Does my vet know what he's talking about??

[jess_w]

I took my 2 chins to the vet today as they have both been having a bit of diarrhoea recently. This is what he said to me:

- Do not keep them in the living room because the noise is too stressful for them (even though we're only in there about 2 hours a day and the tv is not loud). The stress is causing diarrhoea.

- Feed them this food instead of the Oxbow pellets I have been giving them. The Oxbow is causing diarrhoea.

- Never give them rolled oats as a treat because there are too many carbs in them.

- Give them rocket leaves, cucumber skin, fresh dandelion leaves and "the bit of a cabbage that you don't eat" (but not other fruits & veg). The rose hips and shredded wheat I've been giving are okay. He just kept stressing that they are "fibrevores".

- Filtering water is pointless and tap water is fine for them

- He also seemed surprised when I told him that they do not really like to be handled. He told me to keep getting them out and handling them even when they struggle.

Sooo... is his advice good? He seemed to know what he was talking about (apparently he has a "degree in chinchillas"....) but his advice contradicts a lot of what I've read on here and from many breeders.... I'm confused!!

 

[GrenLeaf]

I think you need a new vet.

Rolled oats are fine as a treat. Oxbow is a good food. I've never heard of the other food, but oat bran is the 2nd ingredient listed. He might not want to contradict himself like that (ok the milling is different, but oats are oats). My chinchillas stayed in the living room next to the t.v. for over a year. They never had diarhea. Non-filtered water causes diarhea. I find it interesting that, if you google fibrevore, the first 5 listings are from Burgess, the people who make the food that was recommended to you.

Read the fact and care pages on this forum, follow them and you will find it difficult to go wrong.

 

[Becky]

Find a new vet.

I had chins that lived at school with me for 3-4 years and did just fine. They loved the kids and were not at all stressed. Being in the living room is just fine.

I would pull the pellets and give just unlimited loose hay. Don't give any treats at all until things are under control. Ignore everything the vet said!

 

[Sandi]

I agree with what Becky said. I feed Oxbow as well and my boys gobble it up with no waste and their poops have always been normal. As far as moving because the living room is too stressful, I doubt that from what you are saying. If both have diarrhea then I think there may be more going on. Did he run any tests?

 

[eroomlorac]

He seemed to know what he was talking about (apparently he has a "degree in chinchillas"....) but his advice contradicts a lot of what I've read on here and from many breeders.... I'm confused!!

You are getting good advice here. Some of that advice is from experienced chinchilla breeders. I would like to know what his "degree in chinchillas" consists of.

 

[Claire D]

- Do not keep them in the living room because the noise is too stressful for them (even though we're only in there about 2 hours a day and the tv is not loud). The stress is causing diarrhoea.

Rubbish! I have known chins to sit and watch TV with their owners (one of my chins loved watching CSI and other programmes with loud noises) - as long as there's some peace and quiet during the day for the chins to sleep and the noise levels do not startle them then they are fine in the lounge.

- Feed them this food instead of the Oxbow pellets I have been giving them. The Oxbow is causing diarrhoea.

Again - rubbish! Chinchillas are selective feeders and will happily eat the "nice" bits out of a mix. They are better off with dedicated chinchilla pellets (since you are UK based) and good quality hay.
They are more likely to develop diarrhoea from over eating treats in a mix or separately fed than from eating a portion of pellets.

- Never give them rolled oats as a treat because there are too many carbs in them.

A pinch of rolled oats is fine - they are carb rich but as long as they are given as part of a balanced diet then it's fine. If you were feeding a kilo per week then I'd agree with him

- Give them rocket leaves, cucumber skin, fresh dandelion leaves and "the bit of a cabbage that you don't eat" (but not other fruits & veg). The rose hips and shredded wheat I've been giving are okay. He just kept stressing that they are "fibrevores".

No, no no! There's a school of thought advocating greens for chinchillas atm but they negate the bloat aspect and the diarrhoea aspect. They don't need it and greens can upset the gastro-intestinal balance.

- Filtering water is pointless and tap water is fine for them

Yup, tap water in the UK tends to be ok but if you want to filter it then that's fine too.

Sooo... is his advice good? He seemed to know what he was talking about (apparently he has a "degree in chinchillas"....) but his advice contradicts a lot of what I've read on here and from many breeders.... I'm confused!!

Noooooooo! His advice is not good and I'm really glad you posted. :thumbsup:
There is no "degree" in chinchillas so he's talking out of his posterior on that score. :huh:


As for diarrhoea - I agree with Becky:
Pull all pellets and treats for at least 48 hours and feed only good quality hay and fresh water.
Mini shredded wheat once a day to add extra fibre.
Add probiotics to the water (Avipro is available from online stores)
If the soft droppings have not gone by day 3 of not feeding pellets then I'd be looking for a chinchilla competent vet to examine the chins and perform faecal tests


Whereabouts are you based in the UK? Maybe one of us could suggest a chinchilla competent vet near you.

 

[Chinmama]

Interesting how he thinks the diarrhea is stress related, yet he thinks you should keep getting them out and handling them even when they struggle. That's more stressful than being in the living room!

 

[Sesame]

Has there been any changes in environment, routine, recent food switch, or anything else that might be causing them to have diarrhea?

If not, perhaps further tests may help figure it out if it's giardia or some other thing.

