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Yellow Ears

6K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  bossanovachin 
#1 ·
I found this in the book Diseases of Small Domestic Rodents by V.C.G. Richardson and thought I'd put it out here for anyone who may search for it in the future.

Clinical signs: The ears undergo a colour change to yellow and then orange. Other areas of the body, the abdomen and genitals, may also become discoloured. Painful swellings may occur on the abdomen.

Chinchillas require adequate amounts of choline, methionine and Vitamin E in the diet so that the liver is able to break down plant pigments such as carotene. If there are inadequate amounts of any of these, the plant pigments become deposited in the fat and skin.

Treatments: Supplementation of the diet with adequate amounts of choline, methionine and Vitamin E.


It didn't say how much of these, however. I've never heard of this happening so it's probably adequate to assume that our pelleted diets contain at least minimal required amounts but, as always, the more knowledge we're armed with, the better off our animals are.

Just thought I'd share! :)
 
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#3 ·
A good vitamin added to the supplement or sprinked over the food will provide these. A good product to use is pervinal vitamins and there is also a multiple vitamin commomly used for horses that is good but I can't remember the name of it. Both are used by professional breeders.
 
#5 ·
Oh sure make do do bunches of math! :confused:
I mix 100 pounds of supplement at a time so I did the math and it is> 1 TEAspoon per 12lb of chin weight so asumming the chin is 1.333lb (average) then 1 teaspoon is a 9 day supply. If mixing with feed you will need to measure out 2 tablspns pellets x 9 days to get the proper ratio.
SO: 2tablespoons of pellets x 9= 18tablespoons of pellets mixed with 1 TEAspoon of pervinal.
2tablespoons of pellets is the average amount of pellets eaten daily by a chinchilla.
 
#7 ·
Diseases of Chinchillas, by Helmut Kraft

"If the abdominal cavity is then opened up the internal fat is also yellow, yet the musculatrue (flesh) and the organs unchanged in color and consistency. Here we are dealing with "yellow fat," a lipometabolism disorder...It occurs when a diet deficient in vitamin A is fed and leads to an abnormal oxidation of fatty deposits into yellow fat with a wax-like consistency. Similarly, the uptake of too much unsaturated fatty acids in the diet (such as rancid wheat germ) can lead to such changes... often these particular animals are well developed and quite fat."

"Not all animals in a particular group or colony are affected by this metabolic disorder, and therefore breeders generally do not believe that diet is at fault. Each animal reacts individually since physiological conditions vary from one chinchilla to the next. "Yellow ears" can be an externally visible sign of "yellow fat."


(pic is mine, not book's)

"As a preventative measure, breeders should make sure that their animals always get enough vitamins E and A. Usually the full vitamin requirements are NOT met by the principle diet alone and there will have to be vitamin supplements administered. If wheat germ is used, it is important to make sure that the grains are not rancid...storage in excess of eight to 14 days is not recommended. Moreover, the breeder has to make sure when he is feeding pellets that unsaturated acids have not developed during compaction of the pellets. This is of course only applicable if ingredients that can give off unsaturated acids when heated are being used in the manufacture of chinchilla pellets."

-- from Diseases of Chinchillas, by Helmut Kraft, copyright 1987 by TFH Productions



...a wealth of knowledge in these old books, definitely good to keep that inheritance of information for the benefit of pet chinchillas today. :)
 
#9 ·
Mazuri is made by Purina. Purina is an excellent company and would only mix a good balance product for your pets. I'm sure it is a proper balanced diet. Always use your feed within 3 months of the manufacturers date to assure freshness. Vitamins begin to break down after this point. This is where many health problems arise, when ones use old feed.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, I agree with Debbie, esp where the freshness is concerned- we store our feed in the fridge. I think some of the problems talked about in the book are a bit dated, being nearly 20 years old now, but always interesting to read what insights have already been made, gives us something to build on. =)
 
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