Sick chinchilla barely eating, drinking and inactive

My chinchilla suddenly became motionless two days ago. He ignored treats, food and my prodding. I took him to the vet, who diagnosed a heart murmur and eye infection. He was sent for an ultrasound. He struggled a lot and they could only get clear views of one side of his heart, but the vet said there seem to be no abnormalities. Since then, he has been barely eating, drinking and moving much. He is not chewing sticks, his usual favorite activity. He also hasn't closed his eyes and lay down to sleep for 2 days (He usually does every day) He accepts treats but refuses critical care.

Does anyone know possible reasons for his behavior? Could it be due to the antibiotics or eye infection? And I don't know if he is not eating due to bloat, the vet said he does not have bloat, but maybe he developed it after due to the stress? Can I feed Simethicone with the antibiotics? Thanks all. I am very worried and hope somebody can help.

Introductions: What's Normal, What's Not?

Tonight we let Chia and Abby out for playtime together. I don't think I've ever been so terrified in my life, I was shaking (still am) the entire time.

At first they didn't really notice each other, when they were both around the dust bath they really just ignored each other and dusted.

But when they finally SAW each other, Chia chased Abby around and then Abby would run away and Chia would get distracted by something else... this went on for a little while. There was some fur shedding but not much, and no harm was done at all. Then they seemed to clash a bit... they slammed into each other, I think accidentally, Chia flipped and Abby let out a little cry. There are no injuries or anything, but we scooped Abby up real quick and took them both back to their cages.

What kind of abnormal behavior should I be looking for when putting them back together? I don't think that anything bad necessarily was about to happen but I got freaked and separated them anyway. I've done so much reading but I'm not sure what the bad signs should look or sound like. I knew Chia would be the dominant one, so that's no surprise, but I'm not sure what violence would look like. Chia is naturally SO hyper and just so all over the place (she's my ADHD chin!) so she always kind of looks and acts a bit ... crazy lol. And I'm a nervous wreck so I want to constantly interviene when I probably should not.

Anyway, back to my question... What is the first sign of trouble? Any specific kind of sound, movement, or anything else?

Bonding questions!

Hey guys! I recently adopted a ~6 month old male chinchilla from someone who could no longer care for him. The past few days I've been giving him his space and just kinda sitting by the cage and talking to him. Last night however he totally warmed up and was jumping all over my hands and arms. This morning when I opened up the cage, he was hiding from me all over again. Could this just have something to do with it being daytime and him being more active at night? And am I giving him too much space? I try not to reach in and touch him if he seems really scared, but I also want him to get used to me.

Thanks in advance!!

Introducing myself

Hey all, I’m erica. I found this forum under unfortunate circumstances but I’m so glad I did as I care so much for my two chin boys Oliver & Eugene. I’m happy to see a community of such great pet owners of such great animals!! Look forward to conversation & gaining knowledge on my favorite animals.

Broken leg, others who have gone through this?

Hello fellow chin lovers. I’m writing to you here because I am at a loss right now with my chin Oliver. I am seeking opinions and knowledge, also stories of any other chins who have had a broken leg. Two weeks and one day ago, Oliver had an accident. His leg was dangling and upon discovery I rushed him to the only facility that would see exotics at 9pm on a Saturday. X-rays were taken. Bone was broken in two spots. I was sent home with anti inflammatory and antibiotic until he could see the exotic vet at this facility who wasn’t in until Wednesday. I kept him comfy. He ate on his own. That Wednesday they told me they want to save the leg. I thought great ! I was instructed to come back every day for a bandage change for Oliver. So I did. Then a week goes by. He ruled the leg can’t be saved and we must amputate. Now at this point I’m like ok whatever it is because he is getting very stressed and uncomfortable. Oliver has a heart murmur so vet did cardiogram and discovered heart disease. This makes surgery risky I understand. But now he’s not eating on his own barely. I feed him critical care & he started chewing his toes so I brought him back to emergency as he was bleeding. They gave him a cone and it made him immobile and miserable. They can’t do his surgery until Thursday I’m told and that’s if he can pass the clearance because they now want to do a chest X-ray of Oliver to look for fluid in the lungs which involves putting him under now for the second time. I’m so worried if he will make it to Thursday. His heavy breathing started upon injury. I think it’s stress. I’m so scared for the life of my Oliver. Its been over two weeks since the injury, 1500$ gone, and he’s still dragging around a broken limb. He’s uncomfortable. He’s tired. And I won’t put the cone on him I monitor him to make sure he won’t chew himself. Can someone tell me is this a normal time frame ? Oliver is 11. His brother misses him dearly and I’m sure Is as worried as I am. I just want him to be ok. Thank you to those who give feedback & take the time to read this novel of mine.

