Diarrhea affected another chinchilla

[Ippo456]

I have 2 chinchillas, one JUST recovered from diarrhea. Now, my other chinchilla, Tubby, is having soft poops.
I let Tubby out for playtime tonight, and that's when I noticed that his poops are soft. When I put him back, he continued to pass soft poops. What I don't understand is that he has had no contact what-so-ever with my sick chinchilla (they live in separate cages, in opposite sides of the same room), and they don't share anything (they don't share toys, play space, food, etc). Earlier today, Tubby's poops were normal. I just cleaned his cage this past weekend & had put some fresh hay, food, & water. He's been on Mazuri for almost 3 years now & he only eats Zupreem timothy hay. His poops are soft, & not runny/diarrhea-like. I just don't understand why he's having this problem .. he's my healthiest chinchilla & I've been giving him plain wheaties & chew sticks as treats .... I'm so confused .......
If this continues tomorrow morning (I hope not), I'll be taking him to the vet.

 

[Stackie]

It looks like your other chin was diagnosed with a parasite?

If so, they could be contracting it from your water. Do you give them tap water, or something that is filtered? Bottled?

If the diarrhea continues, a vet visit will be necessary to take a fecal sample and test for parasites. For now, if you are giving tap water, you will need to start filtering your water. I use a PUR 3 stage filter for my chins. It filters out all microbial parasites and their cysts. While the tap water may not affect us, the small amounts have been know to infect chinchillas.

I would also pull all pellets and just give plenty of hay, along with activated charcoal sprinkled on top of a shreddie. I also like to give acidophilus mixed with lifeline. Usually they will eat it up right from a spoon.

Mazuri has been known to cause diarrhea in chins. I had my chins on Mazuri for about a year with no problems, then just out of the blue one started with diarrhea..then another...then all 5 had it within a few weeks. It turned out to be the Mazuri and a food switch cleared them up instantly. But for now, since your other chin was diagnosed with a parasite, I would suspect that's the problem.

 

[Riven]

Actually, they share you. If you cleaned one cage and didn't complete shower then went to the other, that can be enough.

I agree on Stacie about Mazuri. I don't use or recommend it because there are so many inconsistencies on how chins react to it.

Water is a huge part of chins diets. Most people don't think of drinks, let alone water being part of a chins diet. I would disinfect water bottles, dishes, and cages to kill anything that might be lurking in there as well.

 

[starleomach]

I agree with Riven and Stackie, Parasites are very easy to spread.

 

[Ippo456]

Duh, there's 1 thing in common, me.
Tubby & Winnie drink Brita water, not sure if Brita is as good as Pur. I also drink Brita water.
Took Tubby to the vet & the vet took a stool sample. The bacteria that's causing the soft poop is normally found in the stomach, but for some reason, either from stress, food, or whatever else, the bacteria number has increased & outnumbered the other bacteria.
Vet wants to go the 'natural' way rather than giving Tubby antibiotic that would kill the good & bad bacteria. So now he's on Diarsanyl for twice a day & Bene-Bac for once a day. After 3 days of meds, his poops have become hard again Tubby has bounced back quickly.