My 8 week old baby girl has poo all over her behind....

[missjess10475]

I'm not sure what to do. I just picked her up and theres like smooshed soft poo ALL over her rear end, mashed up in her fur and everything! (she's white) I haven't noticed any loose poops or diarrhea in their cage. I got her from the Ryerson Ranch 2 weeks ago. She's on the same food and supplement they fed her. She has been eating, drinking, and acting just fine. No change of diet, etc.
I don't know if I should worry, and don't know how to clean it off of her fur. Any help would be great!

 

[tunes]

I don't know as I'd be giving an 8 week old kit much, if any, supplement. I've used Ryerson's supplement in the past, and I like it, but back in the day Jan said not to give it to young kits/weanlings. What they got in the cage with mom was fine, but not on their own.

Drop the supplements, pull the pellets for a day or two, offer lots of good quality hay.

As far as cleaning it off, use an unscented baby wipe. That should take care of most of it, then allow her to dust. If you have chin combs, you can try and work it out that way once you remove most of it.

ETA: You took home a 6 week old? They must have pulled her directly off of mom. If breeding is in your future, I wouldn't follow that example. I wean at 8 weeks, keep them for 2 to be sure they are eating and drinking. I would never pull and send like that.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Does it appear really watery or are they just barely smushed and stuck? It could be stress but if its really watery that might mean something more serious. You can use a baby wipe to try and get it out of her fur. From there dusting should help. Can you move her to her own cage for a couple of days to watch her poos? And you are filtering her water right? Make sure she has tons of hay and I would give her a couple of shredded wheats with some acidophilous sprinkled on them or give some benebac gel for a week or so.

 

[tunes]

I would not give shredded wheats to an 8 week old kit. Shredded wheats actually do have sugar in them. She's already having problems or she wouldn't have diarrhea.

If anything, try and get ahold of either benebac or some activated charcoal.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I find they tend to firm things up and are a good delivery method for the acidophilous but may not work for every case - I wouldnt advise giving them on a regular basis for kits obviously. Truthfully I like the benebac much more than the powdered probiotics in anycase although I think it has a little sugar in it too because the chins like it so much!

 

[menagerie]

Last week I sat in on chinchilla wellness talk by a vet at the CVC Veterinary Conference. The vet was against the use of shreddies as they are carbohydrates which basically convert to sugar. I wouldn't give a kit shreddies, I would give them acidophillus or bene bac, possibly activated charcoal, pull the pellets and give only hay for a few days. I would not use a supplement with a kit.

 

[missjess10475]

Ok I'll stop the supplement. I buy distilled water and when I run out and haven't made it to the store I always boil the water and refrigerate it before I give it to any of my chins. She just had play time 2 days ago while I cleaned her cage and there was nothing on her fur then. It doesn't seem watery. Just super soft. Almost looks like she sat in thick mud. I checked the cage after I saw it on her and I don't see any loose poops or diarrhea anywhere.

 

[tunes]

No chance of a leaky water bottle getting poop or pellets wet and her sitting in it?

 

[AZChins]

Watch her closely. Kits that age have an immature immune system and can have serious problems when they have diarrhea like that. They can be taken down by having too much bad bacteria in the digestive tract and they can end up in a toxic shock condition that can take a chin down in a matter of hours.

Like stated by Menagerie...the only things that would really be safe to try with such a young chin would be the probiotic and activated charcoal. If this continues, you may want to seek veterinary care and have the feces tested.

 

[missjess10475]

Where do I get this probiotic and charcoal? Do I need to take her to the vet? I checked on her this morning. No diarrhea anywhere. She's acting fine other than being ticked at me for not giving her supplement this morning. She's eating lots of timothy hay. Their water bottle is definetly not leaking.
I just worry. She's such a sweet girl. I know she shouldn't have been sent home so early, so I'm extra cautious with her.

 

[missjess10475]

My other girl that shares her cage, she has a certain spot in there where she always pees. I wonder is maybe the baby sat in that and got wet? Just thought of that.

 

[missjess10475]

I just did the morning vaccuuming of the poops and there's soft poop smudged in a few places, so I guess she didn't just sit in something wet. Its not watery. Just real soft. Should I still get the probiotic? Where do I get it? Thanks for all your responses!

 

[tunes]

You can get probiotic at Petsmart, Petco, or your vet. You can also order it on-line, but I wouldn't wait that long. Prolapse can happen pretty fast if the diarrhea isn't taken care of.

Activated charcoal you should be able to get at your local pharmacy. I mentioned that once before and people said they are no longer selling it, but that's not true. I order it through my local pharmacy (town of 300 people) any time I need it and have it within a day.

 

[missjess10475]

I just looked at Petco's web site so I knew what I would be looking for. All I see is probiotic for cats and dogs. Is this what I need to get? Also, I just came home after being gone for the day and there are no soft poos. Should I still give her the probiotic?

 

[Dragonflye]

I got Benebac from the dog section at PS, don't think they sell anything specifically for rodents/chins.

I would still give her the probiotic, it's not going to hurt her.

 

[tunes]

Did you stop the supplement?

The dog/cat benebac is the okay.

 

[missjess10475]

I did not give her supplement this morning. She was quite upset with me for it too lol. I've been sitting close to the cage watching her for the past couple hours. Been watching what she does. She's eating lots of hay and drinking. She's acting totally normal. Jan did say if their poops get soft, to stop the supplement for a couple days. I guess I didn't realize just how sensitive an itty bitty's system is.

 

[tunes]

I really wouldn't give her the supplement for a while. Or if you do, I would give maybe a quarter teaspoon a couple times a week at the most. Between leaving mom and going to a new home, that's pretty stressful on a little one, the added supplement apparently was just too much.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

You can also get benebac from your vet most likely - mine always has some. I tend to get it from them if i need it immediately, but Ive ordered it online just to have some on hand and found its much cheaper that way ($4 vs. $12) for future reference.