Poop Issues

[Chubi32]

Two nights ago I came home and noticed that there was squished poo in the cage that holds my two brothers Rocky and Bullwinkle. I cleaned the cage and the next morning it was like that again so I separated them and found it was Bullwinkle who was having large soft poops. I've read on here before that sometimes people have this problem who feed their chins Mazuri (which is what I feed all my chins) so the boys have been separated and Bullwinkle has only had hay, water, and burnt toast for all of yesterday and today. Today when I get home though I see that Bullwinkles poops are still soft/wet looking but are very small and sometimes clumped together. They have a very faint odor when squished, could this be Giardia (sp?), should I have him looked at? Or is this normal for the people who have had this happen with Mazuri food.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Do you filter their water or use bottled water? Are you burning the toast black? Have you tried sprinkling acidophilous on their pellets?

It may take longer than a day to see results. Keep doing the hay and if you do offer pellets coat them in the acidophilous. I find that helps. If it doesnt resolve in a few days or you haven't been filtering their water, I would be off to have him checked for parasites/giardia.

 

[AZChins]

Sometimes no matter what you feed there will end up being a chin with soft droppings from time to time. It's a rare thing here, I feed Mazuri to all my chins, but every now and then someone will have slightly soft droppings. Normally it will self correct because the vast majority of the time it will have something to do with overeating or with a female being in heat or being pregnant (hormonal fluctuations can cause changes in reproductive tract which can cause changes in all sorts of different parts of the body.)

Most of the time when I have an issue with a male having soft droppings it's with a young male, but every now and then an older one will have an issue. I give acidophilus to help correct the problem. If I can get the chin back to normal in three days, everything is normally fine. Watch your chinchilla over the next few days and chances are he will be alright. If you don't see any improvement, go to the vet and have tests done for parasites.

 

[alli713]

I've heard that burnt toast doesn't help, and actually isn't the best for them. You can give the bite size non-frosted shredded wheat. Those help because of the fiber content.

I also am curious about the type of water you use though.

 

[Chubi32]

Thanks for all your help guys- I use just the regular water out of sink, what me and my husband drink. I'm guessing it's not well water since we live in an apartment complex should I invest it getting a filter? If so what kind? I've never used a filter before. And yeah I had my husband run out last night for shredded wheat- but before I was buring/using black toast. About the acidophilus though- where do I get it? I think I've read here before that someone buys tablets from the drug store and just splits them open for the powder. Will the label just say acidophilus? And how much acidophilus should I give them?

 

[Stackie]

You should give them filtered water. I bought a 2 stage PUR filter at WalMart and give them their water from it. The 1 stage does not filter out microbial cysts, but the 2 stage does.

When treating a poo problem, you should get Acidophilus in the high billion count..I like to use at least 10 billion count. You can get the capsules and break them open over a bit of oats. Smaller billion counts can be found at Walmart, but you may have to look at a nutrition store for the higher counts. They can be found in the section for digestion, and it will say Acidophilus on the container.

If the poo does not clear up, I would take a fresh sample to the vet and have it tested for parasites. If it comes back positive, you will have to treat all your chins for the parasite and clean everything.

 

[Chubi32]

Okay thanks I'll have to get one in the next day or two, along with the Acidophilus. His poop has turned large again and has firmed up a bit but is still what I want to describe as like sticky. It doesn't fall off their flying saucer but just kinda sticks to it- hopefully all this should clear it up.

 

[alli713]

I agree, you really need to filter that water. Tap water can have giardia in it. It's normally small enough that humans don't get it, but chins are smaller and are more susceptible to it.

I seem to remember that many Brita filters don't filter Giardia but that many PUR ones do. So make sure and check on the package that it says it will filter it out.

 

[Brittany]

We're just getting over a case of soft poop, she made her first totally hard ones yesterday!! Lily tested negative for all parasites and was losing too much weight on a hay only diet. So since there was no change after a week I gave her pellets back. I buy the Meijer Naturals Acidophilus capsules (5 billion count each) For awhile I was opening two pills and mixing them with a little bit of pumpkin once a day. Lily was being a little stinker and refused to eat it mixed with the pellets, oats, or anything else, hopefully you'll have better luck. Slowly I weaned her over to eating the Acidophilus mixed with her pellets. Additionally I added some peppermint from a tea bag to help settle her stomach. It's been working great for us! Susan (AZChins) told me about the peppermint. She also had some other suggestions that we didn't ended up needing but I'll be keeping them in mind for future problems. Good Luck, and like everyone has said get the poop tested, you'll feel better knowing.

 

[Chubi32]

Yeah I'll definitely get the filter and him into the vet if nothing clears before this weekend. I've seen people on here say they use a filter but I never realized that it could actually do them harm without one. When you say you mix pumpkin what do you mean? All I can picture in my head is pumpkin pie filling but I'm guessing that's not right? Haha. And do you just sprinkle the Acidophilus powder over the pellets and it'll stick to the pellets enough?

 

[Brittany]

When you say you mix pumpkin what do you mean? All I can picture in my head is pumpkin pie filling but I'm guessing that's not right? Haha. And do you just sprinkle the Acidophilus powder over the pellets and it'll stick to the pellets enough?

Actually that is right, just check the ingredients to make sure that it's only 100% pure pumpkin. I just use barely enough to mix the powder. Seriously though don't use it or add anything else unless you absolutely have to. Just sprinkle the acidophilus on the pellets and mix it up with your fingers a bit. It will coat the food just fine. You want the diet to be as bland as possible to help an upset tummy. The only reason I had to use pumpkin is because my little girl is a SPOILED BRAT and wouldn't take it any other way at first. She didn't even like the pumpkin right away but after a lot of work we finally weaned her over to eating it on her pellets. Hope the vet test comes back negative!

 

[Ziora]

I'm watching the poop threads, too. Our new baby chin was having some issues, but the droppings look almost normal now. It strikes me odd that my daughter and I sit there and analyze the little poops and measure them up to each other. Hmm, that one is too round, this one is too short, that one looks just alien. It can make you crazy ;P (edited for typos...I need glasses!)

 

[Chubi32]

Good news- it's looking like everything is getting back to normal. I woke up this morning with no poos stuck to the wheel (or anywhere else for that matter) so things look on the upside. I'm still going to get the water filter to use now and the acidophilus tablets to have on hand. Thanks so much for everyones help!