worried about momma chin

[jazzy4]

hi everyone. i am a relatively new chinchilla owner and my female chin has had me worried. she is acting normal. eating fine and drinking plenty. I have my chins on a kaytee brand pellet and timothy hay. she just had two baby girls that are about 5 weeks old now. The other day when i was playing with them i noticed that her poop was a little larger than normal and more moist and squishy.. i have been worried bc i know that diarrhea is very serious for chins and i want her to stay very healthy. its not full blown diarrhea but is it an early stage? today i noticed that its kind of got a green tint to it. i am really worried and want to know if i should take her to the vet. is this common, does she need to go to the vet, or is there some steps i can take before seeking vet help? she is in the same cage with the babies, i dont want them to get sick if that is possible. i need advice asap!
THANKS

 

[lauralynne]

She needs to be on a better feed than Kaytee, that's for sure. Oxbow, Mazuri, PRCS, Tradition, Nutrena...

Is she getting any treats?

Do her poops have any smell to them?

What kind of water do you give them (filtered, bottled, tap)?

 

[jazzy4]

okay ill switch them back to oxbow. when i got paco my male he was on oxbow but when i got jasmine she was on the kaytee, she seemed more finiky about her food, where as paco will eat anything, so i kept them on hers. u reccomend doing half and half for a while so she can switch over? i give them fresh filtered water. i have a brita pitcher. her poop doesnt have a noticable smell. it is just very moist and soft. if it is squished i can notice a greenish tint, but thats it.

oh and for the treats, i dont really give them too many treats. the food has a few sunflower seeds mixed in and i have a bag of mixed chinchilla treats. i guess i dont really know what treats are really appropriate since i know you shouldnt feed them too many. i also give them alfelfa cubes to munch on. and rasins every now and then.

 

[Sdo9396]

When switching to a new feed, you should do a mixture of 75/25 old to new food for the first week then 50/50 for the second week, then 25/75 old to new food for the third week then by the fourth week your chin should be on the new food entirely. Any type of food that has treats like sunflower seeds are not healthy for chinchillas and neither are raisins. Some examples of healthy treats are rosehips, unsweetened plain cheerios (only give 1), plain shredded wheat cereal (give only 1/2), unrolled oats, or even just apple sticks and these should be given in moderation )

 

[cindyv3737]

okay ill switch them back to oxbow. when i got paco my male he was on oxbow but when i got jasmine she was on the kaytee, she seemed more finiky about her food, where as paco will eat anything, so i kept them on hers. u reccomend doing half and half for a while so she can switch over? i give them fresh filtered water. i have a brita pitcher. her poop doesnt have a noticable smell. it is just very moist and soft. if it is squished i can notice a greenish tint, but thats it.

oh and for the treats, i dont really give them too many treats. the food has a few sunflower seeds mixed in and i have a bag of mixed chinchilla treats. i guess i dont really know what treats are really appropriate since i know you shouldnt feed them too many. i also give them alfelfa cubes to munch on. and rasins every now and then.

Toss out the kaytee food and switch back to Oxbow asap. Chins should not have any fruit or nuts. Did you get the kaytee mixed chilchills treats from the petstore? If so, throw it away too.

Here is a list of treats that are ok:
Bite sized, non-sugared shredded wheat.
Dried rosehips.
The occasional cheerio.
A pinch of old fashioned oats.

In regards to your water. Brita does not filter out gardia. Gardia is a bacteria that causes soft poop. I would take your chin to the vet and get a fecal test done. Ask them to test for Gardia. You are going to need to change your water filtration.

 

[ChinnyMom]

i agree with the brita filter not being sufficient to filter out giardia. the Pur filter (3 stage?) is the one you need, either jug style or on the faucet style.

toss the kaytee food and switch them back to 100% oxbow right away. don't do the slow switch, since kaytee food is crud and they will continue to pick out the yummy stuff from the kaytee and ignore the oxbow.

ditch pretty much all the treats you are currently feeding, and until the poop issue clears up, don't give momma chin any treats at all. she'll be fine with just a new stick to chew on every night, that can be her 'treat' until she is 100% healthy.

raisins are not good for chins, they contain way too much sugar (yes, natural sugars are bad for chins too).

get that fecal test done for sure. we can't tell over the internet whether her soft poop is from the bad food/bad treat combo or if it is giardia or another parasite affecting her.

keep us updated! )