1. Overgrown incisors - like beavers, incisors grow too long due to the lack of regular gnawing of cork blocks, pumice, etc., which affects chewing and causes anorexia, weakness, and even starvation. Cut off the overgrown part in time with bone clippers or pruning shears, and wash the swollen lips with anti-inflammatory solution for 3 consecutive days.
2. Throat obstruction - eating large pieces of feed or other foreign objects causes difficulty swallowing, and chinchillas finds it difficult to spit out food that has entered the oral cavity, making it prone to obstruction. After small pieces of food are obstructed, chinchillas show restless jumping, often making swallowing movements and accompanied by coughing. The main symptoms are increased respiratory rate or difficulty breathing, often quickly leading to suffocation, congested eyes, inability to stand with four limbs, and even death. Therefore, do not casually give chinchillas harder or hard-shelled feed, such as pine seeds and large grains, Mild obstruction can be immediately drop-fed plant oil to lubricate the esophagus and swallow the food into the stomach, while severe obstruction often suffocates and dies before measures can be taken.
3. Gastritis - a type of inflammation that occurs on the surface of the stomach mucosa. It is mainly caused by excessive proportion of grains in the feed, lack of dietary fiber; feeding indigestible food; sudden change in feed variety; excessive feeding of delicious feed causing overeating; or occur in the case of stomach distension. Ingesting soil, drinking unclean water, or eating moldy and pesticide-contaminated feed can also cause gastric bloat. This disease often occurs acutely, and it sudden onset with poor mental state, severe pain, loss of appetite or refusal to eat. Chronic cases are characterized by decreased appetite, moderate constipation, gradual weight loss, drooling, wet lower lips and corners of the mouth, and tangled fur. For acute gastric bloat, stop feeding for 1-2 days, replace pellet feed with soft feed, and feed fresh tender green feed, grape fresh milk as a beverage, and take 2-3 ml of aluminum hydroxide gel orally. Chronic cases mainly focus on improving feeding and management, and medication treatment has little effect.
4. Constipation - mainly caused by improper feed causing weakened gastrointestinal motility and malnutrition of intestinal muscles, and a disturbed feeding environment can also cause abnormal gastrointestinal motility and lead to constipation. When chinchillas have constipation, mild cases have no obvious symptoms, only the shape of the feces is slightly smaller, the feces usually have no pores, and the color is darker. In severe cases, defecation is significantly reduced or stopped, and the feces are very small and dry. The affected chinchillas do not eat or drink, squat in one place, unwilling to move, have a hunched back and painful appearance, lack energy, and close their eyes. Long-term constipation gradually leads to emaciation, and the decrease in body weight is very obvious. In treatment, besides adjusting the diet, the following medications can be used: 2% liquid paraffin or soft soap water for oral or rectal infusion, 5-15 ml each time; 10%-15% hot plant oil and water mixture for oral or enema, 5-15 ml each time; rectal administration using enema can also promote defecation.
5. Intestinal obstruction - aggravated constipation can cause intestinal obstruction. Some chinchillas suffer from trichophagy, which causes the formation of hairballs in the digestive tract and causes obstruction. In addition, a high content of dietary fiber in food or the use of large amounts of antibiotics to treat diseases can cause a decrease in the ability of microorganisms in the intestines to digest dietary fiber, which can cause constipation and secondary intestinal obstruction. Therefore, broad-spectrum antibiotics should be used as little as possible or not used at all, and it is relatively safe to use sulfa drugs for anti-inflammatory purposes. The early symptom of intestinal obstruction is constipation, and acute symptoms of intestinal obstruction occur less frequently, so all symptoms are manifested in constipation. Diseased chinchillas become dehydrated quickly, and their eyeballs sink. The abdomen often has slight bloating, and hard feces can often be felt in the abdomen. Diseased chinchillas show abdominal pain, stretch their forelimbs forward, lie with their abdomen on the ground, and severe cases lie on their backs with their limbs bent. Obstruction of the duodenum is the most obvious. Prevention measures: once constipation occurs, be highly vigilant, make every effort to eliminate constipation, and prevent secondary intestinal obstruction. When intestinal obstruction has already occurred, the treatment focuses on promoting bowel movements. If the use of oil laxatives is not effective, 10%-20% sodium sulfate can be tried or deep rectal infusion with soft soap water, combined with purgatives, is effective for mild intestinal obstruction. In severe cases of intestinal obstruction, where the intestines are inflamed or necrotic, the use of purgatives is not only ineffective but also carries the risk of intestinal rupture and perforation. If necessary, surgical treatment can be performed.
