Not sure what to do....

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Directorthiang

Active member
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
33
Location
Chowchilla, California
My chin, Dash, has been losing weight over the past month. A month ago he was at 538 grams (which is low for him... he used to be around 600), and as we kept weighing him, he was losing around 10 grams a week. He's now down to 498.

I took him to the vet because malocclusion has been a concern--he's a rescue and when I got him, his teeth were in pretty bad shape; spurs all over the place, but no root problems. The vet filed him down and he was gaining weight after that and happy for several years. Because of this recent weight loss, I figured he might be having teeth issues again, so I took him in as soon as I could and the vet looked him over.

She took x-rays and found no problems with the roots. He had one small spur on one of his back molars that she filed down, but other than that, she said he looked great.

However, that was a week ago, and he's continuing to drop weight. Because he shares a cage with another chin, I can't monitor his food or water intake, so now I'm considering splitting the two of them up so I can do that, but I'm not sure if that will stress him out more and make him more sick.

He's active; eating critical care and some of his treats---he's gotten very picky lately and doesn't want the timothy-hay healthy treat that he used to gobble up, but will still eat a small piece of shredded wheat. But tonight, he just seems miserable and grumpy. I've messed with him quite a bit tonight getting him to eat and feeling his bony back, but I just don't know what else to do.

I live in the Central Valley and the vet I usually go to is two hours away and only available Thursday-Saturday. I can make him another appointment next week, but I just don't know what more to have them do. Blood tests? Does this sound like a parasite or diabetes? He's approximately 4 years old and his stool looks fine. These guys had a bout with ghiardia when I first got them, and I remember the dark black, oily stool they had... none of that, now. And they don't look particularly small or dry, either. Just normal.

Should I split them up for a night?
 
i would split them. this could possibly be a case of the other chin not letting Dash get food. do you have two food bowls and two hay containers and two water bottles on the cage? that is always a good idea when housing chins together, in case one gets territorial over the food supply.

how are the two getting along?

blood tests are a very good idea at this point. i would also review the xrays. there are members here that are really good at reading chin dental xrays, so i would ask the vet for a copy and post them here. even a good vet can miss things, and most vets don't have a whole lot of exotic pet training in the first place.
 
Alright, I'll request a copy of the x-rays as soon as I can. Again, that vet is WONDERFUL, but she's only in the office Thursday-Sunday, so that kind of sucks. I went ahead and separated them last night. Dash drank some water, and ate 5 grams of his pellets, and some hay. There's poop all over his level of the cage, but they are very small and very dry. It doesn't seem like Giardhia, and he's passing stool, so an impaction seems unlikely... any other thoughts?
 
Well, I separated them, and his weight, with critical care supplement, is bouncing around from 498 to 518. The night I separated them, I found LOTS of poop the next morning, but it was all very small, hard, and dry. Like mouse poop. Tonight, however, his poop looks normal sized and moist.

I tried giving him a small piece of acidophilus tonight, which he ate happily two days ago, but tonight, he grabbed it, then lost it in his arms and dropped it. When I tried giving it back to him, he made a swipe at it with his mouth, as if he were going to take it, but missed completely and it glance off of his lower chin. I found that weird. Like he couldn't tell where it was?

Has anyone ever experienced this before? It was almost like he was blind and trying to "feel" for it with his face.

Anyway, I'm still at a loss as to what to do. Bad poop, then good poop. Energy, then slightly less energy. Eating treats then not eating treats. And his weight is fluctuating up and down... Has anyone ever experienced a chin with liver problems or diabetes? Do any of these symptoms sound like those issues?
 
Has the chin been to a vet yet? Between this thread and the other one there are alot of symptoms that set off warning bells for issues that can be serious, I would get the chin to a chin vet.
 
When was the last time x-rays were taken? Can you get a copy of them and post that here? I would consider taking the chin in to another knowledgable vet.
 
He has been to the vet and they looked him over and did x-rays. No impactions visible and the dental x-rays were fine. I don't have copies of them, but I looked at them myself and it was very clear that there were no roots extending where they shouldn't. He also is eating just fine when he eats.

