soft stool

[iagirlsmom]

We have 2 chins - about 4 to 5 months old. Had them about 2 months. One's stools are more soft than usual. They are stepping in it and getting it everywhere. It appears they are both eating and drinking well. No new food or hay introduced. We have just started trying to pick them up and wonder if that is a stressor? Or is there something we could add to the diet to firm it up? Thanks.

 

[tunes]

Pull all their pellets and only offer good quality timothy hay for 2 or 3 days. Give them either activated charcoal on a half a bite-sized, nonsugared shredded wheat (very slightly dampened), or try some high billion count acidophilus sprinkled on a shreddie. If after a couple days their stool hasn't firmed up, a stool sample should be run by the vet to check for parasites.

What kind of feed do you use?

 

[iagirlsmom]

We use Mazuri feed. As a treat they had been given a third of a non sugared shredded mini wheat but read on here maybe it's a wheat allergy so stopped. (Stopped just yesterday)
The charcoal and acidophilus, can we get that at a pet store?
We're new to chins...
I'll remove the feed now. With them housed together it's hard to tell who is doing what as far as eating, drinking and has the soft stool...
Hope we aren't doing something wrong. It's so upsetting.

 

[ticklechin]

You can get it at a health food store or whole foods. Mazuri can cause soft poo in some chins, so if the loose poo stops when the pellets are pulled and returns when you reintroduce the feed it might be time to switch to something like Oxbow, which you also can get at the pet store.

 

[iagirlsmom]

We did pull the food and they seem very hungry. We are giving unlimited timothy hay. The gal we got them from suggested childrens imodium - what do you think of that?
The Mazouri is what the breeder used - so they "grew" up on it as did their siblings/parents. Do you think it could still be the food?

 

[ticklechin]

Go to petco or petsmart and in the dog/cat health section you can buy the pet pecillin, give .3ml twice a day for a couple of days and see if it clears it up, if not off to the vet. I would not use imodium since the kaolin/pectin in the pecillin is proven safe. And IMO it could be the food, some chins just can't deal with it.

 

[liewwan]

Out of my 4 chins 1 of them has soft stools from mazuri. So I switched food and 1 week later the soft stoll stopped. Also when I got my boys 1 of them started to have soft stool but within
2 weeks it stopped. Most likely from change of environment stress.

 

[iagirlsmom]

OK - thanks for all the advice. To further muddy the water, we will be gone about 24 - 30 hours overnight Saturday into Sunday.
If we were to switch feed, don't we have to do a mix of both? I mean, it's not Ok if I go get some Oxbow and see if that takes care of it? Esp since we'll be gone?
Is it Ok to just have timothy hay for several days? We do have neighbor who can check on them, but don't know about giving meds. They don't like being handled at all. They grunt and wiggle A LOT.
I just don't know which thing to try first - someone earlier suggested activated charcoal and acidophilus.
I need to clean up the cage again of poopy footprints so we can see if it's still soft after removing feed and shreddie treats.
I'm so nervous and confused.

 

[liewwan]

If there is a way for you to house the chins separatly? This way you know which chin is having the soft poop. There is no reason why the one that's not having the soft poop shouldn't need any meds.
Has there been any changes since you pulled the feed from them 2 days ago?
I normally transition the food withing a 2 1/2 week period and keep an close eye on any changes.
As for the activated charcoal and acidophilus, tunes is meaning by sprinkling some on to the shredded nonfrosted wheat. You'll be giving that to your chin (soft poop chin) like you would give a treat to them, so no need for handling them.
If you're gone for 1 day, just make sure they have plenty of water and hay. Have your neighbor check to make sure there is hay and water.
You really need to figure out which chin is having the soft poop to be blunt.

 

[iagirlsmom]

I'm pretty sure it's the violet with the soft poos. OK, so I get to just treat her.
Maybe they are pooping less now that we took away the food. Hard to tell. We would have to get another cage to separate them, but do you think that will stress them too? They seem like the are looking for their food now all the time; even kinda asking for it. Maybe I'm projecting.
I will clean the cage again when I get home so then have a starting point for how much poop and whether still soft and all that.
Thanks for replying - so very much.

 

[liewwan]

Stress can cause it, but not all the time. Only 1 out of my 4 did that from coming into a new home, but this happened during the first few weeks of me bringing him home. So provided that you've had the chin for 2 months and just noticing this now I doubt it.
Well first off check to see if the stool is still soft when you get home. If not that you know it's the feed. They will always look for food, 2 of mine likes to sleep next to their food dish in case they get hungry lol.
Also I'm wondering what kind of treats do you give them? I've heard too much treats can cause soft stool, never had it happen but it's worth a thought.

 

[iagirlsmom]

Well, I think pulling all the Mazouri made them not poop much at all. Usually it's all over all the shelves and now - maybe 1/10th of what it usually is.

 

[iagirlsmom]

We were giving them 1/3 mini shreddie during play time. No raisins ever.

 

[ticklechin]

Chins can become wheat intolerant, nix the wheat.

 

[iagirlsmom]

Well - the wheat shreddies and Mazouri feed have been pulled for 2 days and now we don't have the soft stool anymore. Whew. They are starved though. We have hand fed them a few of the pellets while we decide what to do. I spoke with the breeder who thinks it just can't be the food. She says she hasn't ever heard of any problems with the Mazouri and that it's the most nutritious.
So - we have to reintroduce the Mazouri even to change their food, right? But do we just go with the Mazouri to see if it causes the soft stool again - and then start a trade to new kind?
And if you think we should start with a new kind; is the Oxbow the best? Petco didn't have it but we can check PetSmart tomorrow.
Thanks so much for all the advice. So relieved that it appears to have resolved.

 

[liewwan]

Not all chins get soft poo from Mazuri, however some do (your breeder may not have had that situation yet). Like I said 1 out of my 4 has soft poo from it. It's a good feed and I'll recommend it, it's just a pain to scrub soft poo off the shelf. You can always mix feed say 1/2 oxbow and 1/2 mazuri and see how it goes, but I recommend a transition switch vs a cold switch. You're not reintroducing mazuri since they been eating it before you pulled it.

 

[liewwan]

Also look around the forum and there are other alternatives should Oxbow is not available to you. There are many good feeds out there.

 

[iagirlsmom]

Great - thanks. We'll start a mix later today. We'll either find the Oxbow or I'll search in here to find a good alternative. Appreciate it very much.