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[tinabeana]

Hello,

I'm a new owner of a 6 month old female chinchilla.

I made the mistake of getting her from a pet store, she was so friendly and sweet I couldn't help myself. She's not shy at all and very curious. My husband and I had planned on adopting a chin for a few months and have read several books and perused this site although I'm afraid I haven't been able to find the specific information I was looking for so I apologize if I am double posting.

Well our chin poops a great deal, there was about 40 pellets just on the two plastic ledges in her cage this morning, I cleaned her cage last night. Also they seem to be a little soft as they smash under her feet and stick to the plastic. I want to be sure this isn't the signs of trouble starting, as I have always read they should be small and hard.

I know that diarrhea is very serious for chins and their treats like raisins must be reasonably limited. We haven't given her any treats yet, fed her only 2 tablespoons of pellets with an ample supply of hay and water.

Should I withhold giving her any treats until this seems to improve?

Could this just be the stress of moving? Is it possible the pet store gave her too many treats? Or an I being a paranoid pet parent and this is completely normal?

[chinchillagrl06]

Doesn't sound like diarrhea yet, just soft poos. It could be from the stress of coming to a new home. I would maybe feed just timothy hay for a couple of days, no pellets and no treats. You could also try feeding her a small piece of burnt toast. Her poo should firm up after a couple of days, if not, I would have her into the vet for some testing.

[chinclub]

I agree, soft poo and lots of poo come from the stress of a new enviorment.  The blackened part of burnt toast should fix it up within 24 hours.  Don't worry about measuring her food.  Once she is settled in you can give her as much hay and pellets as she likes.  No treats until she has settled down.

Did the pet store tell you what they were feeding her?  A sudden change in food could also cause soft poo.

[Jo Ann]

Hi Tinabeana,
     Poos should be large and firm, but not hard and/or small and not soft/musshy or runny.
     I agree, it is probably just the new environment and possibly new food.  Pet stores tend to feed all their small animals the same stuff (regardless of what is in it) and/or cheapest feed. 
     Keep visitors to your chin at a minimum (0) until your chin feels safe with you and has adjusted to her new home. This is when she will come to you and allow you to hold her.   New people are often unsettling to a chin, but if it trusts you and feels safe with you, that will make it much easier when you have visitors. 
     Hay (lots of it) and water for a few days is good, as well as the burnt toast.  The accent on burnt, it is the charcoal that helps stop the diarrhea and/or soft poos.
    IF there is a very foul odor to the poop, get it to a vet a.s.a.p.  Especially if there appears to be a mucous covering or partially covering the poop when it is first dropped.

 
Jo Ann

[tinabeana]

Thank you so much! I made her the burnt toast yesterday and I had bought the food they we're feeding her at the pet store, so there was no change in her diet since she's been at the petstore.

She seems very picky about the peices of hay she eats, picking through them until she finds one that looks good.

She also ate most of the 1 by 1 inch peice of burned toast I gave her though she seemed to prefer me holding it while she nibbled... seems like she's already got me trained.

She really doesn't seem to have a problem hopping into my hand and she appears rather fixated with the television.

This morning when I cleaned up her cage a bit there wasn't nearly as much poop but it still did seem a little soft, hopefully by the time I get home that will have improved a little.

[Jo Ann]

Ah ha!  We have a very smart new chin owner!!! "...she seemed to prefer me holding it while she nibbled... seems like she's already got me trained."  They learn very quickly how to train you!     

   Chinchillas  attention!!! 

   The more attention you give you give her the more trust she will have in you ... all will benefit!   

 
Jo Ann

[tinabeana]

Haha I've noticed this...

She has been begging to get out of the cage everytime I open the door. She jumps on my hand and tries to scurry up my arm. So while I was cleaning her cage my husband blocked off the toilet area and let her run around the bathroom. She seems to really enjoy this, running around and jumping off the walls. She jumped into my lap and walked around, she's not a big fan of being held which I expected but she is much more social with us then I thought she'd be. 

