Holes in poop

[alli713]

For what it's worth, I've learned that it's best to follow advice of knowledgeable people on here versus a vet that may not have the experience.

The reason I say this, is because a couple months back I had a chin whose poops had progressively gotten smaller and harder and who I noticed she wouldn't take treats. Then she had an onset of drooling which I hadn't noticed earlier.

I went to the vet, and she just poked around in her mouth and listened to her gut and said that she was gassy and that she felt it was just a bit of indigestion. It didn't sit well with me, so the next day I went to a different vet.

I insisted upon oral x-rays. From there I could see the roots elongated into her nasal passage and jaw. I elected to have my poor Mei put down at that point because I refuse to put a chin through malo treatments or pain medication for the rest of their life.

But, my point is, that if you think something is wrong and the first vet's opinion doesn't make a whole lot of sense, go get a second opinion. And if you do get x-rays done, ask for a copy or bring a camera and take a picture of the x-ray while you're looking at it, and you can always come back on here and post it for other opinions on it from members who have experience looking at teeth x-rays.

 

[3CsMommy]

I'm no expert on gassy chins, but if your gut is telling you there's more going on, get to another vet. A second opinion can only hurt your checking account and might save your chin a lot of discomfort.

 

[StevieP]

In these videos, does it look like Arnold could have teeth issues? I thought chins with teeth issues didn't like to chew? I took these last night after I seperated him. He ate a good amount of hay but only about half of his pellets (I measured out 2Tbs so he ate about 1Tbs as of this morning).


Eating hay



Chewing a stick

 

[ticklechin]

That chin is chewing fine, I would say IMO no teeth issues, in fact in the hay video he looks like he is very hungry. You may have a issue with the other chins not letting him eat. Since I do not have any pairs I will let those that do tell you what to do in this case.

 

[mishellyshel]

You might want to offer him some pellets & hay during playtime.......that way he has the stuff all to himself.

I currently have 1 pair of boys & Midnite definitely is the piggie. So I always make sure Pichu gets handed his treat and I keep 2 bowls of food in their cage, one on each side and a huge pot of hay.

 

[Claire D]

How many bowls of food are there in the cage? If he is being bullied by his cage mates & is not being allowed to eat then putting in several bowls of food & another water bottle can help. I'd put in a bowl for each chin in the cage plus an extra water bottle & see whether that helps a bit.

Have you observed any dominant behaviour by his cage mates? Do they share a food bowl happily? Any loose fur or kacking happening?

 

[alli713]

He is eating his hay really fast, not what I experienced with my malo girl.

 

[StevieP]

There was one bowl, water bottle, and hay pot. I have seen them all eating at the same time, but maybe recently they have been bullying him?

Doninant behavior: I have seen BOWZER's (Arnold's son) whiskers slightly chewed. Arnold's whiskers are never chewed. Bowzer sometimes has a loose chunk of fur too, so I actually think someone is bullying BOWZER.
I hear some kacking when I am laying in bed, and I get up to see Arnold Kacking at whoever is trying to get in the fleece tube with him. Maybe he is being pushed out? I have 2 tubes in the FN.
The strange thing is that they seem to love eachother. Most of the time they are all sleeping on the same ledge, or in the same tube!

Right now I have their FN142 blocked off so Arnold has the bottom to himself and I can monitor intake & output which seems to be fine really. His poops this morning looked better - not as hard and not as many bubbles.

Should I keep them seperated for a few more days/weeks to see if he gains weight, or go ahead and let them live together with 3 food bowls, 2 or 3 hay pots, 2 water bottles, and 3 fleece tubes?

Dawn and Allison, what a relief it was to read your comments

 

[3CsMommy]

I'm wondering if he's trying to keep Bowser in line at the expense of not eating himself. Cervantes (my ex's chin) was quite a bully to Crash for a while, but b/c he was so high strung about keeping control of the food, they *both* lost weight. Once I set up two feeding stations (one high in the cage and one lower), they stabilized. Ceevee could take the higher station to feel dominant but Crash still had all he needed closer to the bottom of the cage (and hiding spots in case Ceevee wanted to pick a fight anyway). For the cost of another flower pot and ceramic dish (or I like these: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/12654/product.web and am trying this for hay: https://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/244333/product.web ) its worth a shot.

 

[StevieP]

Thanks again everyone, but I have a couple of questions:

Should I still be giving simethicone in addition to the motility drug and anti-biotic? If so, how much and how often?

Does not eating enough cause gas?

Should I get rid of the gas issue before putting him back full-time with his sons, then see if more food bowls will help them all eat? I put him in there for a few hours tonight so he can cuddle. There he is on top of Bowzer.

His weight is up to 699 as of 5 minutes ago.