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Hey all. I have a chinchilla named Elwin. He his about 7 years old. he has recently stopped eating and drinking. We took him to the vet on Friday and had a bunch of work done. They vet believes it could be a GI infection. We've been hand feeding/force feeding and giving him antibiotics. Since friday he's only pooped twice. I'm not sure what else I can do any ideas?
Optional Information: Type of Animal: chinchilla Pet's Gender: Male Pet's Age: 7 years Already Tried: Injection, Antibiotic (sq/im) Injection, SQ or IM Baytril suspension compounded oxbow critical care and 2 x rays
Hello,
I am so sorry to hear Elwin is not doing well. If this is indeed a Gastrointestinal infection, that can kill off important gut flora in combination with the antibiotics. You may want to add a pro-biotic to the mix. Your vet should have probiotics for that he can give you like Forte Flora or you can buy a product like as Avipro or Benbac.
I want to suggest one other supplement to add to the mix. It is Royal jelly, a supplement that can be gotten at the health food store. It is in capsule form, but you can open it up and add to the food mixture. It is a high potency natural supplement made by bees and fed to the queen bee. It will help with the appetite.
One of the things you may want to do instead of syringe feeding is softening the food and try spoon feeding Elwin. If you put a towel on your lap and hold him, make a paste of the moistened pelleted food, with the Critical Care and the probiotics and see if he will eat off the spoon. Gently bring the spoon to his mouth and see if he will lick or if you cna coax him to eat.
The antibiotics can take a min 48 hours to kick in and they can reduce the appetite. Make sure he is getting fluids and continue to feed. we need to be sure that food is going in to prevent a GI stasis. Hopefully with the Probiotic, it will help him start to eat on his own. Joan