Effects of changed diet.

bianca · Sep 1, 2009

so today i went to the pet store to get bounce a bunch of new things to play with, hide in, etc. (since i am trying to cheer him up since his brother passed away).

i was instructed by a breeder and the vet to change his diet to timothy hay, different pellets, and papaya for a treat rather than raisins.

i introduced him to the new diet and toys about 3 hours ago.
he enjoys the toys and timothy hay and ate the papaya.

my only concern is, his poo is a tiny bit moist. is this bad or normal since his foods were just changed?

what can i do to help his poo get normal again?

Jovi · Sep 1, 2009

What kind of food did u change from and to ? Most pet stores dont carry the recommended chinchilla food. Also , unless its urgent to get them off bad food i think most people change them over gradually to a new food, adding in a bit at a time.

mishellyshel · Sep 1, 2009

usually when i get a new bag of mazuri from the feed store the first couple days my boys have a little softer poo.
also while papaya is better than raisins, it really isnt a good treat for chins, maybe once a month...........and that may be causing the soft poo.
also with all the changes, that could be the reason his poo is a little soft, he is just stressed. honestly i would leave him alone for a bit and see if it hardens up.
another thing you can give him is the unfrosted mini shredded wheat. that is an acceptable treat "in moderation" for a chin. when ever my chins have soft poo, i split one of those squares in half and give 1/2 in the am & 1/2 in the pm and the fiber seems to firm them up.
what kind of food did you end of getting??

saszygirl1 · Sep 1, 2009

What happend to his brother? If you are not sure I would get him to vet asap.With so much stress on him. Unless its bad food I would wait on changing his food too.

bianca · Sep 2, 2009

well since he was young, he was getting alfalfa hay and a pellet mix (the one that comes with all the stuff mixed inside. it was called fiesta).

now he is getting timothy hay, because he needs more fiber, and the food is just regular pellets. but i was instructed to buy a natural mixed food bag (its vegetable and herb), and mix it with the pellets.
sorry,im not sure of the brand names off my head but here are links to what he's getting :

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3135798 mixed with a natural mix i mentioned above.
and timothy hay.

also, i did give him a peice of papaya so i may have thought that was the cause.
but the vet is going to check him out sometime this week, because his activity level and daily things like eating, drinking, peeing, pooping are all regular. (except for the soft poo)