Kingdom Chinchillas phone -01592571038 between 6-10pm

Diarrhea

Member's Q's[1]

can anybody give me some advice. my chin has had diarrhoea for a couple of days now i dont know what is causing it .

i havent changed his food the only new thing i have gave

him is rasins

Summery of treatment suggested by Aileen

Stop the raisins immediatly. They have a laxative effect if given too often. Instead. Remove pellets for a couple of days and feed only hay. Do not use alfalfa while chinchilla has still go diarrhea. If chinchilla doesnt ever eat much hay then you will of course have to leave pellets in but do try adding much less than usual to encourage him to forage and eat the hay.

If really watery droppings has been going on for a few days then please do consult your vet as your chinchilla may have picked up a bacterial infection and in worse case senario it could be the parasite named Giardia. If Giardia is suspected you must act quicky as it is fatal often if not treated quickly.

If you suspect it's just too many treats and no infection:- Again try feeding more hay, less pellets until dropping are back to normal.

A quick rememdy is Put your toaster on and practically incinerate a piece of toast. Has to be really black/burned to work. Bearing in mind the size of your chinnies tummy a piece the size of a man's thumbnail is usually enought to get the droppings back to normal. Cut back on pellets and give a higher proportion of good quality tymothy Hay. Loose or small droppings are a sign that feeding is not right and this has to be addressed by you to rule out the offending treat.

Once diarrhoea has stopped and regards treats, only give one raisin and not every day. Kat a member of our group mentioned a good tip a while ago about raisins cut them up into little pieces, the chinchilla then thinks it's getting a lot of treats. ;) A small piece of apple, and I do mean very small is a treat also. Or a piece of rye crispbread such as Ryvita. This is better than a raisin as there is no salt or sugar added to Ryvita. These treat of corse should not all be offered each day! one of them only is enough.

Remember the size of your chinchilla's stomach when feeding treats.

Check out the wild chinchilla protection site to see how barren it is

wild chinchilla

Chinchillas do best just eating chinchilla pellets and a good quality hay. Most cases of Diarrhea are brough on by treats or infection

Question [2] I'm confused a little bit and need some advice. Our new little girl's dropping our much softer then my males. I know the droppings are not normal, they aren't too running but are a bit too soft. Could she have been given something that she shouldn't have? Should I just keep her on only pellets for a while? Anyone have any suggests for me please. Haven't had to deal with this one. Otherwise it looks like the two of them are going to be good together._ Cherie

Treatment as suggested by Aileen

The breeder you bought her from will I hope have given you a supply of pellets and also a good supply of hay that they have been using. Also the name of treat if any they use. Make the change over gradually. slowly increasing your own brand of pellets and hay mixed in with the breeders supply. Sudden change in diet is often the root cause of change in droppings as is sometimes infection. If in doubt make an appointment to see your vet and take a fresh urine and droppings sample in case he wants to do tests.

An alternative treatment is our own uncooked Scotts porage oats[or Quaker oats], other products may come under rolled oats (not to be confused with oatmeal) I know they are freely available here in Scotland and also the rest of the UK however I am not sure about other countries

Diarrhea is a common ailement in 'pet' chinchillas. Most commonly caused by too many 'treats'. Droppings will vary from moist to runny and shelves and blocks and so on will soon become a mass of trampled droppings hard caked to the shelves. The chinchillas fur will also be badly soiled.

I have a tip from a breeder of long standing. have never had to use it as my chinchillas are fed on a fully complete diet with only minimum treats.

In severe cases

I am told it works a treat and the chinchillas also like it. It can be bought at a chemist, the treatment is called Kaolin and Morphine. This is a very gentle medication and can be give two or three times a day if needed. Administered in an eyedropper and is sufficient enough to clear up the problem.

You must of course change the chinchilla diet back to a more suitable one and avoid this occuring once more. As I said above, too many treats are the common cause of Diarrhoea. Give plenty of clean fresh water to keep body fluids up. Some recommend dry well burnt toast. Of course, neither of these remedies should be needed if the chinchilla has a proper balanced diet.

Chinchilla dropping should not be soft or mushy. A healthy chin has dropping which are rounded and oval shaped.

droppings the ones on left are from a constipated rescue chinchilla we had in. the ones on right from one of my chinchillas

please give me the courtesy of ask permission before copying this information.

question on constipation

Now I'm concerned about Kirby's droppings. Some are smaller and hard while others are longer and moist, but still in a pellet form. I stepped on one of the moister ones and it did flatten. Yes, I sat and watched him one day pooping because I wanted to see what he was producing. I haven't noticed any sticking to his fur and his cage isn't a mess from it. I don't give him that many treats. Maybe three raisins per week if that. Does he have diarrhea?

Kirby is probably okay Sonya. It's when the poo is soft and messy. ie sticking to the shelves and so on and you have to scrape it off to clean the shelves.

If you give him plenty of hay and an occasional raisin, piece of Ryvita or shredded wheat. He should be okay. You say droppings are still pellet shaped, that's okay. nothing to worry about

To clean Fur if very dirty

Baby wipes are great for small areas, if really bad though best way is baby shampoo diluted with plenty water. wash area and towel dry then carefully dry on low setting of hair drier kept not too close to chinchilla.

If someone can keep him wrapped in a towel while you wash it this makes it easier for you to clean staining etc

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Diarrhea

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