Timothy Hay + Alfalfa Pellets?

sarbear1987 · Jul 28, 2009

Hello. I just recently adopted a one year old chinchilla. He was fed alfalfa pellets with his previous owner so I continued on with feeding him Mazuri food and he was doing fine. I read that timothy hay is also needed so I bought some and added it to his diet. He seems to enjoy it, but his poops are soft now. Maybe I gave him too much too soon?

How much hay should be given? Is a handful too much?

Thanks!

~Sara~

ticklechin · Jul 28, 2009

Was he already on the Mazuri brand pellet or some other pellet? Not all alfalfa pellets are created equal and a fast switch from one brand to another can in some chins cause issues, the addition of timothy hay should not. Also if the chin is new to you the additional stress of a new home and surroundings can cause loose poo issues.

eroomlorac · Jul 28, 2009

I have also heard that sometimes Mazuri pellets will give chins soft poops, whether they have been on it for a while OR newly switched. Some chins just can't tolerate Mazuri.

alli713 · Jul 28, 2009

If the chin was on Mazuri when you got him, I'd be inclined to keep him on it for a bit longer. It really could be stress from the new home causing loose poo too. I used Mazuri and never had any issues when I used it.

If he never had any hay before, perhaps he gobbled it all right up. You can try slowly introducing it to him to see if that helps.

You can give a bite sized shredded wheat once a day and see if that helps clear the soft poo.

sarbear1987 · Aug 1, 2009

Hi! This is just a follow-up to let you know that the problem has cleared up. I think Habi (my chinny) was just so excited about the hay the first day that he did gobble it all up too quickly. I've been giving him only 3 or 4 stalks a day now, to get him used to it and his poo is back to normal. He also takes more time eating it, because the novelty has worn off. Whew!

Thank you very much for answering so quickly. I was panicking for a while there, but I figured it was something simple like that.

Laurie · Aug 1, 2009

Sara a handful of hay is not too much. The more hay the better actually. I believe they eat more hay then pellets given the chance. When my chins were on Mazuri they would occassionally get soft poos. I have since switched to a rabbit feed and have not had any issues. Whenever you notice soft poos pull all pellets and feed only hay for 2 to 3 days unlimited amounts and see if that helps. If the soft poos continue every so often you may consider switching him to a feed other than Mazuri