PANR - too rich?

[AmandaDi]

I have a question for all of you and need some opinions - this could go between here and health, so we'll see what everyone comes up with.

I just lost a chin to fatty liver disease. I DO NOT feed treats. In Nov 2008 I switched my chins to PANR from APD. Do you think 3 months of PANR could have caused this? My vet said that he thinks whatever diet she was on was too rich. ???

Info on the girl I lost - She was born here in Nov 2006. I sold her to her new home at 10 weeks old. I got her back in Jan 2008 when her owner sold out. So technically she was gone for a year and then back here for a year. I do not know what feed she was on when she was gone... Im thinking Mazuri or PenPal (I'll try to find out)... then I upt her back on APD for 11 months, then switched to PANR.

Sooo what do YOU think caused the fatty liver?

 

[Silverrose]

Was she originally on the APD timmy pellets? The transition itself from a timmy to alfalfa pellet could have upset her metabolism and liver function. Out of all the usually recommended rabbit and chinchilla feeds, PANR show really doesn't have the highest protein content, at 16%. I know of other people who use feed with 18% protein, and even up to 21%. I can't see how only 3 months of PANR would give her a fatal fatty liver. Other than that, perhaps her own metabolism was just different. You know how like some people can eat whatever they want but still remain somewhat healthy, while others watch their weight, count calories and exercise to know end but still end up with heart disease and high cholesterol. I'd imagine each chin is also different. My heart goes out to you for you loss...

 

[Evangelion]

Please look under the Chinchilla Pellet Ingredients and Analysis post under the Diet and Nutrition FAQ. If you look into the analysis of APD vs PANR, you will see that their nutritional contents appear to be very similar.

APD

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7976&postcount=15

PANR

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20191&postcount=20

I assume these are the feeds that your animal has received? Like Silverrose said, if they were on a timothy feed, that might cause an imbalance with their system.

I would not blame yourself for giving them the wrong feed. I would be safe in assuming a majority of users on this forum use these feeds with great success.

 

[alli713]

I've been feeding PANR to my 4 girls for over a year now and have not had any issues with it.

Could her previous owner used any treats or different supplements?

 

[Parkerspetchins]

I would not think 3 months of anything short of free fed peanuts could cause fatty liver disease resulting in death, and even then I would wonder...I am so sorry for your loss .

 

[AmandaDi]

Thanks. I really didnt think my switch was what did this, but I needed some reassurance!

I was on APD alffy as well... have been using it since late 2004 if I remember right. I loved it, but they raised their prices yet again and I just couldnt afford it. So I did compare foods and I thought PANR was very similar.

I dont THINK the previous owner did anything bad. We are friends and Im pretty sure she uses good judgement. Maybe it was a year of whatever she was on there then a year of something new that did this. Its just confusing!

 

[Chinniechantel]

I would not think 3 months of anything short of free fed peanuts could cause fatty liver disease resulting in death, and even then I would wonder...I am so sorry for your loss .

I totally agree. 3 months is not very long. I have used PANR for about a year now and love it.

 

[Diva Chins]

This is rather interesting. I've always heard that Mazuri had a some what high sugar count (I remember seeing a thread on CnQ I do believe where someone compared the sugar in Mazuri to that of a raisin and listed how much it'd be if you fed mazuri and treated with raisins, it was rather high). I had Doof on Mazuri for...Probably 9 - 10 months? Maybe less, I had her on Tradition by the time I took in the rescues in October I do believe. I personally didn't have a problem with it, but when switching to Tradition she gained a lot of good weight. When switching to PANR, she's held the same weight. I'd ask her about the food she was feeding and the treats she may or may not have been giving, PANR being the cause just doesn't sound right to me.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I don't know if the same is true for chins, but I have a fatty liver. My doctor says that my system just doesn't handle fat very well. So, I have to watch my fat and cholesterol intake. Sugar has nothing to do with it. Like I said, I don't know if the same is true for chins, but I thought that this information could be of some help.

 

[AmandaDi]

Previous owner said she fed her pen pal and hay cubes with an ocassional mini shreddy.

 

[DaphnesandFreddysmom]

wow I hope it's not the PANR. I feed it to my 3 and they are doing well on it.

 

[AmandaDi]

I stand corrected. I asked her again bc I thought I remembered her saying Mazuri at one point...

She was on Mazuri for the first 4 months or so and then on pen pal for the next 8 months or so. ... maybe her system just didnt deal well with all the switching...

APD, Mazuri, Pen Pal, APD, PANR...

Guess I will never really know!