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Post by daniel on May 16, 2003 14:08:33 GMT -5
When a chinchilla is suffering from diarrhea or constipation, what can you do to lessen the discomfort and solve the problem  |
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Post by clover on May 20, 2003 22:42:07 GMT -5
For constipation, increase hay intake. Try to get the chinchilla to eat more hay. If it doesn't, you might have to decrease pellets to force it to eat more hay. You can also feed yogurt.  I'm not sure if this really helps, but I fed yogurt and much more hay, and my chinchilla is ok. He had a slight constipation problem. His poo was very dry and tiny. Now it's bigger. |
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xue
New Member - Soul
Posts: 170
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Post by xue on Jul 26, 2003 22:22:55 GMT -5
hi,
i would like to share my experience regarding diarrhea and constipation which my chin had encountered before.
I brought him to the Animal Recovery Centre at Bukit Timah Rd to see a vet (Dr Heng). But now, she is not working there anymore. She is currently working at Mount Pleasant Animal Clinic - West (Sunset way).
I'm ignorance when having a chin the very first time. I used to feed him with lots of snack and treat, things like rose hips, rose buds, raisin, oats, dry apples etc.
As times goes by, my chin started to be restless and things get worse. I brought him to see several vets like Edmond Tan's Clinic etc.
Finally i get to know this ARC through the internet and it actually cure him. Thank god.
I should not have feed him with all these things and i almost cried when the vet explained to me. Dr Heng didn't give me any medication. She only ask me to mix a little of the vitamin C powder with VAL syrup (little) and a little of apple cider vinegar in his drinking water. She also prescribe me with the BENEBAC which contains acidophilus. This BENEBAC which i'm feeding until now can be used to train your chinchilla or there is a change of environment.
She ask me not to feed him any treat like raisin as raisin is sweet which will cause bacteria in his stomach. This will cause diarrhea. She advised me to feed him with a small slice of fresh green apple.
For constipation, She told me that chinchilla must exercise 3 times a week to regulate his bowel system.
For my case, i let him out once a day to exercise for 20 mins, then lure him home and feed him with a slice of fresh green apple everyday until now.
Hope that this piece of information is useful for all chins owner.
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Post by ghost on Jul 26, 2003 23:37:06 GMT -5
Jus wondering what kind of exercise a chins do when they r let out of their cage?do they use exercise wheel like hamsters does??pardon my ignorance as i only have hamsters & am learning abt chins.....hehe.....  Chins r expensive pets,aren't they?jus wonder how much the consulttation will cost for each vet tho....think this answer can be "replied" in this link below if anyone have the answers...  xoul.proboards17.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=YourPetsChat&thread=1058597294&start=0 |
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xue
New Member - Soul
Posts: 170
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Post by xue on Jul 27, 2003 0:38:39 GMT -5
hi ghost,
Chins can also used the wheels to exercise but i don't do that for mine. I'm afraid he may die from exhaustion as the wheel which he runs on is getting fast for his pace.
Normally what i do is let him out before bathe, he will tends to run and jump about in my bedroom. At times, he may also play hide-and-seek with you. Then you have to call his name and sometimes, he will come out from his hiding place. If he didn't come out, then he must he doing something mischievous like biting of furniture that can be found or cable wires or sleeping at one corner.
Therefore everytime i let him out, have to supervised him esp cable wires.
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Post by ghost on Jul 27, 2003 0:53:06 GMT -5
hi ghost, Chins can also used the wheels to exercise but i don't do that for mine. I'm afraid he may die from exhaustion as the wheel which he runs on is getting fast for his pace. Normally what i do is let him out before bathe, he will tends to run and jump about in my bedroom. At times, he may also play hide-and-seek with you. Then you have to call his name and sometimes, he will come out from his hiding place. If he didn't come out, then he must he doing something mischievous like biting of furniture that can be found or cable wires or sleeping at one corner. Therefore everytime i let him out, have to supervised him esp cable wires. Wah!!that's cute man....can even play hide & seek w u ar!!! makes me look fwd to getting myself a chin liao.... Oops!!think i'm getting out of topic liao....sorry.... |
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xue
New Member - Soul
Posts: 170
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Post by xue on Jul 27, 2003 1:24:21 GMT -5
it's ok.
although at times he is naughty but i still love him alot. Sometimes, he may tend to be high tide (urine) which i don't know initially what are the sign he hints me. But now i realised it.
He may tend to run here and there very quickly and have the urge of going into the bath tub to bath. If there is no bath tub, he love to go my brother's bed to urine on his pillow. There is one time he urine there and i got to clear up the mess for him.
the place which he loves to hide is underneath the bed, at the corner of my pc biting cable wires and at the bookshelf biting and eating papers.
