Not sure what to do...

[SCchin]

See Hay 101 for background.

Our chin weighed 683 g at the vet last Thursday before a major teeth filing. We are at a week, and the guy just doesn't eat very much. I'm not sure he has ever eaten a lot, I really didn't keep track. He eats a little hay and just a few pellets each day. We do 5 mL of CC a day and he will not take any more. So, I got a scale today. Before we fed the CC, he weighed 675 g so he really hasn't lost any (he was 683 g after the feeding). I'll probably stop the CC in a day or two.

Is there a chance that he just isn't a big eater? You cannot feel his ribs, he seems happy. We are just fretting about him not eating much and chewing much hay because we cannot afford too many vet visits to file his teeth. The vet did say there was atrophy in his jaw from not chewing enough.

 

[caiti]

Well, he's probably eating something because 5mL of CC is not going to remotely maintain his weight so he must have something in his stomach. A week with minimal food would have caused major weight loss.

Try weighing his food bowl and figure out how much of his pellets he eats. The hay you really can't accurately quantify the amount eaten since they throw it everywhere and such. Have you tried getting different kinds of hay or some hay cubes?

One thing to worry about is if he's pooing. If he isn't passing his food, then he wouldn't lose weight quickly since he would still have it in his digestive tract but not be getting nourishment from it. That's just my newbie opinion, definitely see what others say.

 

[SCchin]

He is definitely pooing.

Maybe he is eating more of that hay than I thought. It looks like most of it is still there each morning,

 

[Stackie]

Does he get pain medication after his teeth filing?

I know after I get even a cavity filled at the dentist, I don't at all feel like eating because my mouth is so sore. I can't imagine with a chinnie having a lot of filing done feeling like eating much either.

I also saw in your other thread you just switched his feed. Usually when chins are switched from a feed filled with treats to a healthy pellet, they act picky and won't eat a lot for awhile. Eventually they get hungry enough that they get over the fact they can't eat treats for dinner and begin eating the pellets better.

Did you try switching up the hay types like was suggested in the other thread? You can get 3rd cut timothy hay from Kleenmama's- it may be something to start him out on. It is a very soft and leafy hay that my chins devour. It may be easier on his teeth to begin with until he can work up to eating a more coarse hay.

As long as he is pooping and isn't losing a considerable amount of weight, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[ticklechin]

Input produces output, if the poo is normal size, shape and quantity and his weight is steady he is eating what he needs. Dental chins can easily lose 15-20 grams in a day or so when not handfed a full ration of food a day so his steady weight tells me he is eating enough as long as the poo production looks good. If the weight is steady and poo is scarce then there can be big issues.

 

[SCchin]

Thanks all. We stopped pain meds on Tuesday and antibiotics yesterday. And I am not going to give CC today, he only took 5 mL yesterday.

I do have four kinds of hay, he seems to like it. It is confusing as to how much he eats because he leaves so much. He must chew what he likes and leave the rest.

Thanks so much for the scale idea. It helps put us at ease when we check his weight and he still weighs the same.

One more question: how long do you leave the hay in the cage, do you change it out daily? And the same for the pellets. I really don't want to put them in the bowl, then throw them all out the next day...

 

[caiti]

I don't completely change the hay everyday. I take out the stuff that's on the ground and the shelves and totally change out the hay box when it gets low or dusty, every few days. I'll just add to it and then change it out when I think I need to. But if the hay is in the hay box, I don't see why it would "go bad", unless say your chin poos or pees in their hay box or something then they might not want to eat that. I vacuum it out at least once a week during cage cleaning so dust doesn't build up.

As for the pellets, those I do change everyday because I've figured out how much she eats so I only give her a little more than she'll eat for a day. It cuts down on waste and helps with that. Weighing the bowl can also help you figure out how much food to put in it so you won't have to throw away pellets that are fine. Leaving the pellets in for a couple days I don't think would hurt your chin, unless, like I said before they pee or poo in the bowl. I'm not really sure how long pellets can go in a bowl until they are "bad" since I change them out everyday. Good question.