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[c4566]

hello everyone, when my chin was out playing today i noticed her stool is more wet and mushy than usual. Should this be concerning or does it happen sometimes? she is 6 months
thanks in advanced

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Can you provide more detail? Is it actually wet? If it is, you need to get her to a vet immediately. Diarrhea can be fatal to chins if not cured within hours. Also, if her poop is mushy, try giving her a tiny amount of oats. Chins love it, and it tends to harden their stools.

[GrayRodent]

If it's liquid see an emergency vet. If it's just a little softer than usual wait a day and see if there is an improvement. If it gets worse there are home remedies available to help but if it gets bad treatment is going to become more difficult. As always - if in doubt see a vet.
Soft stools do happen sometimes and can be caused by stress or changes in diet and generally turn around very quickly.
My chinchilla did this right after I bought him but it went back to normal in 48 hours. Stop feeding treats if you are feeding them.
What does your chinchilla's diet look like? Has it changed recently? What kind of pellets do you feed? Do you feed treats? If so what kind, how many and how often? Feeding the wrong diet or offering too many or the wrong kinds of treats can easily cause this problem.
Has there been any changes to your chinchilla's environment or schedule recently? Introduction to new people or pets? This can cause changes as well caused by stress.

[c4566]

Thats for the replies. Its not actually liquid just mushy, it doesnt come out hard.
Her diet consists of a daily amount of Fiesta Mix chinchilla food and timothy hay. I have started to give her little wood chew blocks for chinchillas a few weeks ago. Also i give her one treat a day (dandelion drops) 

[GrayRodent]

If it goes on for more than a couple of days there could something going on. These things are usually very transient and connected to stress. I don't think the chew blocks caused a problem. If there is no improvement soon you may need to test for giardia or other infections and start antibiotics.

Because there are so many different kinds of things in Fiesta Max there is no way the mix can be consistent from day to day and there is possibility your chinchilla got too much of something all at once that started it. They do tend to pick out all the treat stuff and leave behind the green alfalfa pellets like mine did when he was on it. I got him from a previous owner. I recommend switching to high quality chinchilla pellets such as Oxbow or high quality rabbit pellets (although not all rabbit pellet diets are safe). When switching food it is best to mix it over the course of a week (at least) to prevent digestive upsets. Now there is already something up so the best thing you can do is to remove all but the alfalfa pellets in the mix or just remove the mix entirely. Chins can do just fine on hay alone.

As always - if in doubt see a vet. I am not an expert.

If it were my chinchilla I would pick out all the treat stuff (fruit pieces, raisins and colored whatever-they-ares) and give only the green pellets. Don't give any more treats. These can be making the problem worse. If there is no improvement tomorrow on green pellets only then provide hay only. If there is no improvement by the end of that following day there could be some kind of infection. A half-dollar sized piece of toast burnt until it is almost black can also help. If it gets worse then give the toast and call a vet. Monitor food and water intake closely and be prepared to hand feed if your chinchilla goes off its food if it is sick. That and antibiotics often cause anorexia that requires scheduled hand feeding so talk to your vet about this if you go that route.

Also make sure the water is very clean. Use either filtered or bottled water. Some animals are sensitive to seasonal changes in tap water.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

What ended up happening?

[c4566]

I stopped the treats completely and gave less food and waaay more hay. Seems to be fine now. thanks guys