Cantaloupe seeds?

I know that seeds in general should be given in small amounts but I just dried some cantaloupe seeds for my gerbils and I was wondering if my chins could gave a few.

Thank you!

Urgent need advise, not eating at vet being syringe fed

My chinchilla developed an eye infection. She is 17 and developed a chronic eye infection about 14-15 about every 6 months. She was treated with eye drops and it would clear up after treatment. She has been seen by 3 vets over this span and had x-rays all instances of tooth problems have been ruled out.

This time her eye shut when the infection started which was new. The doctor prescribed Baytril this time around since it seemed the infection was more serious. About 6 days into treatment I noticed she was no longer eating or pooping.

I took her to the vet and they have had her for 3 days now. She is on Baytril still and pain medications and being Syringe fed. Her teeth and all her vitals are normal but she is showing almost no interest in food and when she poops its just a tiny one maybe about 1/16th the size of normal. She doesn't even show interest in her favorite treats.

Any ideas or advice are welcome.

DIY Cage

Sup. I needed a place to work out my costs for making my chinchilla's a custom Cage, using the space I have. Its L shaped height wise, hence the general weirdness.
Chosen Boards are .75" x 1.5" x 8' $1.05
Flashing is 1-1/2" corners x 10' $3.51
Giving 1/4" for mesh and flashing around pan

Metal Pan: 36-1/2" long x 24-3/4" wide

Max Height: 36"
Top of L length: 18"
Mid bar of L Height: 16"
Lower L height: 20"

Boards and cuts
Lower Corners: 18-1/2" x8p
Upper Corners: 14-1/2" x8p
Mid Top Long: 40" x2p
Top of L length: 18" x2p
Front Lower L top bar: 25-1/4"
Lower L bottom bars: 22-1/4" x2p


Doors
Front doors Height: 17-1/2" x4p
Door 1 length: 16" x2p
Door 2 length: 20-1/4"

Will finish this later.

Can he chew?

I bought my baby Milo a toy that has lafite in it, is that safe for chins? If you wanna see a picture of it then just look up lafite bird toy. Just wanted to make sure before I gave it to him :)

Chinfella's Fur Chewing

Hello!

This is my first post to the forum, though I've been a lurker here for quite some time. I'm generally just wanting opinions on the situation that I'm having with Chinfella's behavior.

I've had Chinfella for over 5 years. I have him in a Critter Nation cage for the entire 5 years (a double stack) with wooden ledges and fleece tubes. He is a single chinchilla because I'm too terrified to introduce anyone else because I will never forgive myself if I cause him any sort of trauma.

Chinfella has never had issues with fur chewing until the past two years. I've tried to move things around the cage every month (ledges, etc.) to try and mix things up so that he doesn't do it anymore. I purchase new toys (mostly from Petsmart because it's the most convenient) and mix them into his habitat. I've tried to limit his dust baths to every other day instead of daily, thinking that it was allergies or something.... Yet, we still have the chewing.

I will admit that I don't have enough time to let him out everyday, since getting him 5 years ago, my life has changed drastically--and I don't offer that as an excuse, just to level-set. I travel most days every week, so its very difficult to get him out of the cage. Not to mention, he's never been a "touchy-feely" chin, the owners that had him previously never handled him much, and he was a bit older when I got him. We're definitely comfortable with each other, but he's more 'I'll come to you, let you pet me and give me a treat, then leave me alone' so I let our relationship consist of that.

