soft poop when feeding pellets

[MamaJ]

A few days ago, Mr. Shoe started having very soft, smelly poops, the kind that actually sticks to the shelves. I pulled all pellets, just fed hay and water and a piece of burnt toast. All poop returned to normal after a few hours so i added the pellets back the next day. The same night I noticed that he had the same soft poops again, so yet again I pulled pellets for 2 days.....back to normal....as soon as I return the pellets, he gets the soft stool again. My second chin has been pooping just fine, until last night when I noticed they were a little smaller and a lighter brown than normal.

So basically as soon as I add pellets, the poops become soft - what gives?

Both chins have been acting completely normal, bouncing around for playtime every night etc. Oh, we feed Mazuri pellets and Oxbow hay.

I am guessing it's time for a vet visit?

 

[cindyv3737]

Mazuri has been known to cause soft poop in some chins. Personally, I would change my feed.

 

[MamaJ]

Yeah, I read about that, so I just ordered some PRSC from Ronda and starting to mix it in with Mazuri now. It's just weird since they have been fine on it for 1.5 years. Hmm...

 

[cindyv3737]

What kind of water do you give?

 

[Spoof]

Don't mix the feeds, just try a cold switch to the new feed.

If you ever suspect a feed to be causing issues it is best to switch immediately. Obviously there is something wrong there. )

 

[MamaJ]

Oh really? I didn't know I could do that. Is it not going to cause more intestinal upset?

Cindy - filtered water, nothing special

 

[Spoof]

Oh really? I didn't know I could do that. Is it not going to cause more intestinal upset?

It definitely isn't going to cause more issues than what is already happening.

 

[MamaJ]

Good point

 

[MamaJ]

Was so happy, I put just the new food in last night, checked on them in the morning and late afternoon and saw a cage full of good looking, healthy poops. Just now, about 4 hours later I went down to clean and change liners and there are wet, very squishy poops again (no smell now though). I am hoping it is from the drastic food change.....

I also noticed that they are hardly, if at all touching their hay. I even went and got a new bag of oxbow, thinking maybe the one I got was just stale or whatnot, but still, they don't seem to be touching it at all. We also have an alfalfa tunnel in the cage that usually gets eaten by day 3 and we have to replace it. This current one has been in there for at least a week and is barely touched.

This is just so strange - what could have changed? I figured i would bring in a fecal sample if it hasn't improved by wednesday? What do you guys think?

p.s. still, both guys seem perky and not acting out of the ordinary.

Thanks!!

 

[MamaJ]

I should add that they seemingly ate a lot of the pellets. I realize that eating that many pellets and hardly any hay isn't good - I am just not sure as to how to change it. I have taken food out at night and just fed them during playtime and left them with hay and water, but in the long run....is that a solution?

 

[Lillybabe]

Personally I'd be worried something else is going on. Maybe it's their water and not their food? I fed my little guy Mazuri for about 5 years and never noticed the symptoms you are mentioning. I know all chins are different and some have gotten squishy poos with Mazuri but this sounds worse than just wet poos. Could they be ill? Are their any other changes in their environment? Anything they could have eaten that they shouldn't have? It might be time to see a vet. I would still keep offering them fresh pellets and hay until you know what's up. Them eating less is just going to make the problem worse. If it's the food change I'd assume it'd clear up fairly quickly. However it sounds like you're having the same symptoms now as you were before you switched feeds.

 

[MamaJ]

right, I am worried that something else is going on. However, I do find it interesting that when I pull food and just offer hay and filtered water, the poops immediately are normal and as soon as pellets are introduced they get squishy. I am kind of thinking that Mr. Shoe isn't eating enough (or any) hay and thus is not getting enough fiber in his diet. But I am by far not as knowledgeable as lot of the folks on here, so suggestions are very welcome.

So far my guys never has anything wrong, so thankfully I never needed to see a vet. I read some reviews on here about SEAVS exotic vet in Fairfax, VA which is about an hour from me. If anybody has used them, please let me know your experience.

 

[Lillybabe]

Is it possible to separate the boys? Maybe only one of them is having issues and you can figure out for certain which one if they are houses separately for a short time?

 

[MamaJ]

It would be possible for sure, I do have an extra cage, but I know it is Mr. Shoe who is having the issue. During playtime I have tracked their poops (yeah...i know ) . Spooky is normal and Mr. Shoe is definitely the one with the soft poop problem. I also see Spooky eating hay, whereas I haven't seen Shoe touch any in a week from what I could observe.

 

[Lillybabe]

Maybe Mr. Shoe could be tempted to eat hay with a nice botanical or orchard hay? Or even some alfalfa if he's not eating hay at all?

 

[Spoof]

I should add that they seemingly ate a lot of the pellets. I realize that eating that many pellets and hardly any hay isn't good

Not true. Eating more pellets and less hay means they are getting the nutrients they need out of the pellets and not needing to rely as much on the hay. Pellets are really just ground up hay with minerals added. They may have also had a mineral deficiency and needed what was in them and gorged when allowed. Don't take them out, they obviously need something in them and removing the pellet is forcing them to gorge (and therefore drink more and get squishy poo) when they have the chance.

If your poops smelled before that isn't good. That is usually the sign of giardia. It can crop up when their immune system is under stress (bad feed). Have you checked your new hay tunnel? You might have also gotten a bad one.

I would leave the new food in there and leave them alone for 24 hours, watch the poops and how much they drink throughout the day. The poo will probably get squishy and firm up again as they eat and drink a lot.

 

[MamaJ]

Ok. Somebody on here had advised that I pull pellets and just stick to hay and water. I am getting a little confused on what is best. I guess I will put pellets back, get a new tunnel and different kinds of hay. I made an appointment with a vet for Thursday evening. I hope it gets resolved before then.