Doctor's Note

I'm all better: car's back and running very good: chins are home and curious.
But I know the question is about the chinchillas and what exactly's wrong. Well, because I can explain it no better, here's a copy of the doctor's note:

I've received the lab results on Chimi this morning and evaluated them in light of the known normals for Chinchillas. The blood sugar is elevated, but as bad as I had feared. There are also some other biochemical irregularities that are probably a result of nutritional deficiencies or excesses. I recommend that we correct the diet and then recheck to see if these things are improving. I think this is more prudent than starting insulin or some other therapy at this time, as it is somewhat "uncharted territory" in Chinchillas. Attached is a document to help you with diet correction. The basics are using an high quality pelleted diet with the proper protein, fat, fiber ratio, avoiding mixture diets ( use pellet only) and a high quality hay such as Coastal Bermuda or Timothy. I would also look for a vitamin supplement that contains Vitamin D. I'd leave treats out of the mix right now, to be sure that they are eating the correct amounts of the right thing. Call me and I'll go over this in more detail. Once the diet has been corrected for 2-3 weeks, then rechecking the blood values is a good idea.

I hope this makes sense. They're doing fine, as far as I can tell, but blood work doesn't lie. So I'm going to slowly be changing their diet over the next few weeks. I hope this sheds light on everything and reassures everyone. Thank you so much for your prayers and concerns.

PS I've just put the finishing touches on Santa and His Elves log so check it out.