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[Beachblondehanging10]

Hello All,
I have a nine, going on ten year old chinchilla, Milo, and I am starting to get worried! Everything I read online seems to be about young chinchillas or baby chinchillas- not older guys like Milo. Likewise, everything I have been reading online seems very fatalistic.
Milo has always been very healthy, but four days ago I started to notice that he has been having soft, large, connected, stools.  And by large I mean MASSIVE, like just slightly under an inch long (I may have measured, and maybe it’s good that they are soft at that point!?), they also seem to plop and stick to whatever they touch. Typically, Milo’s stools lean towards softer, or at least, it is not uncommon for him to have two hard pellet poos and then one soft one. I always figured that was because of the Charlie Chinchilla food I give him (it’s the only thing he will eat.)
On day one of what I am dubbing “poo-gate,” (because I have quite literally been watching my chinchilla poop for the past 4 days), his stools were very wet, and I noticed that there was a bit of residue around his anus (sorry for the details), the next day I gave him some Gatorade (which I am not positive he drank), and after then they returned to “semi-normal;” as in normal size but still relatively soft. By day two and three, I thought things were calming down, on day three he had normal hard poops that were clumping together, but I attributed that to the fact that his rectum is irritated and so it looked like he could fit two normal poops though the same stretched out space he was pushing a giant poo.
Its day four now and things seem to have gone either backwards or nowhere. Today, his poops are back to being very long, oblong, and softer than normal (but not as soft as day one), or those massive multi poos.  I also noticed that his belly feels soft and firm (like its irritated), whereas it normally is plushy and fatty feeling, his anus is also redder than usual and looks a little chaffed. I have probably spend the past 3 hours watching him poop, and it seems to be all long oblong poo’s now that he isn’t running around the office anymore.  I also cleaned his cage again tonight, and left him only a bale of timothy hay.
Aside from this he seems to be in perfect health, I have even noticed that lately he has been able to jump higher and has been extremely happy. All of this seemed to start about 2 days after I cleaned his cage, (which he always hates), and after we turned on the air conditioning in the house. I should also mention that I don’t give him treats (unless you count gnawing on my books when he is out), and that his diet is all charlie chinchilla.
I am really at my wits end.  He and I have been together for ten years now, and he has been with me though a lot of milestones.  I want to try a home remedy before I take him to the vet, money is a little tight for me right now (which I hate to say), and if I do end up taking him to the vet I want to know as much as possible and be informed before our visit.
Thank you for reading this, I know it’s a bit long but I wanted to be detailed. I really appreciate your help and expertise.

[GrayRodent]

I hate to say this but these sound like pretty serious symptoms to me and you may be beyond home remedies. I recommend you locate a vet that cares for chinchillas specifically. If you are noticing lethargy and bloating from this it is very serious and possibly a symptom of bowel stasis which is an emergency. This can cause starvation in a matter of days.

You are also risking rectal prolapse and/or bowel obstruction if the right treatment is not administered right away.

It could be something like a parasitic infection, or something like tooth problems causing it to not chew its food properly, although because your chinchilla is elderly other types of internal problems can be present. You may need to have a stool culture done. The Charlie chinchilla diet does have a lot of dried fruits in it and treat stuff that really should be picked out and any nuts should be discarded. Too much sugar especially in a sick chinchilla can cause complications.

I wish I had better news for you. Perhaps someone who knows more will comment further but I would consider this an emergency.

[Beachblondehanging10]

Okay. Thank you, that is what I needed to confirm.

[chinclub]

Yes, unfortunately foods like that are known to cause liver damage and other internal issues over time.  And I agree with GrayRodent that rectal prolapse is a big fear right now since you said his anus is red.  I am a big believer in taking a chin to a vet as the VERY LAST resort but from what you have said it is time to go.

Until you can get an appointment, try to burn a piece of toast to black and give him about a 50 cent piece size part. See if that helps things out.

[Beachblondehanging10]

Hello All,

Thanks for all of your advice! I did end up taking him to the vets this morning after he stopped having movements altogether. My vet is really good, and while he does not specialize in chins persay, he does have experience with them. According to him, it is probably a case of moldy food (which makes sense because I remember thinking to myself "hey this food is a bit darker"), and that Milo is perfectly fine. (actually he is in really good shape)

All and all, it was probably for the best that I took him. Thank you all again.

[GrayRodent]

I am so glad to hear it was something so simple as that and that you got a positive diagnosis.

If the food is being kept indoors and it looks moldy then you might need to figure out how the moisture is getting in. If it was like that from the store I highly recommend that you contact the store and tell them you had a problem. They may need to do a recall. One thing that might help is to put it into a resealable container that has a gasket under the lid. I recommend you do the same with the hay.

My first chinchilla was on a similar diet when I got him. I put him on Oxbow pellets and switched slowly over the course of a week and he did just fine on the new diet. He did eat a little less of the pellets to start but he compensated by eating more hay. Over time his eating habits went back to normal. It was strange since at first he was picking the oxbow pellets out of his mix when I first offered them. I picked the fruits out of the old bag and put them into a separate container to be used as treats.

[Beachblondehanging10]

Thanks, that is a good point! I normally keep the food in a zip lock bag in the humidity control drawer in my fridge, he also usually mows through a bag every week and a half (the guy basically sleeps with his head in the food dish). I have been playing detective, and I found another bag, from the same batch in my house; both look darker than usual, and both have pellets that are considerably darker than the new bag I got from a new batch. It is also more dense feeling.

I contacted the food company (which is based out of the UK), and told them about the problems. But I am glad that you mention calling the store, I completely overlooked that, and it would be a shame if someone else's chinnie got sick from something so simple.

Thanks again for all your help!