Help!

[lilcutie0480]

My baby (12yr old male chinchilla) is having issues. I noticed Sunday he didn't eat much but Monday morning nothing was touched overnight. He stopped eating (hay & pellets) but still took treats on Monday. I called his vet on Tuesday AM but she couldn't get him in. They said I could drop him off but couldn't guarantee they would get to him that day. This was not an option, so I took him to a different vet. She ran a stool sample (he's still pooping but small) that was clear. The vet said everything looked healthy & of course he had energy at the Vet office. She said she wanted to wait a few days to see if he improved before doing X-rays & bloodwork since he already seemed a little stressed. He seemed to have more energy yesterday & ate a little bit of food on his own. I let him run last night, gave a sand bath & he acted completely normal. I bought Oxbow Critical Care to play it safe. Since he's starting to eat (hay & pellets) even though its a small amount should I try to give him critical care too? I just don't like how little he's eating. Help!

 

[Dragonflye]

If his poop production is slowing down, it can't hurt to give him Critical Care. You may want to mix a bit up in a bowl to see if he will eat it on his own. That would be ideal. If not, you could try to syringe feed maybe 10cc to start and watch to see if he is pooping more.

Is he rubbing his mouth or drooling at all? I'm just wondering how his teeth are doing.

 

[lilcutie0480]

Thank you for the reply. I did try to give him Critical Care & he hated it. I even got the Apple & Banana flavor. So I gave him Critical Care via syringe about 1mL is all he'd take but he's been improving everyday since then. He is now eating pellets, hay & pooping is almost normal size again.

He was not rubbing his mouth or drooling. He would eat apple sticks & hay blocks so I'm thinking its not his teeth. I'd love to do X-rays but the vet here will only do it with anesthesia. With my baby being 12yrs old that has me nervous. Any suggestions?