Soft Poo

[rainey]

So Ham has had on and off soft poo since I got him several months ago. For awhile I thought it was due to stress, and possibly because I switched his food from the Charlie Chinchilla food he came with to Mazuri. When he still had soft poo, I decided to switch him to Nutrena and see if he did any better. He has lost some weight though (15-20g) and still has smooshed poo in his cage every day.

I took him off pellets completely almost 2 weeks ago, and the problem went away a little, but it's definitely still there. The past few days I've started him on critical care because I'm worried about the weight loss. He has no other symptoms. He's eating hay and CC well and I give him a rose bud or some oats occasionally. I don't think its Giardia because he's in the same room with my other chins and they share dust and toys.

Vet appointment is Saturday, what should I make sure he tests for? Am I doing anything wrong? I've also tried giving him probiotics and I just ordered some benebac, but I don't know quite what to do at this point.

 

[Ronda]

You could try some dry toast but really when they have soft poos there in a digestion problem. Cutting back on everything except hay will help cure that problem. You might want to give him some yogert with acidofilous or bifodofolis in it as that helps balance out the digestion. I have a couple chins that even one treat will throw their system out and I get the soft poos so I just stopped givinig them treats of any kind. Now they just get their food and hay.

When I was on Mazuri I had soft poo problems and weight loss all the time. That was one of the main reasons I stopped feeding it. Price and freshness was the other reasons.

Good luck!

Ronda

 

[Siany]

Hi, my chins both had soft poo just after christmas so i stopped giving all treats and gave more hay. I couldnt get it cleared but they were fine in themselves, it was getting smushed in their cage so i took them to the vets, he said they had ate something and caught a bacteria in their bellys. He gave them both an injection, something to put in the water and i had to give syringe with medicine to them both. It cleared up in a week and they are both fine now

I would say take them to a vet

 

[Stackie]

I wouldn't give yogurt, it's dairy which they can not process correctly and it doesn't really have enough bacteria count to do any good anyway. You can find acidophilus capsules in drug stores, Wal-mart, etc. Go for a 10 billion + count, the higher the better. I mix it in with a scoop of Lifeline and they usually gobble it up. If not I make the Lifeline (or Critical Care, whatever you have) into the liquid version and syringe it.

The OP says they have already removed pellets, so I assume the chin is only on hay. This could be contributing to the weight loss. Regardless, I would get a fecal smear/float done at the vet to rule out any parasites. He may have it; it doesn't matter if your other chins aren't exhibiting symptoms. An infection could be silent- no symptoms, but still be there. Or, perhaps they just haven't contracted it. One of the main symptoms of a parasitic infection is diarrhea and weight loss, which your chin has both. If he does test positive for a parasitic infection, it would be a good idea to get all other chins tested or just treat them all.

Since nothing as worked for awhile now you need to rule out all possibilities, hopefully the vet can do so.

 

[rainey]

Stacie- I forgot to mention that I've been mixing acidophilus in with his CC, and yes he's completely off pellets. Fortunately he'll eat the CC off a spoon so I let him have as much as he wants.

Since he has shared toys with my other chins, would it be a good idea to bring at least one of them in too, to make sure it hasn't spread? I've been giving them all bene-bac or acidophilus for good measure.

And there isn't gluten in CC is there? I was reading a thread on wheat-intolerance and the symptoms are similar, but I suppose the soft poop would have stopped once he stopped the Nutrena pellets.

 

[Tanya]

How is he doing now, rainey?

If his feces have been tested negative for parasites, but the problem is still present, you can try Oreganol (can be purchased online, at Whole foods or other stores). Just add 3-4 drops to a small amount of CC (about a teaspoon) and mix well. You should give him a pea-sized amount of the mix twice a day for at least 2 days. In this case, I probably would not use it for more than 4 days. I can not tell exactly for how long to use the mix as it depends on several things. If you decide to use it, you can PM me details and tell how fast you notice improvement so I can help better. Oreganol usually helps when diarrhea stems from bacterial, viral, or parasitic origins.

 

[Angelyco]

One of my chins is going through the same thing right now, I'll be following this thread as well to see if any good news comes up.

I don't know if my vet would give her antibiotics just because I ask for it. He seems to be the kind of guy who doesn't appreciate people researching medical stuff online. I understand where he's coming from, but at the same time, his advice hasn't cleared up the problem so far.