How to Hand Feed Your Chinchilla

Due to teeth problems, illness, or surgery, your chinchilla may have trouble eating solid food. Chinchillas have very sensitive digestive systems that need to be kept moving constantly. If your chinchilla stops eating, they can become ill very quickly. If your chinchilla stops eating solid food, take them to the vet immediately. If your vet gives the OK, you can keep their digestive system moving with a simple, step-by-step guide to hand-feeding.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A 10 cc plastic syringe
• Critical Care or similar hand-feeding product, OR:
• Chinchilla pellets, timothy hay, and a coffee grinder

1. 
    

   Get your chinchilla to the vet as soon as possible and make sure hand-feeding is appropriate. Do NOT hand-feed without consulting your vet first. You need to find out why your chinchilla has stopped eating. Chinchillas are sensitive animals, and a refusal to eat suggests serious underlying health problems. Hand-feeding is usually used only when a chinchilla is recovering from tooth surgery.
   
   If - and ONLY if - your vet gives you the OK:

2. 
    

   Gather your materials. You'll need a 10 cc plastic syringe, which your vet should give to you -- if not, you can find them at most pet stores, or even grocery stores. Make sure the tip is fairly wide; if not, you may have to cut a bit off to prevent blockage.
   
   Pick up a hand-feeding product such as Critical Care or Supreme Science Recovery, which should be available at your vet's office. These are high-fiber formulas designed for herbivores. They're highly nutritious and, most importantly, should keep your chinchilla's gut moving.
   
   If you do not have access to these specialty mixes, you'll have to make your own, as described below.

3. 
    

   Making Your Own:
   
   Option 1:
   Soak chinchilla pellets in warm water until they become a soft, liquid mush. This mixture will probably not fit into a syringe and will have to be fed from a spoon.
   
   Option 2 (preferred):
   Grind some chinchilla pellets up in a clean coffee grinder, until they are a fine powder. Grind some timothy hay for fiber, cutting it into smaller pieces first, if necessary. Your mixture should be 2/3 pellets and 1/3 hay. Add warm water and stir to create a nice liquid paste (mmm!)

4. Find the correct dosage for your chinchilla's weight. A safe range for an underweight chinchilla would be 20-40cc's a day. Space feedings out to 3-4 times a day. For example, a small chinchilla might be fed 6 cc's four times a day. Listen to your vet, read your chinchilla's body language and reactions, and don't overdo it.

5. 
    

   Holding Your Chinchilla for Feeding:
   
   If you're lucky, your chinchilla might take the mixture right from the cage.
   
   If not, try hand-feeding with the chinchilla held carefully in your lap.
   
   If your chinchilla still protests and you're having trouble keeping your pet still, try using the accurately named "Burrito Method":
   
   -Place a small hand-towel on your lap
   -Place the chinchilla on the towel
   -Gently wrap the towel around the chinchilla, with the fabric ending just behind the neck. Fold the other end over your chinchilla's tail and backside, so they can't back out.
   -Use the leftover fabric to create a "scruff" to hold onto, behind the chinchilla's neck. Be very, very gentle. Don't choke your chinchilla.
   
   The end result should be a snug chinchilla "burrito", with a little head poking out. The goal is to make your chinchilla feel safe and contained, NOT trapped and stressed.

6. Hand Feeding:
   
   Once you've got your chinchilla restrained, put the syringe to your chinchilla's mouth and see if he or she will take it as such. If yes, congratulations. Go slow, giving a bit at a time, and wait for them to nibble on the end of the syringe before squeezing out a bit more.
   
   If not, go in from the side and place the syringe gently behind the chinchilla's front teeth. Squeeze a TINY amount into your chinchilla's mouth, going VERY SLOWLY. You do not want to asphyxiate your pet.
   Wait for your chinchilla to chew and swallow. Add a bit more.
   
   The first few times may be frustrating. You might feel like you ended up with more food on the towel than in your chinchilla. However, with luck they should catch on quickly, and be gaining their strength back in no time. Stay positive, and try your best to be encouraging, gentle and be patient.

7. 
    

   Talk to your vet about the right time to stop hand-feeding. Hand feeding is a short-term solution, used only to get a chinchilla back on it's feet. Always offer hard pellets, and if your chinchilla shows interest but can't eat them yet, try soaking them in a bit of water, or steaming them to ease your chinchilla back to their normal diet.
   
   Take it slowly. The road to recovery is long and bumpy. Most importantly, always put the needs of your chinchilla first.
   
   Good luck!

Tips & Warnings

• DO NOT follow any of this advice without first consulting your vet. Your veterinarian knows the needs of your chinchilla best.
• When hand feeding, go SLOWLY and CAREFULLY.
• If your chinchilla does not return to solid food after a few weeks, talk to your vet. Teeth may not be the problem: Kidney, uterine, and other infections can cause a loss of appetite, drooling, and other symptoms mistaken for teeth problems. Make sure your vet is an exotic specialist and is addressing these issues as well.

[tiffownsthis]

on 11/25/2009 Luckily I have never had to hand feed my chinchilla, but this is a thorough and very informative article. I will certainly refer to this if the need ever arises. Thanks for sharing!