I noticed him eating hay, CC, and pellets last night. Poops looked good again this morning. He just seems more mellow than usual. I'd be happy to take him back to the vet, but I'm unfamiliar with vets in this area and would like to go in with some suggestions from chin-saavy folks for what my vet should look for.

Any suggestions? Should we do a fecal float? Can you check a chin's temperature for infections? I have no clue.
 
Find a vet in your arear who specialise in chins and exotic pets...
Otherwise you're just playing with your chins life.
If your vet needs opinions and other suggestion on what is wrong your vet isn't a very good vet to determine any treatment plan I'm affraid :) Where do you live? I'm sure someone on the forum will help you find a vet that can help
 
Well, of course I'm open if anyone lives near Madera, California and can suggest a vet.... otherwise, I'm just calling the vets and asking. Unfortunately, at this point, I don't have the luxury of waiting for responses from locals or giving the vets assessments to see who's qualified, so I'm taking Dash to one that said they see chinchillas and can get me in ASAP.
 
Alright, thanks AZN. I'll make a call tomorrow morning. I tried taking Dash to a vet in Madera that said they saw chinchillas, but when I got there, I found out the person I spoke to on the phone thought a chinchilla was a breed of cat.

Lovely.

On a better note, he seems more active today and happily ate some hay and one of the hard treats that he'd been refusing the past three weeks. I hope that's a good sign. Maybe he was just taking a really long time to recover from the dental work... could it be that he had some lasting sensitivity these past two weeks?
 
Both of my girls took over 3 weeks to get back into the normal swing of things after their first filing. My one is taking her sweet time...she was filed 2 weeks ago and is still only eating hay and 3g of pellets/day. Hopefully he's just as stubborn as she is...

If he had giardia, did you get a few tests after he was clear? I'm dealing with it right now and it is nasty to get rid of.
 
Oh, hooray! Maybe we've found the problem.... my husband got home tonight and helped me hold down my baby for a hair ring check. His penis wasn't sticking out of the sheath, so I didn't think that would be the problem, but I noticed last night that he was laying on his side a lot more than usual and that he seemed to favor a spot in the cage where his, ahem, unmentionables, were pressed up against some cold metal. Plus, the poor guy just looked generally uncomfortable and in pain whenever he was just sitting. That was my biggest worry in addition to the constipation and weight loss--his eyes looked pained.

Lo and behold, as far up as possible, big ol' nasty hair ring.

Maybe a combination of that and the recent tooth filing was enough to put him off his game? I'm hoping so. He seemed much perkier once we got the thing removed.

I forget that I have to check him more often than my other chin because he's a tripod and tips over when he tries to groom himself. Bad chin mom. I'm not used to special needs.

Anyways, keep your fingers crossed that he improves dramatically starting tomorrow. Otherwise, Dash has an appointment with our chin vet in Gilroy on Thursday.
 
Not just tripods, chins who have dental problems have to be checked more frequently for hair rings and debris in the sheath since they also cannot clean themselves well.
 
Well, his weight is stable. Hasn't gained or lost any in the last few days. He's eating on his own, hay and pellets, and his poop is totally normal, now.

Weird thing happened tonight, after I pulled him out of his cage to weigh him. I put him back and he hopped up on his box in his cage and stared at me, very alert, ears up, which is good since he's been way more mellow lately. Then, I scratched his nose and he swished his tail at me. Three times.

Dash has NEVER swished his tail before. His cagemate has, several times... Powder gets pretty frisky every couple of months, but never Dash.

Seems weird that he'd suddenly be getting in "that" mood after four years, but hey... I'm taking it as a good sign that he's feeling better.

Have any of you had chins tail-swish in agitation? Or is it always friskiness?
 
my chins wag at each other they're frisky
when meimei wags and looking at me I think he wants my attention

I'm glad he's perked up for you ^_^
 
One of my 10 year olds swishes at me every morning and would make me his girlfriend if given the chance. Sounds like your chin is feeling better!
 
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