Why are all my chins on and off constipated?

[rainey]

I'm a little concerned. My four chins are in separate cages and have all been having constipation issues the past month or so. The dry poop will show up, I'll pull pellets/treats, give more hay, give them more exercise, give lifeline or CC, etc. They'll go back to having normal poop, until a few days have passed and it's back to being constipated.

I bought the bail of hay they're eating about 2 months ago...otherwise not too much else has changed lately. They eat Nutrena Naturewise Rabbit Pellets. Occasional treats include rosehips, rosebuds, oats, apple cookie bits, goji berries, and I've been holding off on the shreddies. Two of them have wheels, they'll come out to play 3x/week. All are drinking their water. What else is there left to do, is it time for the vet?

 

[Cuddlebug]

If your chins are having digestive issues, you need to stop all the treats until they are better. Once they are doing well, you can reintroduce the treats one at a time. Treats need to be on a very limited basis. One or two treats a week at most. I would also quit giving them the apple cookies and the gogi berries. Fruit is not good for chinchillas.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

In addition to modifying thier diet you might consider giving them acidophilus to aid digestion.

 

[ticklechin]

I would just feed hay and pellets and nix everything else.

 

[rainey]

Acidophilus is in lifeline and CC, correct? I do have it though and I can sprinkle it on their food if that's better. I give one treat each every other day but I'll stop completely and see if that helps, fingers crossed that that's the issue!

 

[Tillygizmo]

It is in both of those things. You cant give too much probiotic so I would try it.

 

[Sandi]

I don't believe the probiotic is in the cc anymore and there a some chins (at least 2 of mine) that won't eat the pellets if the Lifeline is sprinkled on top, might be the peppermint but not sure. I would suggest purchasing the acidophilus in capsule form so that you could break it open and sprinkle that on top.

 

[ysy]

Are they actually eating the hay as opposed to just tossing it around? I've noticed that chins that are not big on hay tend to get constipated more often. Also, I agree with nixing the treats. If that doesn't work, nix the pellets so you can find out what exactly is causing the issue.

I have one particular chin that is constantly getting constipated or having diahorrea on just plain pellets and hay. It turned out she was wheat intolerant and unfortunately it was not until much much later that I discovered that fact and put her on a new diet. Although I don't think all four of your chins could have the same problem, but you need to find out what's causing it so that it doesn't escalate to something more serious.

Good luck!

 

[rainey]

There is a lot of hay on the cage floors, but one of my chins eats every last piece, and the other 3 are varied as for as eating it goes. I might try out a different type of hay and see if that helps at all. Since stopping giving the treats, they have been doing better. I wonder if one of the treats was causing the problem? In a few weeks I'm going to begin introducing them one at a time.

The only other new thing I've been doing is giving some acidophilus on top of their food. If it continues to be on and off I'll keep you guys posted.