Diarrhea/Misplaced Pee? New Food?

[mobiuschic42]

Hi, I've lurked on the forums for awhile, but this is my first time posting, as I'm afraid my chin is sick. Sorry for the (probably too much) detail, but I'm not sure what's important. I've already called his vet, but they close at 4PM on Wednesdays, so I'm waiting for them to call back in the morning.

Basically, I'm wondering if it's probably safe for him to wait until his regular vet can see him, or if I should take him to urgent care.


Symptoms: Over the past few days, my standard male chinchilla Charlie (aprox age 5, I adopted him a year ago and previous owners said he was 4) has
A) Been eating more than usual - usually, there are a few pellets left in his bowl when I go to feed him (1tbsp in the AM, 1tbsp in the PM), but there haven't been any lately, and I also observed him eat a full 1tbsp in a couple hours, which is very unusual for him.
B) Lied on his side - with feet out. Usually he huddles over his feet in a kind of fuzzy ball, but he's been more splayed out. The first time I saw this was Sunday night after play time, and I thought maybe he was just overheated (no pink ears, though, and I gave him a cold granite slab and he seemed ok shortly thereafter), but he did it yesterday, too - though he quickly got up when I came to check on him.
C) There are a few large wet spots on the floor of his cage, far from his water bottles. I'm not sure if it's diarrhea (I don't see anything solid) or if he just didn't go down to the bedding level to pee - which he's never done before.


I noticed the wet spots after I let him out to play this afternoon, and he seems to be playing as usual (bouts of hopping around the room, popcorning like crazy, followed by huddle time under the hutch in his room), so I'm not super worried, but I am concerned.
If he gets worse, there's a 24-hour emergency room nearby that has a pic of a chin on their website, so I think I could take him there.



Possible reason?
Charlie has been eating Kaytee Fortidiet (which is apparently a bad food, but he was never previously sick so I didn't mess with it) from when I had him until both PetSmart and PetCo stopped selling it (see this thread: http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25487).
As a desperate replacement, I purchased ZuPreem Nature's Promise Premium Chinchilla Food, as it was the only food PetCo had that wasn't 50% treats or super expensive (I'll spend lots of money on Charlie, but these foods were $10 more than the one I bought...). Charlie seemed to like ZuPreem, but it also made a mess of his cage - the pellets kind of "exploded" all over the place.
So, I went to PetSmart last Thursday to see if they had the Kaytee (before I knew it had been recalled) and they told me it was recalled, but the manager there suggested Charlie Chinchilla Food, and while I was skeptical since it seemed to be full of treats, I decided to give it a try. Charlie loved the Charlie Chinchilla food (maybe because it's his name?!), but he'd eat everything but the pellets - just as a feared. So, I switched to 50% Zupreem/50% Charlie Chinchilla, and then eventually all the way back to ZuPreem.
I'm still looking for something else (I'm probably going to try Mazuri, since lots of people say good things about it), but I'm worried that one of these foods or the changes in general have made Charlie sick in the meantime.

 

[Siany]

I used to give my chinnies Charlie Chinchilla, when i started using this site and i found out why it was so bad i changed straight away. Your chinnie will love Charlie Chinchilla because hey it is filled with treats, the more i think about whats in it worries me because i start to think of all the sugar in the raisins and then i wonder what it actually does to the teeth aswell because chinchillas obviously cant brush their teeth.

When i was using Charlie Chinchilla both my chinnies had diarrhea round about the same time as each other, thinking about it now i think they were both eating more too. I ended up taking both my chinnies to the vets who gave them an injection, some stuff fot me to seringe feed and some stuff for their water. It cleared up pretty quickly after that and the vet told me that they had bacteria in their tummy which was what was making them poorly.

I would change food as soon as you can though, its made such a difference with me and both my chinnies are definatly more happy now. Give healthy treats instead !! I cant help but think that all the messing about with food has caused some problems but if your chinnie has a poorly tummy and giving treats (raisins in Charlie Chinchilla) cant be making it any better. I would give Timothy Hay, fresh water and really think sbout changing to a healthy food, alot of people use Oxbow. If your chinnie is going to have a healthy lifestyle price for food shouldnt be an issue, your paying for quality

 

[EMSChins]

You need to quit switching his foods so frequently and so quickly. He needs to be on a premium pellet such as Oxbow, Tradition, Manna Pro Sho or whatever is available in your area. Oxbow is the most readily available nationwide at pet stores and it does cost more than the other junk the pet store sells but it is by far and large - less expensive than the vet bills you will acrue if you keep feeding him the less expensive junk - or even worse, replacing your chin if he dies. Mazuri is okay if you can't get anything else but some owners have found that their chins get loose or mushy stool while on it.

His stools should be firm and somewhat dry, about the size of a tic tac. If they are squishy or worse then he has diarrhea.

I would pull all pellets for a couple of days and only give him fresh timothy hay and clean FILTERED water. He may have a digestive upset which may require medication to keep himm from developing bloat. If he stops pooping he needs to see a vet ASAP! he should not be getting any treats with sugar, fruits or otherwise - this can lead to gut stasis.

 

[StevieP]

Your chin sounds fine based on your description. Eating more is not a bad thing in most cases. The wet spots were probably just pee. Diarrhea is actually just soft sticky poop that smears.

The above post regarding only feeding hay for a few days is good advice. Go with Oxbow and stick with it. It is the biggest bag of food sold at PestMart, so pound-for-pound it is around the same price as the lower quality foods and sometimes cheaper. You can also purchase it from Sandi on here:
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23474&highlight=oxbow+chinchilla+deluxe

 

[mobiuschic42]

Thanks for all the advice! I'm pretty sure he's ok, but I wanted to double check.

You need to quit switching his foods so frequently and so quickly. He needs to be on a premium pellet such as Oxbow, Tradition, Manna Pro Sho or whatever is available in your area. Oxbow is the most readily available nationwide at pet stores and it does cost more than the other junk the pet store sells but it is by far and large - less expensive than the vet bills you will acrue if you keep feeding him the less expensive junk - or even worse, replacing your chin if he dies.

As I said, I never would have switched his foods at all had the not stopped selling it, and when I found out they weren't selling it anymore, I had to decide quickly without much information. I ended up with a couple of bad foods, but he really only ate one kind (the Charlie Chinchilla brand) 3 or 4 times, and then he was back on the second one (ZuPreem).
As for treats, he usually only gets rosehips, as those are his favorites, anyway.
I'll try to find Oxbow at a local store or order it online eventually, but, frankly, I may just keep him on the (messy) ZuPreem for awhile to avoid making him upset more.

Also, while I certainly understand what you're saying about vet bills, I was lucky enough to get my cutie for free when his previous owner couldn't keep him anymore, so the cost of replacing the chin thing is not really relevant. (Though of course I would be devastated)

Thanks again!

 

[ticklechin]

The cost of replacing the chin thing?

 

[EMSChins]

OP - I was referring to the emotional cost of replacing your chin. Most of us think that our chins are priceless.

 

[GorillaJTA]

As an aside, I don't know how old your chin is, but 2 tbsp of food a day is not a lot of food. He could be hungrier different seasons (could also account for his different behavior), but most of us free feed rather than feeding twice a day.