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Post by clover on Jul 27, 2003 22:14:07 GMT -5
I've never encountered diarrhoea, but I guess what's important is that the chin must have lots of fluid. My chin faced bloat before, which was entirely similar to Xue's chin's case. When I fed him rich food and exercised him. As a matter of fact, Dr Ling prescribed the same medicine for Snowball. She prescribed the same VAL syrup, and Vit B. Also, she instructed I feed my chin yogurt which contains the acidophilus bacteria. She also asked me to feed him V8 juice, which will help him regain his health while he's sick and not eating well. I had to put a little bit of salt and honey in his water also, during that time. I believe all these instructions was to provide the nutrients that he needed, during the time he was sick. Sort of like intravenous feeding. Also, if your chin has constipation, raisins are actually a form of laxative. But dun feed too many, cos chins can't take it too. One chin owner I know uses raisins to prevent constipation. I didn't ask her for the number she fed though. My chins exercise just by speeding around the pets room during floortime. I dun provide a wheel also. Plus, consider that I have to chase them home, they get plenty of exercise. My bill for Dr Ling was only $45. I think it's quite cheap already. But if you include cab fare, then it's definitely more. |
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xue
New Member - Soul
Posts: 170
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Post by xue on Jul 29, 2003 8:33:10 GMT -5
hi Clover,
Could you pls share with me what type of yogurt did you buy for your chin as i have been feeding him BENEBAC gel which contains acidophilus. Somehow i thought of feeding him fresh yougurt as BENEBAC gel contain artificial colouring.
From my understanding, food that contain artificial colouring or favouring is not good for the health.
And could i know what is V8 juice? Is it a vitamin juice?
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Post by PeTsLoVeR (",) on Jul 30, 2003 0:12:30 GMT -5
Juz wondering do all ur chins take fresh fruits & vege?
I din face diarrhea before but I'll like to give my chin a few fresh fruits. Whenever I give a slice of apple, carrot, banana, etc... he juz dun eat it. He always begging for raisin and I try not to give him too much. I do offer him 2-3 yogurt drops (HOBO) per week and think it will help for the digestion.
I think I'll try to put salt and honey to the drinking water, but how offen? Itz V8 the vitamin drops for drinking water? My chin drinks lotsa of water. He can finish 150cc of water within 2 days.
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Post by clover on Jul 31, 2003 7:51:58 GMT -5
I go check the brand for you in the supermarket. Cos now that my chin is recovered, I dun feed him the yogurt anymore. But I know the brand. I'll post it up for you soon. V8 is the vegetable juice. It's quite well-known, you shld be able to find it in any supermarket. It comes in cans or bottles. If you feed V8 juice together with yogurt, pls feed the juice first. Cos it's slightly sour, so if you feed it after the sweet yogurt, it'll taste super sour. So you must feed the juice first, followed by the yogurt. Umm, wait a min. I think some of you are mistaken. Dun feed your chins salt and honey, unless instructed by your vet. I fed that cos my chin was ill, and my vet asked me to do so. But it's only cos he's sick. If your chin is perfectly healthy, pls dun feed all these extras. The juice and yogurt is ok occasionally, but I dun think it shld be fed daily if the chin is healthy. My chins do eat fruits and veg, but different chins got different tastes. The fussiest are Hanako and Snowball. They only like sweet stuff, they dun like bland veg. They love nuts and will take a bit of apple. But they hate carrots or celery or other veg. They just won't take it. My Slappy and Spider eat almost everything. They're quite greedy and love to try new stuff. lolz Spider especially. He can eat alot. He loves apples, carrot, different kinds of veg and fruits. Almost like a dustbin, everything also eat. My Pinky is also choosy, but I tend not to try to give her other stuff to eat. She's the most fragile one in the herd. I give her only oats, pellets, a bit of hay, and 1 nut once a week. I can't give her more. She's not as robust as the rest. |
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Post by PeTsLoVeR (",) on Aug 2, 2003 9:25:44 GMT -5
Umm, wait a min. I think some of you are mistaken. Dun feed your chins salt and honey, unless instructed by your vet. I fed that cos my chin was ill, and my vet asked me to do so. But it's only cos he's sick. If your chin is perfectly healthy, pls dun feed all these extras. The juice and yogurt is ok occasionally, but I dun think it shld be fed daily if the chin is healthy. Ic Ic.... hehehe... m blurr... lucky I din put anything yet |
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Post by clover on Aug 3, 2003 18:25:13 GMT -5
Okie, I checked it out. The brand of yogurt I used was Marigold, the Drinking Yogurt. It comes in a small carton, not the cup kind. I used drinking yogurt cos it's more liquid, not as thick as normal yogurt. I think it's easier for my chin to drink, and he loves it. I bought only strawberry flavour for him. There are some other flavours. This yogurt has 3 kinds of beneficial bacteria, one of them is L Acidophilus. It's the same as Yakult. |
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xue
New Member - Soul
Posts: 170
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Post by xue on Aug 4, 2003 5:57:09 GMT -5
hi Clover,
thanks alot. You're indeed a great friend.
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Post by clover on Aug 4, 2003 23:39:15 GMT -5
No problem xue. I'm just glad to be able to help another chinchilla lover. |
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I'm not sure if this really helps, but I fed yogurt and much more hay, and my chinchilla is ok. He had a slight constipation problem. His poo was very dry and tiny. Now it's bigger.