She doesn't show any other signs of being agitated or ill, but her poop is still rather soft and difficult to pick up with out making a mess.

We've chinchilla proofed the office, wrapping all cords up and tucking them out of reach, removing all object we thought could possibly injure her and anything unsafe to nibble on and hoped to be able to let her explore a little more when the little trail she leaves is easier to clean up after.

I've given her the toast two nights in a row now, but yesterday she didn't seem interested at all. I've given her fresh water and hay everyday, no pellets, no treats.

Someone at the pet store reccommended a peice or two of cherrio type cereal (she recommended the kind from Trader Joes with less sugar). Does that sound reasonable?

If she doesn't seem to have improved by tonight I'm going to give the vet a call.

We've been trying to leave her alone and let her settle into her cage but do you think she could benefit from more outside the cage time?

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Is there any slime or mucus around her droppings?
Still sounds like an adjustment thingy, and could be the feed from the pet shop. Does it have anything besides pellets in it?
Some/most chin feeds at pet shops are "complete chin diets", they have all treats in them as well. They can also be stale.
A problem I find here as there are not a lot on chins and the stuff in an the shelves a while.
I'd only give her a few days with out pellets, maybe a change to one of the better feeds might help at this point.
She seems quite happy to me and if after a week you see no improvemnt I'd check with a vet, and maybe have a stool smear done to check for parasites and the like.
Does she feel a nice size, can you weigh her?
Do you feel her ribs or back bone are more prominent then they should be?
Keep up with the toast it usually works, and do keep us posted.

[tinabeana]

No slime or mucus, thank goodness.

The feed is that Kaytee pellets I've heard everyone say is terrible but that's what she had before.

I planned to switch her to Manzuri slowly when I started giving her pellets again, so far everything I've heard about that brand has been positive. I also didn't see a date on the package, I'll be sure to look for one. It's starting to look like ordering her food online is the most convenient way to go.

She seems to be a good size, and we can feel her backbones, and ribs she feels like most of the other chins I've held.

Thank you! I'll keep up with the toast and keep a close eye on her. I really appreciate everyone’s advice!

[Jo Ann]

Hi Tinabeana,

   She looks pretty good in the picture ... not thin or fat.  Beautiful vieling line! 

   Mazuri is the best I have used myself ... I hear Traditions/Traditional is a good one also, but I can't get it where I am ... this was from one of the major breeders I know and I trust what he tells me.  Our vet said Oxbow is good also, but quite expensive if you're feeding 200 chins.

    One thing about Mazuri, I have never had a minute's trouble giving it to my chins that have been on some low quality chin food. (Mazuri use to have corn in it, but they took it out in January of this year.) Some of the chins, where I did not have feed from the person that owned them, had to go straight to Mazuri and did great.  Normally, I do not suggest doing a strait change over from one food to another, but at times you have no other choice.  :-[

    Almost all of mine have come from major breeders and they always give me enough to change the chins over gradually.

    Check your local feed stores that carry the Purina Brands, they should be able to order the Mazuri Chinchilla Diet for you and you won't be stuck with the outrageous shipping costs.  If you go to www.mazuri.com , check under rodents/ chinchillas and then enter your zip code in the search box ... that will give you the authorized dealers in your area to call.

   

wrapping all cords up and tucking them out of reach

    Be cautious about thinking the wires are safe ... chins can quickly jump in an area you think he could never see or get into ... they can fool you big time! 

    The first chin that got loose on me scurried under a cabinet (among other places) and up the back of the drawers ... we found him when we heard him munching on papers in a file in the TOP drawer.
 