I'm not giving him up because I made a commitment, not to mention that it's extremely comforting knowing that he's gotten all of the food, water, and chew toys that he needs--and lord knows what could happen anywhere else.

He's a pretty chill dude, and he doesn't require much attention. I'm just concerned about the fur chewing. I'm not sure if it helps, but he's also barking frequently in his sleep (though I read once before it could just be a bad dream). I'm considering tossing the cage for a "Quality Cage" habitat in hopes that it will be new and exciting.

TL:DR (because who has time to read long threads?)
--> I've had my chinchilla for 5 years
-----> I've only had issues with the fur chewing / barking in his sleep the past 2 years
--> He was ~2 years old when I got him and wasn't handled much. He seems to like it that way, tbh, but I'm not the chinchilla whisperer. (He's like a grumpy old man since day 1.)
-----> We have a good relationship, he basically wants a short pet, treat, and then to be left alone and it's worked out for us
-----> And for me to never. EVER. try to pick him up "no-matter-what-dr.-phil-psycho-analysis-you-try-to-use-on-me"
--> The temp in my condo is ~69 degrees, if that's helpful.
--> We have 3 dogs, but I've put a baby-gate-thing around his cage in case that's what has been bothering him. Problems persist. (I also work from home when I'm not traveling--though not too often--so I have a decent understanding of the noise level, which is minimal.)
--> I'm not able to let him out too often because of that whole "traveling for business" thing I've got going for me.
--> Getting rid of him isn't a good option because I want to make sure he's still getting fed, watered, and toys (I can stomach not knowing what could happen to him). I'm pretty committed to sticking with the old grump because he's basically my spirit animal these days.
--> He lingers A LOT at the top of the cage, I'm not sure if that's useful

Questions:
1) Would getting rid of his old cage help the situation?
2) Does he have anxiety? How would I be able to test that? I've looked for the common things I've seen here on the forum (noise, heat, animals), and am not sure if there was anything I could have overlooked?
2B) Would switching up his cage make things worse?
3) I switch things up monthly-ish to try and combat the bored, but it's getting more difficult cause his tubby-but keeps breaking the bars on the Critter Nation.
4) I'm debating on taking him to the vet--the most logical option, I know--but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find a vet in the area that takes chinchillas. Not to mention that whole grumpy-old-man thing I mentioned earlier. (he seems overall healthy aside from the fur, sleep barking, and top-cage lingering)

Any ideas what I could do here? I think that the cage is the right way to go, and I'm pretty sold on it unless there's anything I should consider.

Bay area cute chin boy needs 6 months boarding

I'm going out of the country and don't want to surrender my 3-years-old chin.

I'm looking for an experienced chinchilla lover who's willing to help me take care of him for 6 months. He is very sweet, doesn't bite and is trained to pee in the litter-box.

Thanks in advance!

Attached Images

rsz_img_6886.jpg (95.8 KB)

Dental problems with chin and extreme weight loss

I've posted on the forum for help a couple of times (thanks to all who have helped in the past) but wanted to share my story, among the many others, about how quickly things can go wrong.
10 days ago, my chin started heavily grinding up pellets and dropping them all around his bowl. He'd done this in the past so I didn't think much of it, I just assumed it was a boredom thing. He had always stopped doing it so I had decided it wasn't his teeth - what a mistake.
By a couple of days later, it was clear that he was grinding everything up and eating nothing. He had also stopped pooping. I knew that was a bad sign so immediately went to the vet (same day appt) who said it was probably dental, and gave Metacam and a gut motility drug (Ranitidine?) due to the lack of poop. She told me to come back the next day and they would look at the teeth under anesthesia.
That evening I soaked some pellets, and he ate a bit and we had a couple of poops. Progress! When I returned to the vet the next day, I told them the good news (mistake) so they said they would attempt an oral examination without anesthesia, as they did not want to put him under until he was properly eating/pooping again. It was a struggle but the vet said she saw that the back lower molar on one side was growing horizontally towards the tongue and that it was overgrown and needed trimming. However she said they did not want to do it until he was eating/pooping again and that providing he started to eat it could be left untrimmed.
For some reason against my better judgement I decided to follow this advice. I then was sent away for work Mon-Fri, so the chin stayed with a close relative who would feed/keep a close eye/give medication etc. I hoped that since he had started to eat on his own again that I could do the trimming when I got back. Well, I got back yesterday to find that not only has he not eaten/pooped period since I left, he is also not drinking now either. I have managed to get 15ml of Critical Care into him over 9 hours, but he absolutely refuses to voluntarily eat and the force feeding has been a huge struggle - fur slips, biting hard enough to split skin, etc. I weighed him and he has dropped from ~850g to 520g. I have managed to scrape an appointment on Monday for the teeth trimming and x-ray and he will be staying in all day so I hope they give some fluids etc then.

