Chinchilla-Scientia-Forum.de

Basil's Story - 'Going Green'

In January 2005 I noticed Basil (aged 2) wasn't eating his food properly. He was pulling funny faces and seemed to have difficulty chewing, so I caught him and had a look in his mouth. I was shocked to find his incisors overgrown and uneven. I immediately rang my local vet and took him down for an examination.

The vet had a look in his mouth and said his teeth had simply overgrown and asked me to hold him whilst he used a pair of clippers to trim them! Breaking one tooth down nearly to the base to my horror. He said things should be fine now and sent me home with some antibiotic gel for the wet eye infection that he appeared to have!

When Basil showed no improvement I posted a question about dental problems in chins on a chinchilla forum. I was advised ( by Donna! ) that an x-ray and a dental examination under anaesthetic would be the best course of action.

So I set about trying to find a vet with more knowledge about chins, who would be capable of doing this for me.

A week later Basil had his x-ray and dental and I was told Basil had malocclusion and his upper and lower roots were affected. The vet said they didn't feel they could treat Basil appropriately and suggested a referral to a specialist. Following this dental Basil still couldn't eat properly, so two weeks later we headed to an exotics vet in Manchester through this referral.

Basil had further x-rays and another dental procedure in March 2005 and a severe abscess was found in his mouth. He was put on pain relief and antibiotics. The vet told me that in the wild chinchillas forage and eat wild grasses and leaves etc. and that in order to wear the teeth down I should introduce greens into his diet and reduce the pellets I fed (as they have no teeth wearing properties). He stressed to me that these diet changes must be gradual, so his tummy didn't get upset!

So I took Basil home and he began to recover. I slowly reduced his pellets and started to introduce small amounts of fresh green foods e.g. cabbage, broccoli, beans, spinach, kale, coriander parsley, dandelion leaves, just about anything, except lettuce. Gradually increasing these foods and hay whilst reducing the pellets.

In November 2005 Basil had a further x-ray and dental check up. I was told there had been no further root progression! but the molars were still uneven and to try and increase the leafy vegetables even more.

So this I did and since January both Basil's eyes are now dry, he eats well, has gained weight and has a good quality of life. I monitor him daily for any signs of problems.

I am convinced that I would have had to have Basil put to sleep if we had not tried this diet. It is not a cure, but maintenance of a condition which can be keep under control. I don't know if Basil will have a normal life expectancy now, but I hope he does!

By Dawn (Dula) - Basil's mum

Es gab bisher - hauptsächlich für unser zahnkrankes Chinchilla:
Möhrchen
Möhrengrün
Chicoree
Endiviensalat
Kopfsalat
frische Garten-/Küchenkräuter

Mehr fällt mir im Moment nicht ein.

Providing 1–2 tablespoons of pellets per day, with ad lib good-quality grass hay, and 1–2 teaspoons of
fresh leafy vegetables seems to be adequate for dental and gastrointestinal health for non-breeding chinchillas.

Tier 2: Andere Zucht: Vater krampft, Mutter immer wieder Zahnprobleme, an denen sie schließlich verstarb. Das Tier mußte mit 11 Monaten bereits zum ersten Mal in Behandlung -> Zähne. Hat ebenfalls eine reproduzierbare Krampfneigung... Tja, Genetik halt... Da das Muttertier ja bereits tot ist, mußte nichts mehr unternommen werden. Der Vater krampft noch immer regelmäßig. Nicht so regelmäßig, wie er Nachwuchs produziert...