Mild diarrhea--to vet or not to vet?

[caiti]

My chin, Chloe, has had a case of diarrhea for a few days. At first, it was mucousy, only for a day at the most. I had been feeding her ice cubes because it was very hot so I noticed she was drinking less (she began drinking normally once I stopped feeding her ice cubes everyday). I pulled her pellets for a day and gave her a lot of loose hay and hay cubes. Her poos dried up but remained soft. When I pulled her pellets, her poos were quite dry and not well formed--almost flaky. I gave her her pellets back and that stopped. I've been giving her acidophilus. So...currently:

She's drinking normally, eating normally but her poos are soft and slightly moist. I give her bottled water and haven't changed any of her feed. I washed all her fleece when she started having diarrhea and just moved her to a new cage yesterday so everything is pretty clean.

I know it's a decision I have to make, but how long can a chin have a not-severe case of diarrhea before I should really make an appointment? I know a vet will check for parasites, bacteria etc which may be very helpful. This is her only outward symptom of illness and of course, I don't want to just stuff antibiotics in her. It could have been stress of having a huge cage in the room, it could have been the heat and humidity (I recently got an AC for my room and was sharing one with my roommates before). Could be anything, as most of you know--I just have no idea.

Any advice would be appreciated. I'm not looking for a diagnosis, just maybe some similar experiences I can consider along with other info and vet consultation. Thanks.

 

[tunes]

Mucous would bother me. You said she only had it for less than a day, but mucousy, slimy poo can definitely be a parasitic infection.

However, pulling pellets for only a day doesn't do a whole lot. You would need to pull the pellets for several days, and offer just hay, to try and get her gut to settle down. You can also offer her a very small amount of kaolin pectin (NOT kaopectate) which is specifically formulated for animals that you can get at some pet stores like PetSmart and Petco. Or, you can give her some activated charcoal. That's what works best for me. I use a bite sized shredded wheat, dampen it, then roll it thoroughly in the activated charcoal, coating all of it thickly, and hand it to the chin. They love that nasty stuff.

So, pull pellets for several days, give only hay, continue the acidophilus, use the activated charcoal. Make sure her water is fresh and clean at all times, and that it is filtered or reverse osmosis. If ater 3 days she hasn't cleared up, I would definitely get a stool sample to the vet. In fact, you might call your vet and ask if you can just drop off a stool sample without a visit and have them run it for you, just for peace of mind.

 

[tunes]

Mucous would bother me. You said she only had it for less than a day, but mucousy, slimy poo can definitely be an issue.

However, pulling pellets for only a day doesn't do a whole lot. You would need to pull the pellets for several days, and offer just hay, to try and get her gut to settle down. You can also offer her a very small amount of kaolin pectin (NOT kaopectate) which is specifically formulated for animals that you can get at some pet stores like PetSmart and Petco. Or, you can give her some activated charcoal. That's what works best for me. I use a bite sized shredded wheat, dampen it, then roll it thoroughly in the activated charcoal, coating all of it thickly, and hand it to the chin. They love that nasty stuff.

So, pull pellets for several days, give only hay, continue the acidophilus, use the activated charcoal. Make sure her water is fresh and clean at all times, and that it is filtered or reverse osmosis. If ater 3 days she hasn't cleared up, I would definitely get a stool sample to the vet. In fact, you might call your vet and ask if you can just drop off a stool sample without a visit and have them run it for you, just for peace of mind.