 

[mishellyshel]

my vet suggested the same thing about the "green" diet. after reading post after post here that advised against it, i was confused too. when my chin that was diagnosed with malo stopped eating i tried everything, including offering some greens & a thumbnail piece of strawberry or apple and he wanted nothing to do with it.
i think if a chin is raised from birth on a green diet they have less of a chance to develope GI problems than an older chin that was already on a pellet and/or hay diet.
i find that some of this vets advice is a little out there and i never heard of a "degree" in chinchillas. i would tend to think people here who have raised & bred chins for many many years have more knowledge of their "behavior" than a vet.

 

[3CsMommy]

While I'm not going to argue with a vet that thinks he's an expert when I'm clearly not, I will say this much: My first chin was born during an all day tournament of "Raving Rabbids", talks back to Mario Sunshine and other video games, and listens to heavy metal and folk music with my taller half and I. Too stressful in a living room? Horse pucky! They need to be around their family members and see the usual activities of the day, even if they can't be out of the cage as part of them.

 

[Cuddlebug]

My chins are more sociable when I keep them in the living room and dining room as opposed to keeping them in a room with just them in it. I have no problems with stress or diarrhea.

 

[jess_w]

Thanks to all for the advice and comments so far. I'm going to keep them in the living room despite his advice because there are no visible signs of stress from the tv noise, and it is actually the quitest room in our house anyway.

I was a bit taken aback when he told me that Oxbow was not a good food, as I thought that was one thing I was definitely doing right!! He seemed to think it was "muesli-based" or something though, so I'm not sure he knew exactly what it is. I told him it was alfalfa-based and he just gave me a funny look. I'm still undecided about the food issue, but I tried giving them some cucumber skins today and they were like "wtf is this? where are my oats?" lol... so I think the greens are out the window either way =)

I guess there will always be conflicting advice on how to do things.

(oh and to 3chinsowner... he didn't do any tests other than to feel their tummies to see if they were bloated - they weren't - but he said if the diarrhoea hasn't cleared up within a fortnight with the "new diet", to go back and he will do some.

To ClaireD - I am based in York, in the North East)

 

[Jaina_Organasolo]

The only thing I have to add is that there is nothing wrong with the food you use, but also nothing wrong with the one the vet suggested either. (pellets that is)

I think Claire is thinking it's a mix - but it isn't. It is a new non-selective food that has just come out on the market over here. I haven't tried it - although I've heard of a few people that have, and the Chins seem to like it.

Personally, I feed Beaphar Care + and the Chins go nuts for it. It's a very good non selective feed.

 

[ticklechin]

I use kaolin pectin to treat loose poo in my existing chins, new ones would get a fecal done before treatment.

 

[Laurie]

All my chins live in the livingroom and they are also right next to the front door. I live in an apartment complex so they hear the hilly billy neighbors outside shooting off fireworks and livin the redneck live almost nightly. They hear the comings and the goings of the building as I live in the front. They aren't traumatized by any of this. Bobo and GiGi are tv hogs! They LOVE watching tv. Same goes for Abigail but not as much tv (she misses Moonlight and Mick St. John)
While vets are animal doctors, I still think they know more about "common" animals like dogs, cats, horses and cows before they know chins. I would take the word of seasoned forum members over the advice of a vet when it comes to the green diet. Cucumbers are some of the gassiest veggies I know and who knows what's in the skin, I would never give cucumber skins to my chins. As for the WTF is this? Seen it with Bobo when I didn't know better and gave her an apple slice once. She rubbed her but all over it and then kicked it off her shelf LOL!

 

[addictedtochins]

They LOVE watching tv. Same goes for Abigail but not as much tv (she misses Moonlight and Mick St. John)

Last night 2 of the boys were fighting and chasing a little rough, they ignored my pleas to knock it off, then I tried a new idea. I turned on the TV and that was the end of the fighting. They sat side by side watching, little goofballs!

 

[jess_w]

lol, mine seem to enjoy watching tv too!

Anyhoo I'm really annoyed now... the new food he recommended came today and from reading the back of the packet I've realised that their definition of "muesli-based" food is a mix... so my vet thought that Oxbow was "muesli-based" i.e. full of treats, and that was why they were having diarrhoea.

So basically I paid to take them to this vet who is supposedly experienced with chins, and he didn't even know about one of the most common chin foods! It seems like all his knowledge about chinchilla nutrition has come from the back of this Burgess food packet! grr..

Sorry - just needed to vent!

 

[mishellyshel]

jess--take a deep breath. relax. okay now go find a new vet & take the suggestions here and apply them to your chins & i am sure you will figure out what is wrong.
if the soft stools do not stop after a week, maybe you should get it tested (from another vet!) for giardia. but my one chin who is very consistant has soft stools for a couple days when i moved his cage & cracked open a new bag of mazuri at the same time. it may have been a small change, like a loud noise or differnt treat that made their stool soft.

 

[ABBY W.]

A "degree in chinchillas"? I think what happened is he went to a seminar about chinchilla care, and got one of those little certificates that says you've completed the seminar. My vet attends these all the time. But she admits that one seminar doesn't make her an expert in anything. A good veterinarian will continue to educate themselves forever, never assuming they know all they need to, because new information is coming out all the time.

It sounds to me like your vet has a little bit of knowledge that he has blown up in his own mind to make himself an "expert". Very dangerous thing, I would seek a second opinion if I were you, and have your chin tested for parasitic illnesses like Giardia.