Chinchilla with diarrhea?

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SarahLynn

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2017
Messages
14
Location
USA
Hi, I went to the vet today with my chinchilla Dusty, because he's been having diarrhea for the past...LONG while, maybe 4-6 days. (Today was the soonest they could see him).

He went in, they checked him, said he weighed 468 grams, and said that you can feel his bones a bit. They looked at his bum, noticed he's still got a bit of diarrhea on his feet (he steps in it, and he will not let me wipe his feet, he's very sensitive).

They swabbed his bum and got some poop, looked at it, and said "Well he may have some bad bacteria, what kind of chinchilla food are you feeding him?" And I said "just some alfalfa pellets and timothy hay, and water" They told me to buy oxbow instead of my generic brand stuff, told me to get the pellets out of the cage and only feed him hay until the diarrhea goes away, and to watch for any sort of lethargy or weight loss.

She didn't say if something was wrong, but said "he might have a little bit of bad bacteria in his GI tract". They gave me a little container of "Oxbow Natural Science Digestive Support Small Animal Supplement"

He's still active, loves taking his dust baths, and is eating and drinking, but he does seem a little more tired than usual. (Could be that I woke him up at 7AM to bring him to the vet that's over an hour away, and got him back home at 11AM though).

I'm not sure what else to do for him, I gave him some burnt toast, and I make sure to clean his cage every few days (So he isn't sitting in diarrhea), other than feeding him timothy hay and watching him, Idk what there is left to do?

I also mentioned that my chinchilla has a very obvious hunchback, and she disagreed with me and argued that it was probably just that he was "thin and that I could see his back bone." ..It's definitely a hunch though so I'm not sure if she might just not have much experience with chinchillas?

I've had him for 3 years and loved him every second of the way, I'd be so depressed if he passed away. He's currently in a smaller cage (like the guinea pig sized ones) to keep everything more sanitary and easier to monitor. I have no clue what to do :( Help?
 
*Update* he is still eating, but it dosen't look like he's drinking at all??? That's really worrying me. I don't understand what's going on with my little guy. He is still running and playing and having fun, but his poops are still mushy + he isn't drinking from what I can see anyway? Help?
 
I would look at going to a different vet if the chin isn't better by now, did don't sound like they are doing much. The only thing feeding hay only will do is help with more fiber, if it doesn't help in a day or two he probably needs some meds. You do want a good quality pellet food though, the generic food isn't necessarily going to have the right stuff for a chin and most have fruit and veggies in them, either as pieces or blended into the pellets.
 
Thanks for letting me know Amethyst! I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and ask if she can pretty please do a fecal flotation test to see if he has giardia, so that I can take care of the problem properly. He is still eating, still drinking, still running around, using his bath, excited and eager to leave his cage and play. Still has diarrhea though. Very mushy and gross. It smells like timothy hay though lol
 
You can try Pet Pecillin, its a over the counter med you buy in the dog/cat health section of the pet store. Its Kaolin and Pectin, one binds and one soothes the digestive tract. Give .3ml twice a day and see if that helps.
 
My chinchilla had diarrhea the past quite a few days, he's still eating, drinking, running around, but I looked in his cage and do not see any fresh poops...so I'm not sure if he's still pooping or not??? That's terrifying to me. I don't know if he stopped pooping, but the vet won't take him in until tomorrow
 
You can also give a small piece of burnt(I mean burnt past the point of anyone wanting to eat it)toast. Often this along with the pet pectillin will help and believe it or not ,the chins seem to love it!
 
Hi, it's now been almost 10 days since he got diarrhea. He is STILL active, still eating, still running around. They did a fecal flotation test, and no parasites, no infections. They just told me to feed him hay and get him oxbow instead of my *bad brand* food, and no more treats, and to get him some critical care to help bind the poops back to normal. They were looking good last night, but are now back to mushy. It's weird, because I've given him the same diet for 3 years (which apparently was wrong) ,but he just recently started getting diarrhea. :(

Not sure what else to do for the little guy :( I've been washing his cage every couple days to get rid of the diarrhea so he doesn't get all dirty.

*was just notified that my boyfriend was giving my chinchilla like 3 of those vitakraft dandelion treats A DAY to my chinchilla for about a week. MAKES MORE SENSE NOW...Now to completely clean out his insides to have him feeling better.. :( **
 
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