At the moment I don't really know what the outcome will be, I have tried searching threads but honestly cannot wrap my head around chin dental anatomy at all and have tried every method in the book with the force feeding - burrito, flavouring it up with purees etc and it has not worked. Why is the tooth growing horizontally? Does that mean it is likely the root is elongated as well or is the tooth simply misplaced? I have already come to the decision that if the roots show as being elongated that I will have to PTS.

My poor nibbie

Hello forum,

Ive been a member for quite some time but never posted anything up untill now and unfortunately its not a good post..:(

I bought nibbie from a pet store back in 2009 and when i got him he look like an adult already, unfortunately a few days ago took him to the vet due to his poops looking weird and smelt off and some were chained together...(but his poops are back to normal now) we did an ultrasound to make sure everything is ok we found an abdominal grape sized hard mass, Due to his age the dr is saying surgery could be risky its a 50/50, im just broken honestly cant believe such a thing could happen, over the course of these wonderful 9 i did nothing but take excellent care of him..bought him high quality pellets and we played with him hours on end got him a mate to start a family and he did we have 6 now, its just that hes the first and my favorite im just heart broken about the situation...
Guys is 11 or 12 old for a chin? Can chins get grape sized tumors in thier abdomen due to age, could this mass be an abscess or actinomyces infection that mimics tumors? He seems to be in pain but hes eating pooping drinking, hes just not running around as much he used too although he does move around a little,...dr wants to the do surgery and im just terrified to go with it,
I thought it was bloat but hes pooping plentiful and hes not stretching and his tummy doesn't look distended at all....has anyone encountered such an issue like this...please let me know.

Chin and hamster in same room?

I hope this is the right place to post this topic, I wasn't quite sure which sub-forum to post it in!

Two days ago, I took in an abandoned female teddy bear hamster (cage and all abandoned on the side of the road, poor thing). She is very sweet and healthy, aside from a couple of little cuts I have been taking care of.

The only issue is, I currently have to keep her in the same room as my (almost) 2 year old female chinchilla, who is used to being the only pet in the home.
So far she seems more curious than anything, staring at the hamster from across the room and watching it run on its wheel, and she's being a little more clingy to me than usual (just climbing and jumping on me more than usual, really). The hamster, on the other hand, I don't think even notices the chinchilla.

My question is; is it okay to keep them in the same room? Ideally I'd like to keep them in separate rooms, but it's not all that possible in my current housing situation. As long as they don't come in direct contact, health-wise, is this okay? I don't want any possible airborne illnesses from each other to affect the other (if that's even possible?).
Territory-wise, will the chinchilla eventually get used to having the hamster in the room, or is the scent and all too much of a stressor for her? I assume this clingyness is just because of the sudden change, but I wasn't sure!


I want my chin to be happy and stress-free, but I also want to give this hamster the good life that it deserves!

Eye closed shut

This is a new symptom and I have an appointment to go to the vet at 5pm EST today. It was their soonest.

She has developed a chronic weepy eye infection over the last 3 or 4 years. About every 6 months she develops an eye infection. The vet exrayed for malclusion and decided that was not the cause. They prescripe eye drops ofloxacin ophthalmic and flurbiprofen twice a day for 10 days and it would clear up for about 6 months. Over the years I have doubled and trippled my efforts to keep her living space cleaned in case that was part of the cause. The occurrences seemed to become farther apart after cleaning but I don't know if its related. Usually the symptom is damp matted fur around one eye and then after a couple days the other eye will start

This time the eye that started has gone completely shut. I never saw this happen to her. It started out like before but in the course of a day or two the eye completely shut after I started eye drops.

