Rescued chin! Need help!

[TheKelleys]

Hey everyone, my wife and I answered a cry for a new home for a chin. We picked her up today and the poor thing is malnourished and shedding. She is about a year old and was bought at a pet store and sold by individuals who knew nothing about chins. Her old owners help her in a larger shoe box and get her guinea pig food and raw fruits. We have her well separated from our chins and have no intention of letting them life together since we don't know anything about her pedigree. She won't eat any of the Timothy hay or oxbow food so far. We don't have an exotic vet I the area either. This chin would have clearly died if we had not rescued her. What should we do about the food?

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Since you just got her today she may not eat until she feels a little more comfortable in her new surrondings. Hopefully she will start eating soon.

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

Keep an eye on her and see if she drinks/pees/poops. If she doesn't start eating and processing by tomorrow you may need to hand feed to make sure she doesn't go into stasis

Edit: Also so glad to hear that you got her out of that situation! And I strongly agree with your decision to quarantine her

 

[Newt]

I'd get some critical care and start hand feeding. Glad you took the poor wee thing in, hope she is better soon.

 

[tunes]

If you are breeding, excellent point, but if you're not breeding, what does pedigree have to do with putting her with your other chins?

Are her eyes weepy at all? Can you feel bumps along the bottom of her jaw? Does she appear to have any trouble breathing? Has she pooped? If so, what are they like? Can you explain the shedding a bit more? Does she have tufts of fur sticking out all over or does she have actual baldness?

 

[TheKelleys]

She has pooped 2 times since yesterday. No goopy eyes or lumps. The fir has some tufts sticking out but no major baldness. There hair is really scare around her arms and legs but mostly around the legs. Her hair is courser than our other chins and overall just not as healthy looking.

 

[Jenn]

Chins can take a while to settle down in a new environment. She may be a little too skittish to eat yet. Have plenty of hay provided for her, in addition to a quality chin pellet. She may also want to disregard her food because it isn't the usual junk she is used to. Be persistent, but again, have plenty of hay available. Hopefully she'll come around for you and adapt to her new environment. Sounds like she was in a horrible situation before, and I am so happy someone knowledgeable can help her out now. Good luck.

 

[TheKelleys]

I managed to get a contact (a friend of a friend's friend sort of thing) and got in contact with a zoo vet here in Arkansas. They came and saw our new chin, Lady Grey, and told us we need to stop giving her hay and only give her the oxbow food we have so that we can push any of the bad stuff she had been eating out of her system. The hay can come in a few days after she recognizes the pellets as food. He also told us to mix 1 tbs of Gatorade in her water to replenish electrolytes (he does this for sick pets in his zoo every day) and to give her a dust bath daily with only a little bit of dust because she had been over exposed to humidity. He attributes the hair falling out to lack of nutrients and humidity. After doing this for even just 2 days, Lady Grey already is starting to look better! She has a ways to go, but anything would after having lived in a shoe box and eating the food they gave her.