kind of concerned about Eva

[harbingerofdoom]

Eva has been leaving behind irregular poops over the last couple days that i have noticed (was able to verify that it was her).

they are sometimes normal, sometimes small and sometimes loose and/or more wet then what i understand to be normal (but it does not apppear like diarreha). she is drinking plenty of water and is eating. she also has tearing from her left eye occasionally but its not constant.

I am making an appointment for both of them to have an initial checkup but im wondering if i should be worried about her right now?

I was finally able to weigh them after a long and drawn out chase scene, she is ~670g Herb is ~620g (they are just now getting to where I can reach into the cage without getting barked at & having one of them try to bite me so weighing them was not the easiest of things to get done).

 

[ticklechin]

What are you feeding them?

 

[harbingerofdoom]

the rescue place gave me a bag of the same food they have been eating all along, im unsure of the brand but its hay pellets with some oats mixed in and timothy hay.

they get the occasional raisin (which i have cut them back to 1 every other day as of last monday) and two days ago I gave them their first apple sticks which Eva will chew on, but not while im in the room. i see them both eating more hay then pellets.

 

[ticklechin]

The rescue should have had a vet exam done already, but with the eye weepy a recheck might no be a bad idea. You have only had them a couple of weeks right? They have been through alot of stress-between being abandoned in the forclosure, the adoption fairs where they were handled all day, living at the zoo (rescue), and changing homes again to your house, it could be simple stress causing the digestive issues. Cut out the raisins all together-I know the rescue says its all cool to feed fruit, veggies, oat meal cookies (human grade) and even doritos (I saw all this personally at the fair) a simple diet of hay and pellets is all they need. Keep a eye on the weight, it should remain steady until you can get the eye looked at.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Doritos? Really? What were they thinking? <shaking head in disbelief >

@ harbingerofdoom: next time you have to get them out of the cage to weigh them, try putting their dust house ( or whatever you use ) in front of the cage and they should hop right in! I do this with my girl Zoe, who does not like to be handled,and it makes it a lot easier to get her in and out..

 

[harbingerofdoom]

cutting the raisins is no problem at all right now.
they already hate me for weighing them yesterday...lol
i will have to figure out exactly how to catch them without them going nuts in order to keep weighing them. Eva inst really a huge problem once she gets caugh, Herb on the other hand is still mad at me and was barking and lunging at me this morning.

 

[harbingerofdoom]

Doritos? Really? What were they thinking? <shaking head in disbelief >

@ harbingerofdoom: next time you have to get them out of the cage to weigh them, try putting their dust house ( or whatever you use ) in front of the cage and they should hop right in! I do this with my girl Zoe, who does not like to be handled,and it makes it a lot easier to get her in and out..

i did try that last night, but they wouldnt go in at all while it was on the scale. but i will keep trying that idea (they dont like the scale)

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

I have one named Herbie who can be a little brat sometimes, of she does not want to be caught and handled that day! The next time you have him out, try putting a piece of fleece over him. Along with the dust house trick, this trick works too when I have them on the scale so they don't try and run!

 

[ticklechin]

If they are that stressed weigh them again in a few days, its more than likely the loose poo is from all this stress. I would also wait on the vet visit after reading what you said. Give them time to settle down before you do anything more to disrupt their world. Email the rescue and confirm they had a vet check already, they do a fecal float at that check and also a oral exam with a otoscope.

 

[harbingerofdoom]

okay, ill check back in later if anything changes in either direction


also, while its not really affecting them, it may be worth noting that I have not had any pets in ~15 years since the last puppy i got that contracted parvo two months after I got him home... which ended very very badly... i am not sure how much of my concern is me being gun shy from my last pet experience.

 

[ticklechin]

You are being a good chin Mom, chins can hide illness well so parents need to be vigilent when watching after their health.

 

[harbingerofdoom]

chin dad perhaps, but thank you still

:hilarious:

 

[ticklechin]

Hahaha!

 

[harbingerofdoom]

i have an appointment for both of them on tuesday evening to get a full checkup on both of them.

 

[harbingerofdoom]

i was finally able to get them to hop in the bath house while it was on the scale after a bit of coaxing.

Herb is 722g
Eva is 692g

and there is a bit of change in their behavior tonight... Eva has started to run up behind Herb and the only way i can describe it is that she is holding on to him/hiding behind him. When she does this, Herb will bark and nip if i get anywhere near either of them, but wont if she isnt doing that.
Both were eating hay and I did see Eva drinking (Never see Herb drinking, he wont do it when im in the room for some odd reason)

 

[Riven]

I would start switching them to what you want to feed. If you don't know what they're on it might be a low quality food, etc.

 

[ticklechin]

The rescue uses rabbit show food with oats and manna.

 

[harbingerofdoom]

we just got back from the vet and she was very surprised at in what good shape they are both in.
Herb's teeth were deemed 'perfect chinchilla teeth' and she said that she would have never believed Eva was actually 10 years old

the tearing from her left eye is probably due to something going on with the duct, if it gets to a point where it is always weeping then i need to bring her back in. but right now since its very intermittent there is no need for alarm.

They also sent me home with some CC in case Eva stops eating for whatever reason (in which case i also need to bring her back in obviously).

but they are both in excellent shape!

 

[ticklechin]

Good news!

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

I don't know Herb and Eva's story, but could she be pregnant? I believe I read (and experienced with Sonya) that chin poos change when they are pregnant, specifically when they are close to giving birth.

and there is a bit of change in their behavior tonight... Eva has started to run up behind Herb and the only way i can describe it is that she is holding on to him/hiding behind him. When she does this, Herb will bark and nip if i get anywhere near either of them, but wont if she isnt doing that.

Does she occasionally nibble on the area near the back of his head and neck? If so, that's a mating thing...and even though she's female, she's doing it the way boys do :laughitup:
Have you ever seen any videos of chinchillas mating? I know that's a weird thing to ask, but it might help to know what to look for just so you don't get worried about new behaviors.