THE HARDEST PART OF HELPING CHINCHILLAS. This causes sleepless nights because I get very involved with every chinchilla. Rescuers tend to be like this, I am not special. Im also not an expert and dont have all the answers but I wont sell myself short. There are a few things I know. I cant give advice if I dont know for sure. The saddest part is that it is usually too late. People ask when things go wrong. By then it becomes a matter of managing the problem to the best of our ability, often we cant fix it. I cant give examples because I get asked in confidence. I can share a few common problems, not product related and it happens all over the world, not only here. Breeding problems cant be fixed. The moment the babies are conceived it is too late. If it was a bad pairing, the babies will have a problem. Maybe not immediately but it is just a matter of time. When I help anyone I always ask them who the breeder was and what the parents were. I wont discuss it, I dont discuss breeders. It helps me to understand. I know of most breeders and know how they breed. People talk an awful lot. If I know what the parents were, I know what to expect. It would be better to know the whole pedigree but often buyers dont even know what the parents were. Food problems can be improved but damage done cant be undone. I will always ask what they eat, everything. This tells me what goes on in the body. If the protein, carbo and fat is too high, it is usually fatty liver disease. It is just a matter of time. Ive seen fatty liver disease in chinchillas younger than a year old. Usually it was a diet of hamster food or bird seeds. With high protein rabbit pellets it takes 3 to 4 years. If the wrong stuff is added to a pellet mix, the same happens. Anything not used by the body turns into fat. It also disturbs the balance. This means the immune system is compromised and the chinchilla becomes the victim of opportunistic bacteria and parasites. Giardia is a huge problem. If the balance is disturbed, they cant utilize the vitamins and minerals as they should. Without this, they cant utilize the nutrients they should. It is a vicious chain reaction but it can take a few years. The first sign of a nutrition problem is often that the V between the head and body becomes very prominent, as if the chinchilla has a hunched back. Age causes this but so does fatty liver disease and parasites like Giardia, even if there are no other signs. If it is Giardia or another parasite and it was noticed early, they recover. If it is fatty liver disease, they dont. Fatty liver disease in chinchillas is permanent, it doesnt go away again. All you can do is fix the diet to help them live with it. You prevent it from getting worse and you help the body a bit with detox. Males tend to live for years with it but often females are not so lucky. Bath dust is an easy one. Once I know what they use, I know what it causes. If they use natural clay or pumice dust without any additives, there is usually no problem. If it is sand, it contains additives. This range from talc (baby powder) to corn flour. It explains eye irritations, sneezing, upper respiratory tract infections, etc. It also explains why they are never really clean. Skin problems and irritation is often caused by sand. Hay is just as easy. I just ask them where they bought it, what it looks like and what it smells like. From this I will know if the hay is old. It is usually Eragrostis Cuvula, Eragrostis Teff, Lucerne or Oat hay. I know how each one ages so I will know if there is dust. The dust causes eye irritations, sneezing, etc. Treats are the same as food. If I know what they get and how often, I know what it causes. It doesnt only make them fat, it influences the balance of the diet. There are enough case studies linking certain treats with malocclusion (teeth problems). Even cage size, cage mates, whats in the cage and whats not in the cage (like wood) gives me clues to what is wrong. Everything tells a story. You put everything together and you know exactly whats wrong. To give people bad news is not easy but there is no point in lying. If there is a way to make it better, it is worth a shot. Changing the diet, dust, hay, etc and leaving out treats often brings relief. Adding a few things to the diet and cage makes a difference. It just cant undo the damage. I dont say this but I always ask myself why they didnt know. A label with a chinchilla and a name on a packet is no guarantee. Most shops will recommend the product they make the most profit on. They dont know and dont care. This also makes me wonder who made the product and if they actually know. Do they care? I dont know what motivates them and I dont know who did their research. Do they actually have chinchillas? I cant bash brands, I just wonder. People trust shops and they trust manufacturers. Surely they wont sell rubbish? Assumption is the mother of all stuff-ups. It is usually the root of all problems. It really sucks to tell people they have a big problem. I dont know everything but this I do know. I can recognize the problem and the cause. So far I was not wrong on this once. Dont assume, check. I get a lot of requests to look at food. No brand names, all I ask is the nutritional content and ingredients. I dont need names. I get it right time and again, without fail. When they fix the cause, it gets a lot better. Sadly, it often only buys a bit of quality time.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 17:33:54 +0000
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