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[jmrothermel]

Well it seems that my female chinchilla has developed soft stools that when she tramples on them squishes.  So I burnt some toast - imagine the looks when my husband sees me taking a piece of toast out of the toaster smoking  And I gave her a 1" square and she took some bites and then threw it down and walked away.  So my quesiton is, I know to increase the hay, I will work on her eating the toast, what other options do I have?  There has been no change in her appetite, there is no evidence of anything funky with the poop (mucous, blood, etc) Smells like poop I guess no real foul smell, and she is maintaining her weight, actually gained a few grams from a couple days ago.  She's active, and if it wouldn't for me seeing the poop I wouldn't even know anything is wrong.  And she's drinking normally.  She did have a raisin after her weighing today, but I'm not going to give her any more until it clears up.

So what other treatment options are available - or do you think I should just stick with what I am doing and wait a little?  And about how long does it take for the stool to return to normal?

[ChinchillAZ]

Instead of burnt toast, try a shredded wheat square.  The charcoal of the burnt toast is used to help absorb the extra water in the GI tract, but might absorb too much if the stool is just a bit soft and not actually liquidy.  Give no other treats.  Acidophilus can also help.  Be sure that your chin is still drinking water, as this is the only way to maintain hydration.  Dehydration is one of the effects of diarrhea.  If she is not drinking water, try adding a second bottle to the cage with a bit of Pedialyte for added electrolytes.  If the stool does not return to normal or gets any worse after two to three days, be sure to take her to a vet to have a fecal exam done.  At that time, you might also try giving your chin some cherry flavored Kaopectate for children. If the diarrhea does not clear up within a day or two with giving one or two doses of Kaopectate a day, you can try mixing 1/4 teaspoon of Metamucil in with one ounce of yogurt and feeding it to your chin. If the diarrhea still does not clear up within a day or two, your chin should go back to the vet for blood tests.  Be sure to weigh your chin daily during this process. Weight loss can affect the over-all health of your chin and should be taken very seriously.

[Jo Ann]

So what other treatment options are available - or do you think I should just stick with what I am doing and wait a little?  And about how long does it take for the stool to return to normal?

    I hate to put it this way, but ... it depends on the chin and the reason for the soft poops.

     Your chin should not be allowed to continue with the soft poops for more than 2 or 3 days, in my opinion, without a vet check ... and/or if the "soft poops turns into diarrhea"  get to a vet and get the chin checked out.  They can dehydrate rather rapidly.

       Ocean Spray cranberry juice or apple juice mixed with 1/2 water will encourage her to drink ... always keep a second bottle of plain water available.

     Peydealite (sp) should be given full strength, with nothing added to it, according to what my vet told me ... Gerber puts it out in single serving sizes (4 to a little box) with the flavor of apple juice.  Once the peydealite is open, it is only good for 24 hours, then needs to be disposed of, it is no longer any better than water after that time.  (I think that was on the label, or someone told me.)

    As ChinchillAZ said, acidophilus is also good and/or yogurt with live bacteria.  And keeping a CLOSE eye on the weight is a MUST.
    Never tried the Kaopectate, or Pepto  or Metamucil.

 
Jo Ann

[jmrothermel]

Thank you for both of your suggestions, I cleaned the cage really good so I knew what was "coming out" lol for lack of a better word, and made sure the water bottle was clean, etc.  I left her go that night after the burnt toast attempt, and I still saw a few pieces of trampled poop.  And the next day and since then I haven't seen anymore, and her weight is still exactly the same.  So I guess she's better now!

Jacqui

[chinchillagrl06]

She may have just had a little bit of an upset tummy or maybe she was a bit stressed. Still keep a close eye for the next couple of days, but good job.

[ChinchillAZ]

Glad to hear everything seems to have gone back to normal!   

[Lori Earle]

When I notice a poo problem, I put the chin on a hay only diet for a day. If that doesn't help, then on the 2nd day I give 2 doses of Kaopectate(.5cc per dose - one in the AM and one in the PM) and continue with the hay only diet. I put some acidophilus powder in with the Kaopectate. A word of caution here: the current Kaopectate available on the shelf at stores/pharmacies now is not the Kaopectate that you should use - its' active ingredient is salicylates. This is harmful for cats - who knows if it is for chins, but there's no need to risk it. You need to find the "old style" Kaopectate, whose active ingredients are Kaolin and Pectin. The easiest way to get this is from your vet, as far as I can figure. Or get a script from your doc and a compounding pharmacy can whip it up. Whatever. Just don't use what is OTC now.
If that doesn't work, then we go to the vets and he checks out a stool sample. That usually pinpoints the problem. But very seldom do we have to resort to that. Alot of times, the hay only diet does the trick.