
But he does not eat any pellets or drinks any water (or water mix) from either of the two bottles hanging on his cage. In the past couple of days, he started nibbling on some hay, but not enough for me to stop feeding Critical Care.
I am mostly concerned about his refusal to drink- yet he eagerly awaits at the door for me to give him water from the syringe.
Any ideas what could be causing this behaviour (our vet has no idea)? He doesn't appear to be in pain and runs and jumps around as much as always.
Thank you in advance for any ideas and feedback!
It's been a while since I posted on the forum... Larry, one of my chinchillas, is not doing well and I could really use your collective wisdom at this time (since our vet does not have any solutions).
I first noticed a couple of weeks ago that Larry was crumbling his pellets and making more mess in his cage than usual- when I weighted him, he had dropped close to 80 grams of weight. I took him to the exotic vet the next day (the first available appointment) and by that time his poop was very small and dry. They examined him- he didn't appear dehydrated, but they said his gut was empty of food. I insisted that they check his teeth and no issues were detected, although the x-rays showed some gas in the GI system, but not much. Blood work came back normal. They also tested for Giardia and that test came back positive, but no action was recommended (because he did not have diarrhea). We were sent home with Critical Care and some Cisapride Solution (motility drug to help move the CC along).
Two weeks forward, Larry is active, he eats spoonfuls of Critical Care (that I prepare and leave in a bowl for him to eat) and he drinks water/pedialite mixture from a syringe.
But he does not eat any pellets or drinks any water (or water mix) from either of the two bottles hanging on his cage. In the past couple of days, he started nibbling on some hay, but not enough for me to stop feeding Critical Care.
I am mostly concerned about his refusal to drink- yet he eagerly awaits at the door for me to give him water from the syringe.
Any ideas what could be causing this behaviour (our vet has no idea)? He doesn't appear to be in pain and runs and jumps around as much as always.
Thank you in advance for any ideas and feedback!
