Hey everyone,
I have now had my chinchilla for about a month and I absolutely love her. Unfortunately, however, I noticed last night that some poop had been smashed in her cage, so I took a closer look and found that her poop was soft. She seemed a little bit sleepier last night than normal as well, but today she seems to be doing her normal thing, standing and waiting by her cage door, peering out, with the occasional crash sound that I can hear when she occasionally jumps down onto a different level.
I am hoping that the soft poop is the result of the process of switching her from the food Petsmart was giving her (All Living Things Chinchilla Daily Diet) to Oxbow. I had read that it is possible to switch Chinchillas over to a new food in about 7-10 days, but have also read it can take as long as a month. As I had begun to run low on the old food, I was hoping the change could happen sooner rather than later so I was adding approximately more oxbow every night since Tuesday to end up making a complete change in a little more than a week total. Could this possibly be the culprit? I am very concerned and hoping that this may be all that has happened. Since noticing the soft poop last night (Saturday), I have taken away the pellets and been offering unlimited hay (as always but in multiple spots so as to encourage her eating it). In the last 24 hours, the poop has become both smaller and more the right shape (tick tack, as opposed to the rounder, large blobs from last night), but it is still somewhat smooshy, though I believe it is a little firmer. My question: is the increase in firmness with the hay-only diet possibly an indication that the only issue was changing the food too quickly and upsetting her stomach? If so, should I return her to her old food now and begin the switch over (much slower this time) or wait a few more days before reuniting her with her pellets?
Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much!
I have now had my chinchilla for about a month and I absolutely love her. Unfortunately, however, I noticed last night that some poop had been smashed in her cage, so I took a closer look and found that her poop was soft. She seemed a little bit sleepier last night than normal as well, but today she seems to be doing her normal thing, standing and waiting by her cage door, peering out, with the occasional crash sound that I can hear when she occasionally jumps down onto a different level.
I am hoping that the soft poop is the result of the process of switching her from the food Petsmart was giving her (All Living Things Chinchilla Daily Diet) to Oxbow. I had read that it is possible to switch Chinchillas over to a new food in about 7-10 days, but have also read it can take as long as a month. As I had begun to run low on the old food, I was hoping the change could happen sooner rather than later so I was adding approximately more oxbow every night since Tuesday to end up making a complete change in a little more than a week total. Could this possibly be the culprit? I am very concerned and hoping that this may be all that has happened. Since noticing the soft poop last night (Saturday), I have taken away the pellets and been offering unlimited hay (as always but in multiple spots so as to encourage her eating it). In the last 24 hours, the poop has become both smaller and more the right shape (tick tack, as opposed to the rounder, large blobs from last night), but it is still somewhat smooshy, though I believe it is a little firmer. My question: is the increase in firmness with the hay-only diet possibly an indication that the only issue was changing the food too quickly and upsetting her stomach? If so, should I return her to her old food now and begin the switch over (much slower this time) or wait a few more days before reuniting her with her pellets?
Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much!