Has anyone seen something like this before and if so how did it turn out and how did you deal with it?

I read once it could be caused by eye irritation after dust baths from low quality dust. I switched to a brand of blue cloud that I was able to confirm is real blue cloud. Should I maybe stop giving her baths. I give her a bath about once a week.

Red Feet + Fleece Questions

Photos here
Sorry for the quality, I cannot get anything better.
(I usually cant get a good look at his feet. They look like tiny alien feet <3)

(PS. I cannot hold him by the base of the tail, he gets too squirmy and makes very very angry sounds. Tail is a No touchy zone)
(He is currently angry at me, hiding in his box. Didnt want scritches either
=,( )

They are usually redder after playtime. I assume because he is always jumping and popcorning and walljumping and going here and there etc, he is pretty active most days.

There is no blood, no sings of pain, a lil flakey on the outer side, but the soles are nice. The toes are all perfect, if with 1 or 2 small skin flakes.
One is better than the other.

Right foot (left on photos) is a little swollen? But i heard it could also be a deformity and that is just how they are.
He didnt grunt or anything when I touched it (except for that "Stop touching places I dont want to be touchen" tiny grunts), and he doesnt seem to be in pain at all.

The other is fine, not swollen and the less red of the two, there are two white spots on it (invisible on photos), but that may be the coloration of the foot itself. If whiteness on feet is something to be aware of, please let me know.

Now, He has ben living with plastic shelving... Id say his whole life? Or at least since my relatives bough him. I have no idea about his past =/

He gets his baths twice a week

I heard covering the shelving with fleece is best, but i cannot find any information about it on Spanish whatsoever.
(Cleaning, type, stores to buy it from, NOTHING at all. I believe Spanish people do not use fleece for any animal. I cannot find info for fleece with guinea pigs either. I can go blindly buy fleece from my nearest store but I'd rather be safe than sorry)

Would fleece make it easier on his feet?
Should I cover the bottom too or just the plastic shelvings?

How long do alfalfa cubes stay good?

We bought a huge batch of alfalfa cubes about a year and a half ago. We have fed them somewhat sparingly, so we still have some from that batch. Is there a point where the alfalfa cubes are so old we shouldn’t be giving them to our chins?

Introducing a New Chin Concern

Hello! I have a 9 month old Chinchilla named Schneebly and was comfortable with how much attention she was given, so I felt no need to get her a companion. However, a friend of mine is planning to move back home and can’t bring her chin with her even after caring for her no longer than a week. The new chin doesn’t look any older than 4 or so months and is significantly smaller than Schneebly. My friend didn’t give me much of a warning before handing off the younger chin, but I don’t currently have another cage and I’m nervous about housing her with Schneebly so quickly.

I gave them about an hour of playtime together and they seemed indifferent to each other, so I put them together in the same cage and have been watching them for about an hour and a half. They’ve eaten together, but have mainly stayed separate. However, when the younger gets close to Schneebly, Schneebly mounts her or chases her around to do so even if they’re both females. I’ve read that this could be dangerous, but the younger doesn’t run once mounted. Schneebly does sniff around her ear and I thought at first she was biting the younger, but she’s still didn’t try to escape and there’s no fur being pulled out.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Red feet/ bumblefoot?

Hi

I noticed one of my chinchillas back feet are quite red and i'm worried this may be the start of bumblefoot?

https://ibb.co/jWv1Cd
https://ibb.co/h19uXd

He's not in any pain and is hoping around and using his feet fine and theres no blood i'm just a bit worried.

The purple/darker areas are just blu-kote as i cleaned his feet then put on some bu-kote and bag balm yesterday

do you think his needs a vet visit or should i just keep cleaning/blu-kote/bag balm or am i worrying too much?

Thanks Guys :)