 
Jo Ann [/i]

[chinchillagrl06]

Ordering online for me is the quickest way to get fresh hay and pellets. I love Susan from AZ Chins! She always sends out orders so quickly! She has Mazuri pellets and her hay is always very fresh! I love her cages and pecan wood toys! (Gosh, I sound like an advertisment for her LOL)  http://chinstore.azchins.com/List.htm

[Leslie]

Yes, be very careful about "chin-proofing" a room.  I don't understand how that's possible. The one time I tried to let my chin out in the spare bedroom he lodged himself in behind a dresser and scurried around, up and down and around like Spiderman, making his funny alarm call.  That was within the first few days of getting him...  I quickly learned that I would have to build a play area for him.  I use cardboard boxes - flattened out - to make walls with velcro to hold them together.

Also, in regards to food, I use Oxbow and I love it.  I've never had any problems.  I order it from chinchillas.com which is the same as Martin's Cages.  They always answer my email questions within a few hours, and the shipping is fast (I'm in Canada).  Even with the exchange rate and the shipping charges, it's much cheaper than anything I can buy here.

[tinabeana]

Hello,

I just thought I'd update. Thank you for all your help, everyone! I switched Maggie to Manzuri and she seemed to have no problem with it.

Well I thought of chin-proofing more of making it more difficult for Maggie to hurt herself. We would never dream of leaving her alone but she’s quick and we are just making sure there was nothing she could squeeze under or behind and get stuck, making sure if/when she did nibble on something it wouldn’t shock her or poison her, or that nothing could topple over onto her. Granted there are ways anyone could get hurt in any room, we just did our best to lessen the possibility as much as we could. We also have hardwood floors so its (usually) easy to clean up after her.

Also I took Maggie to the vet, Dr. K. who was very nice. He said Maggie was in good health and her teeth looked good and she weighs about a pound.

He recommended that we syringe feed her a little bit about a 1/4th to 1/2 teaspoon of yogurt every couple of nights, and told me to collect stool samples so we can check for parasites.  He said the soft stool was probably due to the move.

So Maggie appeared to be doing better, she LOVED the yogurt, was running around as normal, and her stool seemed to firm up a little.

Then about two days ago when I moved her cage about two feet, and things seemed to change dramatically. Normally she didn’t seem to ever go into her little house, unless it was to play. She would run in and out of it. All of a sudden she started sleeping in there, I had to wake her up to clean her cage at about 7 or 8, when before she was normally already awake. I would go to let her out to exercise and she seemed frightened, she wouldn’t venture far from her cage and would try to hide under me. She started pooping even more then she already did.

I wasn’t especially concerned until I came home yesterday and it looked like she had diarrhea. If anything her behavior appeared more normal she ran around her cage and begged to be let out but her feet were a mess and some parts of her fur were soiled.

My husband helped me clean her up, which she hated. She normally doesn't talk a whole lot but she let out a little call when I picked her up. We talked to her and rubbed a little cornstarch on the places that looked the worst. She rolled in the dust bath while cleaned her cage, I gave her a little bit of yogurt and hand fed her more hay and she seemed a little better.

This morning, her cage wasn’t nearly as messy as it was yesterday and she seemed fine, the stool in her cage at least looked like pellets again. I’m glad the vet appointment is tomorrow because have no idea what to do now.

On a side note. She completely made a mess of the carrier we brought her home in, so bad I had to just throw it out.

What do you use when transporting your chin? I was looking at some pet carriers and most of them are made for cats or small dogs have holes or gaps that are much too big.

[Jo Ann]

Hi  Tinabeana,

     We make ours, but that doesn't help you much.     There are some that are made and look great, I'm trying to think of the name of  the person that makes them, but , can't, maybe someone out there can.     They are very reasonable ... when I got mine it was $10 per hole.  I use the 2- hole ones even when I am transporting only one chin ... the other side is great for supplies and such.   I'll post a picture of it below.  Is it the Ryersons?  Or maybe the Shoots?

 
Jo Ann 

[chinchillagrl06]

I have a carrier similar to JoAnn's I got mine from JPChinchillas. I love it.  http://www.geocities.com/chinchilla_fancier/index.html
Also Ryerson's makes carrier. These are a bit heavier than the JPChins carriers. http://www.ryersonchinchilla.com/metalshop.htm