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[Pikachu715]

My pikachu has real
Mushy poop, I've consulted a vet, my aunt, and she said to give him a very high fiber diet.
So far no improvement, it's scary.
Otherwise he seems healthy it's just the poop.
I also gave him gatorade to replenish electrolytes.

Any advice?

He is about 4 months old
And I bought a better diet for him cause I was using the food that came with the cage.
Pet store never told me what food they were using...

[AnnieHank]

Any sudden change to their diet can cause mushy poop. Maybe you could find out what the pet shop was feeding him, mix a bit of the new healthier food with it and gradually switch him. They have very sensitive little tummies and sudden changes can be quite startling to their systems.

[dianah]

it could be the food. is it pellets or is it mix? chinchillas' digestive system is very sensitive in that the bacteria in the gut takes about a month to adjust to new foods. this means that if you introduce new food, you do it gradually, slowly adding new food and reducing old, during a month period.

however, what is sometimes done with the rescues or with chinchillas you have no history of, you only give them hay (no pellets) for 2 days and then start adding pellets. you could try that.

if it is a mix rather than pellets, i'd advise against using that.

diarrhoea is not great. is the poo just soft, or does it stick together and onto shelves/fur? is it more like a thick puddle than pieces stuck together? you can get a product called fibreplex (for rabbits) - it comes in a dosing tube and the dosage for a chinchilla is about 1ml (that's the least you can dispense) - the dosage was for my chin who was about 450g then, your chin may weigh less. you can get this from the vet. however, if it is squishy poo rather than thick puddle, i'd try hay only approach first. if it's a puddle, i'd get fibreplex.

also, a chin takes about 12-15 hours to digest food so if you start giving hay only now, you won't expect any change for the next day (ish)

[Pikachu715]

it could be the food. is it pellets or is it mix? chinchillas' digestive system is very sensitive in that the bacteria in the gut takes about a month to adjust to new foods. this means that if you introduce new food, you do it gradually, slowly adding new food and reducing old, during a month period.

however, what is sometimes done with the rescues or with chinchillas you have no history of, you only give them hay (no pellets) for 2 days and then start adding pellets. you could try that.

if it is a mix rather than pellets, i'd advise against using that.

diarrhoea is not great. is the poo just soft, or does it stick together and onto shelves/fur? is it more like a thick puddle than pieces stuck together? you can get a product called fibreplex (for rabbits) - it comes in a dosing tube and the dosage for a chinchilla is about 1ml (that's the least you can dispense) - the dosage was for my chin who was about 450g then, your chin may weigh less. you can get this from the vet. however, if it is squishy poo rather than thick puddle, i'd try hay only approach first. if it's a puddle, i'd get fibreplex.

also, a chin takes about 12-15 hours to digest food so if you start giving hay only now, you won't expect any change for the next day (ish)

The cage came with the mix which I didn't know at the time wasn't good for him, I bought a better diet just the pellets OxBow, i believe.

I tried the all hay diet for a couple days and it didnt help but I think my father may have been giving him the mixed diet crap.

I talked to a vet in my family and she said just give him a very high fiber diet and see how it works.

I went to the pet store where i bought him today and the employee said that they dont sell what they were feeding him, which is ridiculous I think. Her advice was give him dry oats and the new pellet diet I bought him and also give him in his water pedialyte or gatorade.

The poop sticks together and also sticks to his fur sometimes, there was a big pile last night..

I just want Pikachu to be healthy again, plus cleaning the diarrhea is a hassle.

Thanks

[dianah]

high fibre diet is good, however, high fibre diet (oxbow critical care) is often used to get the guts moving. my rescue chin has gut problems and has suffered from gi stasis in the past and high fibre diet is what helps tremendously with constipation.

i would definitely not introduce new stuff like oats etc. when there's a digestive problem, this is the last thing you want to do, unless they're not eating in which case you try to get anything into them to keep them alive.

don't take this the wrong way but is the vet in the family a chinchilla vet? from my experience, the majority of general cat and dog vets haven't got a clue. i don't have exotics specialist where i live but thankfully two vets at my surgery have a very keen interest in exotics and are very good.

how long has this been going on? is he losing weight? if you're not weighing him, you need to weigh him. they're very small animals, and especially at 4 months old, they can get dehydrated really quickly. i know you're giving him electrolytes but he may need subcutaneous fluids.

also, he may appear perfectly healthy otherwise but remember that they are extremely good at hiding that there's something wrong.

[Pikachu715]

high fibre diet is good, however, high fibre diet (oxbow critical care) is often used to get the guts moving. my rescue chin has gut problems and has suffered from gi stasis in the past and high fibre diet is what helps tremendously with constipation.

i would definitely not introduce new stuff like oats etc. when there's a digestive problem, this is the last thing you want to do, unless they're not eating in which case you try to get anything into them to keep them alive.

don't take this the wrong way but is the vet in the family a chinchilla vet? from my experience, the majority of general cat and dog vets haven't got a clue. i don't have exotics specialist where i live but thankfully two vets at my surgery have a very keen interest in exotics and are very good.

how long has this been going on? is he losing weight? if you're not weighing him, you need to weigh him. they're very small animals, and especially at 4 months old, they can get dehydrated really quickly. i know you're giving him electrolytes but he may need subcutaneous fluids.

also, he may appear perfectly healthy otherwise but remember that they are extremely good at hiding that there's something wrong.

The vet is a mainly cat and Dog vet but she cares for all types

This has been going on for about a week, he is not losing weight he actually got bigger from when I first got him

I have not weighed him yet I shall do that tonight when he wakes up

[dianah]

he will be getting bigger for another five months or so.

however, if there's something going on with poo, it's a good idea to weigh them daily at the same time. then you'll have a better idea.

[Pikachu715]

 ;)Pikachu's poop is slowly getting better! better form and no diarrhea!

i wonder what worked...

[dianah]

brilliant!