Anyone notice a difference in Mazuri feed?

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Trishy87

Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
5
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I've feed Bleeps Mazuri for about 4 years. I used to buy it online at Chinworld but after S&H it was cheaper to just buy it at Petsmart. Did that for a year until sometime this past May I noticed that they stopped stocking it. I went back to Chinworld.

In June/July Bleeps got real sick, wet poop and not eating or drinking. Took him to urgent care and he was given the subcutaneous camelhump of water and perscribed critical care and two antibiotics. Took him to a chin specialist and he couldn't see anything in his stool sample. Said to continue with the antibiotics (combo of the two will cure most things). His poop normalized so I sterilized his cage and bought new feed/treats but still wouldn't freaking eat! After playing games and using the new Mazuri as treats, he slowly started eating. The fluffball freaking gets sick again!

As I was telling my pet problems to someone (Petsmart stopped selling it, had to buy it online) it dawns on me that there might be a recall. So I check and there is for many of their feed products but not specifically for chinchilla food. Still kinda freaked me out so I decided to switch him to Oxbow cold turkey (his stomach was already all crazy and eating anything is better than not eating.) Well, he ate like there's no tomorrow!

Actually, he still eats like there's no tomorrow. We used to leave for vacations, measuring enough food for a week, and there would still be some left over. Now it seems as if he poops it as fast as he eats it. He also poops twice as much as he did before - which is a lot since they poop almost every 5 seconds. =P His poop also smells now. Even if I held the poop to my nose, it never used to smell. I mean, it doesnt reek but if you stick your head in the cage you can definitely smell poop. And if you don't sweep the cage daily, then it will reek.

I really want to switch him back to Mazuri. I'm just really scared. Anyone notice these symptoms from Mazuri to Oxbow?
 
Could the feed have been mishandled by Chinworld or be very old? Did they give you a mill date for it? Are you sure it was a feed issue that made your chin sick? He could have a parasite.

I haven't had any issues with it in my herd. The worst thing that I have seen with the Mazuri is that there was a bag last year that had pellets that almost looked burned in it, but that was only one bag and Mazuri took care of it. It didn't make anyone sick though.
 
We've been on Mazuri here for most of my 5 years keeping (short jump to tradition when I couldn't get Mazuri by mail) and never a problem.

The smelly poop worries me. I'd definitely ask for a parasite check and possibly bloodwork. :( Something's definitely not right.
 
Had the herd here on Mazuri for the last 9 years and never had a problem. Had two chins that had loose poos on Mazuri, but did fine when switched to Oxbow. But definitely haven't had any problems lately.

The smelly poo would worry me. That would definitely warrant a vet visit in my book.
 
No personal experiences with either feed, but that is definitely strange. I'd get the poops and your chin tested again.
 
AZchins sells fresh mazuri, I would buy from her since the shipping should not be too different since she is pretty close. Chinworld is still in business??? Could be the feed was old or not handled well rather than the product itself.
 
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Urgent care didn't check his poop but I made sure Dr. Rosskopf doctor did. He told me he didn't see anything hence his rec to continue with both antibiotics since he couldn't isolate the problem.

His old Mazuri poop never smelled no matter how close you got. His poop now just has a poopy smell when you're a couple inches away. And he eats like he's got a tapeworm! Makes me think that he's not really full/satiated.

Guess I'll take him back to the vet. He said I should come back soon to have his teeth checked anyways. (He didn't want to overstress him during his illness.)

Thanks guys! So glad I joined. Having an exotic pet is awesome but not fun when you're trying to research problems.
 
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