Diarrhea

[Jawramik]

His poops are still soft but compared to yesterday they are better! The vets his normal one but I’m not sure she has a clue tbh haha

Amethyst made some good points, and she has way more experience with chins than I do. The fact that his poops seem to be improving and he's starting to eat on his own are encouraging signs. Sometimes recovery can be more gradual than we anxious parents would like, but it sounds like he's starting to move in the right direction, at least!

You said that he seems to eat and move around more when he's out of the cage, so my best advice would be to try to have him out (as long as you can supervise him) with a nice supply of hay and pellets and access to water to try to get him eating as much as possible and moving around. Physical activity can really help get that digestive tract moving. When my chin got a little gassy a couple weeks back, some gas drops and playpen time seemed to make all the difference and got her pooping normally pretty quick. Aside from that, I'd say just keep up with the meds the vet gave you, keep a close eye on him, and stay in contact with your vet.

It's good to hear that he seems to be showing some improvement! So long as he's showing improvement, I'd say you should stay the course for now! Perhaps your vet knows what she's doing after all.

 

[Apollo2021]

Amethyst made some good points, and she has way more experience with chins than I do. The fact that his poops seem to be improving and he's starting to eat on his own are encouraging signs. Sometimes recovery can be more gradual than we anxious parents would like, but it sounds like he's starting to move in the right direction, at least!

You said that he seems to eat and move around more when he's out of the cage, so my best advice would be to try to have him out (as long as you can supervise him) with a nice supply of hay and pellets and access to water to try to get him eating as much as possible and moving around. Physical activity can really help get that digestive tract moving. When my chin got a little gassy a couple weeks back, some gas drops and playpen time seemed to make all the difference and got her pooping normally pretty quick. Aside from that, I'd say just keep up with the meds the vet gave you, keep a close eye on him, and stay in contact with your vet.

It's good to hear that he seems to be showing some improvement! So long as he's showing improvement, I'd say you should stay the course for now! Perhaps your vet knows what she's doing after all.

Thankyou, yeah maybe she knows after all haha! But I’m gonna give him a good amount of time out so he can run and popcorn around like he normally does and hopefully i keep seeing signs of improvement, it’s most likely me at a parent to him just worrying more than I maybe should because he isn’t his normal self but I’ll keep this post updated on how he goes!

 

[Apollo2021]

Hi, his poos have firmed up compared to yesterday they arnt normal still but they’re better he has slowly started eating again a few pellets and some hay but nothing compared to normal so maybe he’s on the up, and the parasite I was thinking the vet said nothing about it!

So update he seems a lot more himself but now i don’t think he is pooing at all, the ones I find when I come back from work or anything are tiny and rock hard, if they are his, but I assume they are as my other chins are much bigger! But I personally even watching him for hours have not seen him poo once

 

[Jawramik]

Not pooping is concerning. Is he eating? If he's having small, infrequent poops, it could be gas (I know lots of fiber can cause gas in most animals, including humans, so I assume it's the same for chins, it seems possible the fiber supplement is causing excess gas). You can try giving him some infant gas drops (Simethicone), rubbing his tummy, and getting him to run around, as that can often help if gas is indeed the issue, but I'd also put in a call to the vet, especially if you've already tried the gas drops/tummy rub/exercise and it hasn't helped.

Do you have any idea how long it's been since he pooped? And how were his poops before they stopped?

 

[Apollo2021]

Not pooping is concerning. Is he eating? If he's having small, infrequent poops, it could be gas (I know lots of fiber can cause gas in most animals, including humans, so I assume it's the same for chins, it seems possible the fiber supplement is causing excess gas). You can try giving him some infant gas drops (Simethicone), rubbing his tummy, and getting him to run around, as that can often help if gas is indeed the issue, but I'd also put in a call to the vet, especially if you've already tried the gas drops/tummy rub/exercise and it hasn't helped.

Do you have any idea how long it's been since he pooped? And how were his poops before they stopped?

He’s still eating but a lot less than before he got diarrhea a week ago, he might be pooing through the night but whenever Im around I havnt seen him go but the only ones I find are tiny and Rock hard a lot smaller than before my vets has closed so I will have to ring first thing in the morning

 

[Jawramik]

Normal chin poops are pretty hard and dry. They're slightly damp when they're fresh, but they dry out fast and as soon as they're dry, they're pretty hard and solid. The small size and lack of frequency is what's concerning.

It could very well be gas, so at least until your vet opens tomorrow, I'd give him some gas drops, tummy massages, and get him moving around as much as possible. If that doesn't help, then I'd get him to the vet as soon as possible in the morning.

Amethyst or others with more experience might have better advice. Is there an emergency vet you could call if he gets worse before your usual vet opens? It's usually a good idea to at least have the number/location of a place like that in mind, just in case it ever becomes necessary.

 

[Apollo2021]

Normal chin poops are pretty hard and dry. They're slightly damp when they're fresh, but they dry out fast and as soon as they're dry, they're pretty hard and solid. The small size and lack of frequency is what's concerning.

It could very well be gas, so at least until your vet opens tomorrow, I'd give him some gas drops, tummy massages, and get him moving around as much as possible. If that doesn't help, then I'd get him to the vet as soon as possible in the morning.

Amethyst or others with more experience might have better advice. Is there an emergency vet you could call if he gets worse before your usual vet opens? It's usually a good idea to at least have the number/location of a place like that in mind, just in case it ever becomes necessary.

Hi, I don’t have gas drops are they something you can just get? And I have a emergency vets that I know where they are there number just in case, I’m trying to get him moving but it’s play time for him now but he doesn’t seem to want to come out and when he has he walked for a second then went back in

 

[Jawramik]

Yeah, you should be able to buy infant gas drops at any pharmacy, or probably even a grocery store. The name of the actual drug is Simethicone. It's a liquid that usually comes packaged with a little oral syringe that you use to administer it.

You might have to encourage him a bit to get him moving, especially if he's not feeling well. I don't know what your set-up is, but if you're just opening the cage door and he won't come out, or he only comes out for a moment before going back inside, you might have to take him out and then close the cage so he can't just run right back inside. Picking him up and massaging his tummy might also help.

 

[Amethyst]

It definately sounds like gas, like I said in a previous post, extra fiber can cause gas issues. You want infant gas drops, the dosage is 0.3ml or 0.5ml (depending on the drops) which ever come to 20mg of simethicone per dose (you can't really overdose excess is just peed out so it's a waste), every 8-12 hours. If it's just gas the issue of small poops should resolve within 24 hours. Like Jawramik said you also want to get him moving, moving helps stimulate the gut to move. If there is no poop at all though, I would get the chin to the vet, that is a sign that there is a blockage, either a gas bubble got big enough to block the gut, they pass small amounts of gas as they poop but can't pass just gas (fart or burp) on it's own, gas drops can help break it up. Or it could be the gut wasn't moving fast enough for some reason (my guess would be dehydration, not drinking enough) and the food and supplement has now created a blockage and you need some gut mobility drugs from the vet to help get things moving.