6. Intestinal torsion and intussusception - this disease suddenly occurs when chinchillas chase or fight during the breeding process or during vigorous exercise. Once the disease occurs, it causes severe pain, trembling of limbs and the whole body, inability to stand, and sometimes squeaking sounds. Upon autopsy, twisted or folded intestines can be directly observed, and the mucosa is acutely bleeding, accompanied by bleeding. Since this disease occurs suddenly and causes death quickly, measures are often not taken in time before the affected chinchillas die. In rescue attempts, the intestines are manually straightened, which can be effective for some affected chinchillas.
7. Vitamin deficiency - various nutritional deficiencies are caused by defects during feed allocation, and prevention is the main approach, with treatment as a supplement. The most common vitamin deficiencies are vitamin A and vitamin B1 deficiencies. When there is a vitamin A deficiency, chinchillas often suffer from keratosis, are prone to respiratory infections, have decreased reproductive performance or infertility, obvious xerophthalmia or night blindness. Affected chinchillas often show dull eyes, foggy appearance, dull and non-elastic fur, and weight loss. The breeding rate of male chinchillas is significantly reduced, sexual behavior disappears, female chinchillas have prolonged estrus or do not go into estrus, pregnant chinchillas experience interrupted pregnancies, absorption or miscarriage of fetuses. Frail young chinchillas are difficult to survive or become blind when deficient in vitamin A. Administer 100 international units of vitamin A to affected chinchillas every day and provide appropriate supplementation through feed after 1 week. When there is a vitamin B1 deficiency, the coordination of chinchillas' movements is affected, they become nervous, easily agitated, and the typical symptom is convulsions, sudden spasm of limbs and body, after a spasm occurs, normal activity can resume, but if it continues to develop, it can cause death. In treatment, large doses of vitamin B1 should be administered, and the medication should be taken continuously for 2-4 weeks at a dosage of 10 mg per chinchilla per day.
8. Calcium-phosphorus imbalance - a calcium-phosphorus imbalance can occur when the feed lacks calcium and phosphorus, or when the ratio of calcium to phosphorus is improper, or when the feed lacks vitamin D. The typical symptom of this disease is sudden whole-body muscle spasms, which are similar to the spasms caused by vitamin B1 deficiency, but the spasms caused by this disease often occur before and after eating, and the important difference is that the spasms caused by this disease do not show swaying. Affected chinchillas press their abdomen against the cage bottom, with rigid limbs stretched forward and their heads tilted backward. Treatment measures: increase the content of calcium and phosphorus in the feed and adjust the ratio of calcium to phosphorus and the content of vitamin D. Alternatively, administer glucose-calcium muscle injection, 1-1.5 ml per chinchilla once a day, continuously injecting for 3-5 days.
9. Hair loss syndrome - chinchilla fur is precious, and hair loss is a great loss, and hair loss syndrome often occurs. The causes of hair loss in chinchillas are twofold: first, the lack of unsaturated fatty acids in the feed, and second, chinchillas are easily excited and suffer from neurogenic hair loss. After hair loss, the skin will lose its value for making fur garments. The symptoms often involve both factors, often with neurogenic hair loss predominating. Regardless of whether the chinchillas are active in the cage or involved in activities such as manually feeding and watering, the affected chinchillas shed hair sporadically or in clumps, and the leftover hair can be seen everywhere in the cage. Severe cases result in exposed, keratinized, and scaly skin. Chinchillas with this disease cannot participate in mating. Oral administration or adding unsaturated fatty acids to the feed, giving them immediately and not overnight. Administer 2 pills of linoleic acid per day for 3-5 consecutive days to achieve a certain effect.
The digestive tract of a pure brown chinchilla is particularly long, with a well-developed caecum. Therefore, under artificial rearing conditions, it is usually fed with hay, grains, and green forage, or supplemented with feed, including herbaceous plants, vegetables, wild vegetables, mulberry leaves, elm leaves, clover, grains, etc. Vegetables with too much water content, such as cabbage, should not be fed. The daily feeding amount for adults is about 25 grams per chinchilla, supplemented with hay and green feed such as purple clover, clover, wild millet grass, catnip, wild vegetables, plantain, dandelion, bitter vegetables, water celery, carrots, etc., which are conducive to growth and development, fresh and juicy, palatable, and can stimulate appetite.
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