New baby chin has not pooped all day?!

[FL415]

Hi all,

I posted about this in the New Chin Owner thread but am going to start a thread here to hear your guys' input, because I'm starting to get very worried. (Sorry to be so annoying and repetitive.)

We got our little guy today around noon, and he was eating/chewing/drinking right off the bat. He was pretty active in his cage and seemed very alert. I also let him run around a tad on my bed, and he went crazy (for a couple of minutes)! I put him back in his cage, and he's been staying very still, in the same position, inside of his hidey tube for the past few hours. Is something wrong or is he tired from the day?

Most concerning, he has literally not pooped at ALL in the past 5-6 hours. I haven't seen ONE dropping. I don't see any pee either.

I know new environments and stress can interfere with digestion, but it concerns me that there is still no sign of poo and that he's been acting so lethargic the past few hours.

Is this normal, or should I be concerned? How long should I wait to see poo before going to the vet?

Thank you so much and apologies again for my paranoia!

 

[tunes]

First, deep breaths. This isn't an emergency so I am going to move this thread to a more appropriate forum.

Second, you've had him for a few hours. He's still settling in. You said he ate, drank, and chewed. He's young, at 9 weeks, and he's going to be scared in a new home. Give him a little time to settle in and get comfortable. You do also realize that chins are crepuscular? That means his active times are dawn and dusk. Right now, he's acting like any other chin and sleeping through the day. You gave him run time, he's a baby, he's in a new house, and now he's tired and sleeping like any other chin would be.

Leave him in his cage for a while, let him get settled in. Make sure his water bottle is functioning and that he has hay and pellets available to him. Check his bedding later tonight, after he eats and drinks, to see if he pooped. If you use shavings, you may have just missed it.

 

[FL415]

HE POOPED HE POOPED! He pooped so much all of a sudden, it seems like he saved the past few hours' worth.

You're totally right; I need to calm down! I feel like I'm hawking him for warning signs of any kind of illness. I'm taking him to an exotics specialist in a week for a check-up, which should put me at ease a bit.

Sorry for the false alarm!

 

[addictedtochins]

()()()()()()()()() poop!!!

 

[Lirana]

Yay, poop!!!!

 

[VolunteerChin22]

HE POOPED HE POOPED! He pooped so much all of a sudden, it seems like he saved the past few hours' worth.

You're totally right; I need to calm down! I feel like I'm hawking him for warning signs of any kind of illness. I'm taking him to an exotics specialist in a week for a check-up, which should put me at ease a bit.

Sorry for the false alarm!

I would not take him to the vet unless there are signs of illness. Vet visits are very stressful for chinchillas. They don't need to see a vet annually like a dog or cat.

 

[FL415]

Completely understand that. But the last two chinchillas I had died within a few days of getting them, and I only took them to the vet once symptoms started showing up. By then it was way too late. Can't help but think they would have had a better chance if I had been more proactive re: preventative care. And these vets are amazing--they only see exotics, not even dogs or cats. I get that stress can actually cause illness though, so I'll wait until he's settled in before taking him.

Now that he's pooping (yay!), I noticed today that his poop is rather soft. I know this is common with young chinchillas who have endured the stress of a new environment. Should I pull his pellets and only offer hay? He's still a baby so I want to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

So first off, he's how old?

Where did you get the last two that ended up dying and what were their symptoms? Is he from the same place/person? Is he in the same cage/using the same supplies you had for the other two? It's likely they were sick before you got them. Chins are prey animals and very good at hiding symptoms of illness until it's too late.

What kind of food are you feeding? Are you using filtered water? Are you feeding him anything other than hay and pellets?

As long as you are feeding a high quality food, filtered water and good hay I would leave it all in there for now, but if the problem persists then you can try hay only for a few days. He's getting adjusted, so it's pretty early to be assuming there's an issue that needs a vet visit. Glad you are being cautious but do take a few deep breaths

 

[FL415]

So first off, he's how old?

Where did you get the last two that ended up dying and what were their symptoms? Is he from the same place/person? Is he in the same cage/using the same supplies you had for the other two? It's likely they were sick before you got them. Chins are prey animals and very good at hiding symptoms of illness until it's too late.

What kind of food are you feeding? Are you using filtered water? Are you feeding him anything other than hay and pellets?

As long as you are feeding a high quality food, filtered water and good hay I would leave it all in there for now, but if the problem persists then you can try hay only for a few days. He's getting adjusted, so it's pretty early to be assuming there's an issue that needs a vet visit. Glad you are being cautious but do take a few deep breaths

To address your first question, the chins both seemed to have respiratory problems. They acted normal until they weren't--they got lethargic and went downhill extremely quickly. I got them from the same Petco at different times, so I'm 80% sure I just got them sick (which is also what the vet thinks). Still, it makes me predisposed to expect the worst :-(

I'm feeding him Mazuri pellets and the hay the breeder gave me. Both were fed by the breeder so no diet changes there.

Feeding him bottled water just in case. I did give him half a shredded wheat and a rolled oat or two, hoping to firm up his stool. I'm going to buy some acidophilus tomorrow to support his GI track.

Thanks so much for your advice! After he's healthy for two weeks, I'll stop asking nervous questions...there is truly nothing like new chin owner neuroticism. I miss the days I would give my hardy hamster a full corn on the cob and not worry about it.

 

[FL415]

Oh, and he's 9 weeks old.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Yes, likely they were sick before you got them. Chins don't recover from URIs very well even when caught early. If this guy is from a totally different place and the animals all seemed well maintained, I would be optimistic that this guy won't have the same fate.

So shredded wheats and oats might work in that capacity for an adult but could do the opposite for a baby, so don't go that route with him - he's too little. Acidophilous is ok to give over his pellets. Won't hurt anything.

I don't personally feed Mazuri and it is a chin safe feed, but I do know some people have used it in the past and had expressed frustration over some trouble with soft poo issues, just randomly, that they attributed to the feed. Some people like it and have no issues. You may consider doing a gradual change to another type of feed such as Oxbow, Tradition, Purina Rabbit Chow show, etc. down the road if you notice problems, but it's not an emergency and not something I'd do cold turkey.