I need a poop reading

[BaxterJoy]

I feel like I've read a lot on here about types of food and stuff, but I want to know specifics about how to read poop.:laughitup:

Obviously, soft poop, messy edges rather than round edges, or runny poops = diarrhea. And few poops, small poops, or no poops = constipation. I got that much.

My chin came with a bag of crappy food when we first got him. I had read up a bunch online about good foods and Mazuri was mentioned a lot. Since I had seen Mazuri at the pet store, we transitioned him on to that which is what he's on now. It seemed simple. For a while after we started him on Mazuri, his poops were HUGE. They had seriously almost doubled in size lengthwise. Also they got very dark, which they still are. In the past two or three days, however, his poops are a normal size for the most part, but intermittently, he drops little oval pebbles - usually a few at a time. Then he'll poop normal, then small. So it's not that he's pooping LESS. They're just coming out in all shapes and sizes. I'm very confused about it and I'm thinking I need to switch him to Oxbow or something, but I do want to irritate the situation more by switching him again. He eats plenty of hay all day long- possibly more than his pellets. He does pick and dig through the Mazuri as some people have mentioned. His treats range from rosehips, apple wood sticks, a cheerio, a sunflower seed, to the OCCASIONAL raisin or dried cranberry. He seems happy and normal... just pooping weird.:skeptical:

 

[alli713]

Mine poop different sizes throughout the day. Seems like they're going to poop smaller ones during the day when they're not eating much, and larger ones at night as they digest.
I think so long as they keep returning to a normal size it'd be okay and so long as they aren't looking strained or small all the time.

 

[Carol~Anne]

I'm always inspecting poops (only on a chin site is that acceptable to say) and I too notice smaller ones mixed in with larger ones. I'm assuming the smaller ones are dropped during their less active time b/c when I have them out for playtime and they're running around, eating pellets and munching on hay, their poops look a lot larger and there's more of them.

 

[mishellyshel]

I was going to post a similar question today on this very topic!
It is good to know that other chins have various poop sizes.
while i know my richie is being handfed & has issues, his poop really varies in size.
at night after his last feeding and playtime they are rather large, but in the morning when i check on him they are kinda small & then i find all sizes in between during the day. i honestly check almost every one! and only here would people understand that.

But my other chin is "mr consistant". his poop is always the same color & consistancy, with the exception of when i changed his food & moved his cage in the same week.

 

[BaxterJoy]

His small poops happen pretty much at any time. I mean, last night during his play time, he sat on my lap for a couple of seconds and left a little pile of pebbles on my knee... I just want to make sure he's not on his way to being constipated, you know? And I'm wondering if changing to Oxbow will make him more consitant, or if his pebbles and are normal.