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[Leslie]

Sounds dumb yes but here's the situation.  TBone has not been pooping.  He also hasn't been coming out of his house for the last 24 hours.  I took him out of his cage and inspected him and there was a poop stuck to his fur and he smells a bit like pooh.  His fur around his bum is matted a bit.  The poop stuck to his fur was small and a bit squishy. 

BUT there are no other poohs in his cage.  There was a little bit of a mess inside his house, like a smear, but it was probably just that one poop that he sat on all day.

I'm at a loss for what to try to treat him for.  I would rather see wet poops all over than this, so I have given him 2 more raisins.

I cleaned him up with a moistened paper towel and gave him a dust bath, and let him run inside his playpen for a bit to get his system moving.

I don't know if any of this was right or what else to do.

[Sweetnessheart]

Did he poop any while he was in his play area? 

I have been having a similar problem.  Andy (my violet) seemed to stop pooping - constipated.  I gave him a small piece of peeled pear about the size of a nickel.  We have pear trees in our yard.  This has seemed to help him poop more, but they are still small. 

Maybe a little piece of pear or apple.  Some cranberry juice (100 per cent, not cocktail) half and half with water.  Any of these should get his bowels moving.


Now if he seems to be having diarrhea with mushy poops; You need to "burn" some toast and give him the charred.  About the size of a dime a couple of times a day until his poops are regular again.

Just keep a close eye!!

[Leslie]

Thankyou!

There are a few poops today but they're small.  He's out of his hut though and eating, and this morning I heard him drinking too so this is all good news.

I don't know if he pooped in his playpen, my other chin was in there before him.....

I will try the apple thing but TBone is just so picky, he won't put anything in his mouth if it's not a raisin or pellet or hay.  Actually come to think of it, I have some cranberry juice that I froze in ice cube sizes for emergencies like this - the pure stuff.  I should try that too.

Thanks again!

[nemue]

How is Tbone doing?  Is he better?  I've only had pooping problems once, adn that was when I brought them home.  They had diarrhea from teh bad food the pet store gave them, but it cleared up once I changed it.  So, I'm really no help.  But I hope he's ok!

[Jo Ann]

  Poop that is not normal (be it wet and squishy or small and hard or covered in mucus) is never good.      

A chinchilla's poop is one of the first signs of good health and/or bad health.

If it has a foul odor to it, get him to a vet NOW and have the vet check him for Giardia.  You might want to check out the article on Giardia at: http://www.geocities.com/jobernstein1949/

I'm not a vet and I can only tell you what I would do, or have done under the same circumstances.  I have been a breeder for many years and have had between 100 to 200 chins most of the time.

If you are seeing little or no poop, it sounds like he is stopped up ... OR ... his system is shutting down. Best bet is see the vet.

In the meantime, if the cranberry juice does not work, the raisins do not work, mini shredded wheats do not work ... last ditch effort is give him an almond.  Normally you will never hear me say let a chin have a nut of anykind, but, when the digestive system clogs up or stops, your chin is headed for big trouble fast.

A chin's poop should always be firm, moist and oval shaped.  If it becomes small and/or hard, he has a problem and is probably already dehydrated!  If it is wet and squishy, he has a problem and is or soon will become dehydrated.  If is is covered or partially covered in mucous and/or has a foul odor, he's in big trouble!

Again ... normally, I will not even hint that you should put your chin in water, but ... IF the fur is matted on his bum, more than likely he started with diarrhea, it dried and is blocking the rectum opening.  If the fur is still matted and dirty ... run a small amount (about 2 or 3 inches) of warm water in the bathroom sink.  Place your chin in the sink and clean his little bum by swishing the water back and forth across the area, dissolving the matted fur and cleaning it.  Do not get him any more wet than is absolutely necessary.  Dry him with a clean towel and paper towels (paper absorbs more water and absorbs it faster).  Set your hair dryer on low blow volume and low heat ... dry the fur by holding the dryer about 8 to 12 inches away from his body and quickly moving it back and forth over the wet area ... do NOT hold the dryer still in one place ... the heat from the dryer will over heat the chin and/or can burn it's sensitive skin!  Make sure he is completely dry before putting him back in his cage.   You do not want him to get chilled!   Note:  If the bum looks a little red or raw, put some triple antibiotic ointment on it.

IF the matted fur is what has been blocking his normal flow of poop, he should cut loose with a bunch of them.  You can gently rub his tummy in a downward motion to help get things going.
 
IF he does not start pooping very soon, then give him another almond and get him to the vet a.s.a.p.  Once the digestive tract shuts down and chin can 'go down' (die) quickly.

Remember: I'm not a vet and I can only tell you what I would do, or have done under the same circumstances.  I have been a breeder for many years, done many hours of research over the years and have had between 100 to 200 chins most of the time.  What you do is your decision.  Regardless of what happens, I think I would have a vet check your little one out to be on the safe side.   

Keep us posted!

   Jo Ann