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[iSpi]

I had recently received a chinchilla and she was pregnant without my knowing. So the mother of the kit was running around for a little to stretch and I noticed she had left a spot of what looked like diarrhea.  Her dropping have been a little soft since I've had her (Sept 28), but I assumed that maybe it was because of her change of diet from her previous owner. She has never had runny diarrhea though. I'm just afraid it could be something do to stress, her diet (I feed her pellets, timothy and some alfalfa hay, and vitamin C tablets all by Oxbow and she has water always), or worse a parasite. I don't know if it's okay to take her to a vet, or maybe if I just take some of her droppings to a vet and see what they can do? The kit (who was born on Nov. 8th) seems to be growing and is weighing a little more each day and seems generally healthy (moving and squeaking and responding to mom while nibbling on hay occasionally), but I saw her laying under the mother. She was moving but was kind of on her side. Was she just nursing from the mother?
I'm not very qualified and I know that, but I'm asking because I want to know. I wasn't expecting this kit and I want the best care for her. Any answers would help so I can give the mother and her kit the best care.

[GrayRodent]

Soft stool is abnormal. Runny stool should be considered a life threatening condition for chinchillas. This certainly should be be analyzed by a veterinarian. You may want to have a physical exam done as well to assess her overall health. It is likely a parasitic infection. Make sure to discuss your situation with the vet as well. You may just need to bring both together so the kit can still nurse. Chinchillas sometimes sleep on thier side. As long as your kit is active you are okay. At this stage if the mother's health deteriorates you risk loosing the kit.
Choose your vet wisely. See if you can find one that has experience with chinchillas and other rodents.
Also I recommend not giving the vitamin C and sticking to straight hay and pellets until the problem has cleared up unless the vet says otherwise.

[iSpi]

Soft stool is abnormal. Runny stool should be considered a life threatening condition for chinchillas. This certainly should be be analyzed by a veterinarian. You may want to have a physical exam done as well to assess her overall health. It is likely a parasitic infection. Make sure to discuss your situation with the vet as well. You may just need to bring both together so the kit can still nurse. Chinchillas sometimes sleep on thier side. As long as your kit is active you are okay. At this stage if the mother's health deteriorates you risk loosing the kit.
Choose your vet wisely. See if you can one that has experience with chinchillas and other rodents.
Also I recommend not giving the vitamin C and sticking to straight hay and pellets until the problem has cleared up unless the vet says otherwise.

Thank you for the advice. The earliest vet appointment I could get was tomorrow in the early evening, but I saw a lot of reviews that were very positive for different animals like dogs, reptiles, and rats. A local shelter says they work well with the chinchillas that they have up for adoption.