Green Poop

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Devynthecatwithsocks

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 30, 2019
Messages
161
Location
Southern California
Hi I have noticed earlier today that her poop has been green. But it isn't runny or diarrhea. It looks and feels the same, but its green. It looks as if she ate a bunch of hay and pooped it out. Just want to make sure she isnt dying or anything XD
 
That is normally a sign that the food is not being digested properly for some reason. I need more info to help figure out what it could be. Is the poop smelly, soft, or wet at all? Also what are you feeding her, still just the oxbow food and hay? Are you giving tap water or filtered water? How often and what are you giving as treats?
 
I am still giving her oxbow essentials food an hay. I give her tap water. Since her treats arn't healthy I maybe giver her one once a week, if so Fridays. No her poop is just the same but green. Its not unusually smelly. I honestly thought that maybe its because of her hay. She has been eating alot of it recently
 
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It just occured to me that she is on Kaytee clean and cozy at the moment. We order fleece Tomorrow. But since she does eat some of that when bored that might not be digesting right
 
Hay would not cause the green poop, hay should be a chinchilla's primary food (70% or more of their diet) and chin's poop should be dark brown/black in color not green. In fact a hay only diet can actually improve the quality of poops in chinchillas. If you are feeding her fruits or vegetables or other inappropriate foods or unhealthy treats that would cause it though. I would stop treats all together and see if that improves things.

Well the clean and cozy is not likely causing the issue you are seeing that doesn't mean eating it is safe at all. The issue with those paper litters is they expand when wet so can cause a gut blockage if eaten, meaning small or no poops not green poops. If she is eating it I would change it out with a safe option, like kiln dried pine or aspen shavings or fleece, but keep in mind fleece is also not safe if eaten.

Tap water is not safe for chinchillas, not only can it contain all kinds of chemicals, it can contain parasites like giardia. Giardia can cause gut issues, the first sign can be the poop turning green since the gut is trying to work to rid itself of the parasite, which will turn into diarrhea if left untreated. If the poops don't return to normal by stopping treats, or if they start having a smell to them (they should be odorless), become soft or wet you need to take the chin to the vet. Ideally bring some poops with you so they can test them.

I would also switch the chin to purified water, either buy bottled reverse osmosis water or get a filter that filters out micro organisms. In the past I had a water pitcher that had a built in filter, but the ones you put on the tap work too. Just make sure it's specifically says on the filter that it removes microbial cysts like giardia, not all do. If she already has giardia switching water now wont make it go away, you need to get anti parasitic meds from the vet, but it will stop her drinking in more. If she doesn't have giardia yet then switching now will prevent her from getting it.
 
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well the good thing is I havn't seen any more of it and she seems fine. Like I said we order fleece first thing in the morning and hopefully it'll be here by Monday or Tuesday.
 
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