My friend's chinchilla has diarrhea please help!

[Swool17]

Okay so, my friend is not a part of this forum but she asked me a question about her chin since im the only person she knows personally who owns chinchillas.

Here is the problem. Her chin developed diarrhea today pretty bad.
She accidentally bought and fed him the wrong food at the store. She bought oxbow for hamsters, (it was right next to the chin food. Just grabbed the wrong bag).
He ate it for three days (1/4 cup each day, plus his regular alfalfa hay) and now has diarrhea. Hes been sleepy today. (But she isnt sure if that means much because it was day time and she knows theyre nocturnal) she gave him a dust bath to see if hed perk up, and he did, but went right back to sleeping 10 minutes later.
I told her to watch to see if he eats/drinks, and i told her to remove the wrong food and give him only alfalfa hay for a few days. (Because that is what i was told to do when my chin had diarrhea a few months back).
She did exactly as i said. She said hes been asleep on and off, for about 4 hours and hasnt eaten during that time unless she specifically hand feeds him. And also has NOT pooped at all in 4 hours either. She isnt sure if hes just not hungry. And ive read before that chins dont poop much if at all when they are asleep.
I told her to change his cage so when she wakes up tomorrow, itll be easy to tell if he pooped at all, and she did. So we will know tomorrow if he didnt poop at all during the night when hes awake.
I will attach pics of what she sent me, (the poo she found, the food, and him on the wood ledge) I had her check his eyes and nose. She said he has no runny nose and no seeping eyes.
He sleeps on the wood ledge, which she said he pooed on. And thats when she saw that he was sick. The pic looks runny, but i have a feeling he probably also stepped in it, and probably peed on it too. She said there is NO odor to the poo either.
If anyone has any suggestions of what to do, or can at least let me know if this is just a diet thing, or if hes like.. In immediate danger, that would be fantastic so i can tell her what to do or whether he'll be ok after a few days of hay or not.
Any info is greatly appreciated. Shes extremely freaked out!!

 

[Sage12]

I would think that she should be feeding Timothy hay not alfalfa because Timothy helps with gut movement.

 

[Amethyst]

It's timothy hay that should be given not alfalfa, and if the chin is over 6 months they really shouldn't be having alfalfa hay as more then an occasional treat. Alfalfa is a legume hay, it's great for calcium and protein needed for growing, but can cause urinary tract stones in some chins, as well as can make diarrhea worse. The timothy hay is a grass, and higher in fiber, which is what you need for firming up poops.

Even the chinchilla version of the Oxbow Garden Select is not chin safe, you want to be feeding the Oxbow Essentials (red bag), the Garden Select has ingredients in it that are not good for chins and can cause digestive upset, as well as it's a timothy based which aren't as good as alfalfa based (maybe that is why they were feeding alfalfa hay). The not pooping is a bit concerning, you might want to suggest they give infant gas drops, the hamster food could have also caused gas, since chins can't fart it builds up (they can pass small amounts of gas with soiled poop but large gas bubbles just cause a blockage like an air bubble in a tube) leading to bloat which is painful as well as deadly. Give 0.3 ml of gas drops every 12 hours, you can't over dose but more wont help. If they don't start pooping again with in 12 hours the chin needs to get to the vet.

 

[Swool17]

Update: i sent her a screenshot of what you said, and she went out and bought Timothy hay, correct chinchilla food, and the infant gas drops and has been doing what you said. She scheduled him an appointment at a vet that works with exotic animals. The soonest they could get her in to see the chin is tomorrow early afternoon.

She did say today, his poops are normal consistency but she noticed there is some blood on his but and in the poo. Not a TON but she said he is bleeding on his butt a little, but she cant tell if its from his skin on the outside of his but, or if its coming from inside his butt. She alerted the vet of that as well so they are aware for his appointment tomorrow that hes bleeding a little.
She checked today and he was eating and drinking plenty of water still, and she said he was more alert and walking/jumping around today too. She updated me about 30 minutes ago and said theres no more blood in the poo, just a little on his butt still.
She also said he still has nothing seeping from his eyes or nose and other than the random blood, is acting more normal tonight than he did yesterday.

Since i am a new-ish chin owner, (ive had my 4 chins for about 1 and 1/4 years) i have never had to experience anything like what she is going through with her chin yet. Is the blood in the stool an automatic terminal situation? Or can it be from constipation after the diarrhea? Does something like this require surgery, or can it be fixed with meds? Im trying my best to get her the info since youre all much more experienced with this and more informed than the typical "chinchilla Facebook groups" are.
I can post pics of his butt and of the poo if asked, but i didnt want to just post them since they might be Triggering to others to see since it shows some blood on his butt.

 

[Unicorn777111]

Ask your vet about "Critical Care" for chinchillas. It helps balance the digestive and immune systems.

https://www.amazon.com/Oxbow-Critical-Care-Supplement-1-Pound/dp/B0021WRJFE

 

[tunes]

Does the poop smell bad? Giardia causes diarrhea, mucous, and sometimes blood. The poop smells pretty bad, that's one way you can tell.

Either way, rectal bleeding is in no way normal. If it is Giardia she's going to need to treat her chin, and whether it's that or something else, the chin needs to see a vet.

 

[Swool17]

There was no smell at all. Today poops are now normal, chin is active as normal, and no blood at all, and he is eating and drinking normally again. Ill have her check into giardia!