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[kneesaa]

Hello everyone,
I have a question about papaya. All righty then, When I had separated Peaka and Pooka, they of coarse took the whole thing badly. I noticed that when I put Pooka back with Peaka he would start having really mush poo, I would give him burnt toast and hay and what ever else he need to end this. It was two weeks later that I noticed that he had started up with the mushy poo. I didn't change their food but I had gotten differnet bales of hay, so I found a bale that was like the kind they had before and he was fine again. Then again after I had put their dust in for their bath I found he was doing the poop again, but that time I have him papaya. And I remember that I had given them both some papaya the other times. I have since then tried one little itty bitty piece of papaya and once again mushy poo. So my thing is, what can I give him for the hairballs he might get? I'm very sure its the papaya. He is fine till he has one. I guess that they are to sweet for his old system. Peaka is almost 20 or is past 20 years of age. He is eatting, drinking, pooping fine. He just seems to get this after he has papaya. I thank you for the help and I haven't given Peaka any more papaya. Thanks Shannon

[Deeliteful]

WOW i don't know about papaya . I know you arent supposed to give them anything with a pit . I usually stick to dried apple occasionally and raisins. Maybe Joann will see this post I bet she would know.

[kneesaa]

I would like this to end. I also remembered that when Pooka was away from Peaka I gave him a eye dropper full of cranberry juice watered down twice that week. That it seems when it started. Other that that he is fine, he's not losing weight, he's drinking well and eatting. I'm just getting tired of cleaning his poo off of their things. I started giving him plain oatmeal yesterday, that was something I forgot to give him before. Thank you Shannon

[kneesaa]

Hi, I checked Peaka and no mushy poo. Last night he didn't get a dandelion treat last night, so maybe this whole time it was the dang treat causing his problem . I will be keeping watch and no more of them. That's for sure. Thanks, Shannon

[Deeliteful]

I am so glad it seems to have cleared up.

[Jo Ann]

   Papaya does not have a pit, it has seeds.     I give my chins dried papaya all the time.  It is good for them and gives them certain vitamins they need.  BUT, maybe he has developed an allergy to papaya.  Check in the cat section of the pet store, they have stuff there (Petra Malt I believe it is) that is for hair balls, it's in a tube, just give him a small amount (about the size of a pea or smaller) about once a month to rid his system of hairballs.

Peaka is definitely a "senior citizen chin" and his system may not be able to tolerate things he has had before.  Chinchillas  and chinchilla's bodies are notorious for disliking changes of any kind.  At his age, this is especially true.

I would definitely stay with the hay that he seems to tolerate well and never buy the other one again.

I have found in my older chins that their systems do tend to react to sweets more, so you might want to try to cut down on the size of the treat rather than the treat it's self.  If he likes his treats, it might upset him if you take them away completely.  Being up-set can also cause a chin to have diarrhea.  (I would stay away from the papaya since you have already tried giving him a small amount of it.)

Cranberry juice is good when there is a urinary infection (dark colored or strong odor), it helps to keep the urine flowing and flush out the bacteria for a chinchilla as well as a human.      I've never used cranberry juice for a bowel problem.

You have to remember his age and think about how his system has changed over the years.  He would be in his 90s if he were human.

If his poos get mushy again and/or is foul smelling,  put him on a solid non-porous surface.  Have a magnifying glass handy.  As soon as he drops a piece of poop ... do not pick it up or move it ... look at it under the magnifying glass.  Is there mucous covering any part of the poop?  If there is, he needs to see a vet a.s.a.p.  Ask the vet to run a test for Giardia.  http://www.geocities.com/jobernstein1949/  Read the article on Giardia.  More than likely it is not Giardia, but just old age ... but it is best to be safe and not sorry.      

Why did you separate Pooka and Peaka?  Are they still separated?

      Jo Ann