is it normal for chins to poop alot?

[MeganS]

over the last three weeks i've had to clean my chin's cage like 7 times cause there is soooooo much poop! i expect there to be alot cause there are two chins in the same cage, but the other day, harley was out playing and i was talking to him while he was eating a piece of hay;(i had just vaccuumed the play area), he was sitting in one spot for about a minute or less and he moved and there were 6 little poops where he had just sat. i've also notices lately that their poo is getting bigger. i just cleaned their cage on monday, and i had to do it again today cause there were just piles everywhere. i try to clean it on mondays and fridays, but i had to do it saturday, monday and today. i know that when you switch their food you're supposed to do it gradually, but the food i got with them ran out on the second day i had them and it was some kaytee brand spring mix or something with seeds and fruit and crap and the only other thing they had were rabbit pellets. so i threw the rabbit food away and i got mazuri and mixed it in with the rest of the kaytee stuff and they've been on mazuri ever since. also, i put a litter pan in their cage and harley wont pee anywhere but the litter pan now, but fatboy wont pee in it at all. any seggestions?

 

[jenjenn2005]

Welcome to owning a chinchilla! Pooing seems to be one of their many favorite things... Especially with 2 chins you will be getting lots of poo. Also, since you have switched to a much better food than they were on, you are going to see lots more poo that is going to be bigger in size. One thing with such a quick food switch is watch for squishy poo or diahrrea. I have 2 chins as well and one of them is potty trained and will only pee in the litter pan, the other one pees everywhere... shelves, hammock, you name it she's went there.

 

[AZChins]

Nice droppings are a beautiful thing...learn to appreciate it! At the very least it vacuums and sweeps up very easily.

I think it's hilarious when they sit in one position for just a minute and then move away leaving a dozen little presents. Sometimes there is no other choice but to switch very quickly. The chins should be alright. I've switched dozens of chins to new food cold turkey and most of the time there are no problems at all, at worst there are slightly squishy droppings for half a day.

 

[MeganS]

well, thank you very much! i just wanted to make sure its normal. i've never owned one before these two and i've learned everything i know about them from this site and i'm so scared that i'm going to do something wrong or they're going to get hurt somehow or something. i love them so much!!! even though fatboy is kind of naughty and harley is kind of a bully. if fatboy has a piece of hay that has the tip with the, i guess you'd call it "flower" (thats his favorite part), harley steals it right out of his mouth!

 

[EveningChin]

Lol... I have to say I giggled alot on seeing the title of this. They are celebrated poopers. I have fleece liners and I shake them everyday and that isn't really enough some days. lol. Welcome to the glory of owning Chinchillas. The poop is great fertilizer if you have plants or a garden.

I had the feeling that I was going to or had done horrible things to my chinchillas when I first joined and I'd had chinchillas for 2 years. As long as you remember the people here aren't yelling or judging you and are just trying to help that feeling goes away. This is such a good place for information and advice.

Petra loves the "flower" end too. She tosses all her hay out on the floor and sorts through it to find them. When I was trying to intro Nyx to Petra, Nyx would try to give the "flowers" from her dish to Petra through the devider in the cage. Too bad that didn't take.

 

[Jenn]

Do chins do anything besides pooping?

 

[Essentia]

Do chins do anything besides pooping?

They do cute things that make their owners feel all squishy inside.

That's why we are willing to deal with all the poo!

 

[Rickman]

Since you have males, watch real close when they do they're own "hair ring checks"!
[there's a current thread going right now]

 

[starleomach]

they are poop factories.

 

[Laurie]

Good Lord Megan we've all done something wrong as a chin owner trust me! When I first got Bobo she had the death ball and everything! Since finding this great forum a few years ago and meeting such a great bunch of chin owners I'm now doing things right! And you will too! Chins are poop factories for sure. They would win the gold medal in pooping if there was such a thing! I have to say I notice my boys pooping more than my girls which just goes to show boys ARE more stinky than girls! All these years and they were right to tell us that LOL!

 

[mishellyshel]

I have just resorted to the fact that I have to clean their cages once or more a day. It becomes habit and goes by so quick. Especially 'cause I have a shelf pee'r........i clean his cage honestly like every time I pass by!! It's worth it though plus they get so used to having my hand in their cage.

 

[lauralynne]

Yep! My youngest call them "the poop machines". At least you have one that will use the litter pan. I haven't tried that route yet, but will soon.

 

[Chinniechantel]

They are total poop machines, never ending poo, but you will learn to appreciate a nice big solid healthy poo eventually, sooner than you think actually! I have a relatively new job and I pulled out a "rock" from my shoe in front of another employee. To my surprise (shouldn't be by now!) it was a poop! How embarrassing, at least they knew I had chins so I had an exlplanation other than I have rats or something in my house! LOL.

 

[MeganS]

OMG!! Last night I had to take my boys to my sister's cause I had to go out of town for a wedding and my husband was trying to put their cage in my backseat and the bottom fell out of the cage and it took us an hour and a half to catch them and put them back in!! I checked them and they were ok, but they were having a blast running away from us and playing in the grass. Can chins get diseases like parvo and do I need to have them vaccinated?

 

[Sandi]

You don't have to vaccinate chins but you were very lucky to get them back in the cage from being outside. There's other stuff to worry about such as if you spray/treat your lawn and they munch on the grass or twigs.

 

[MeganS]

We don't spray anything but water on the lawn and they were too busy running away from us to chew on anything. Little crappers! My husband was so frustrated he was like, "we're putting them up for adoption!" I was like NOOOOO!!! But he was just frustrated and when he finally caught the second one he held him and told him that he was a naughty boy for running away and that "daddy" would be soooo sad if he got hurt. It was so cute. My hubby is such a softy!

 

[TammyC]

Too cute Megan. Glad they're both okay.

 

[Carol~Anne]

Yes, chinchilla poop and lots of it is a beautiful thing for sure. A couple of weeks ago when my lil Zeke was sick and wasn't eating on his own or pooping I was so worried.

I had him in a carrier during the day for three days while I was hand feeding him and I was gathering up every single poop I could find and put them all in a pile and counted each and every one: four, he's got eight now, oh look he's got seventeen!!! It was the most amazing feeling of relief knowing that lots of poops meant he was on the road to recovery. I love each and every chinnie poopie. :kiss:

 

[Jenn]

First, the more the chins poop, the more they love you!

Second, I'm so happy you were able to get your chins back and they didn't get lost outdoors - what a scary thought!

 

[MeganS]

So I got them back from my sister's last night and now they're happy to be home, but they're acting kind of strange. Do chins stress eat? They've eaten two big bowls of hay and they had a full bowl of food last night when I went to sleep and it was empty this morning. They didn't dump it so I know they ate it. I filled it back up and its almost empty again. I know my sister fed them cause she's responsible and she takes excellent care of her animals, that's why I trusted her.