Stress-induced diarrhea?

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CerLynn

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
521
Location
MA
A little background.... When we first brought Kenai home, after a day or two of beginning the food switch from PANR to Mazuri, he got diarrhea. We switched him back, it cleared up for a day or two, and then came back, even worse. We took him to the vet after a week or two of no improvement - was given a potential roundworm diagnosis, but they were unsure as there were so few eggs, if that's what they even were. He was given a course of Ivermectin (one dose, then another dose 2 weeks later) just in case. It cleared up by the end of those two weeks. That was over 2 months ago.

Now, last night, we upgraded his cage to a FN, and he was thrilled. However, today, he has diarrhea again. Last time we really couldn't narrow down what caused it, as there were so many changes in his life at the time. Now, literally the only thing that has changed is the cage switch (and he was in a carrier for maybe a half hour while we transferred furniture between cages). Are some chins just that sensitive to change/stress that they get diarrhea, or do you think this could be some recurrence of a dormant infection/infestation that never got cleared up? We're really hoping this clears up on its own. We're adding acidophilus to his food and gave him a shreddie. Any other suggestions/thoughts?
 
Yes, stress can certainly cause diarrhea. It is not uncommon to bring home a new chinchilla and the chin end up with mushy poops due to the stress of the move. Some chins are so sensitive to change that they can get mooshy poops by changing a few things around in their cage.

For now my suggestion is to pull his pellets and just feel him lots and lots of hay. That usually helps firm poos up quite a bit. If that doesn't seem to help improve it, you can get some kaolin pectin- be sure it does not contain salicylides. I believe you can get some at pet stores and feed stores. Mine is just in a big pink bottle labeled Kaolin, which I got from TSC.
 
Poor baby has been through so much...

He did better on PANR for me. What feed do you have him on at the moment?
 
He's still on PANR, as that initial transition didn't go well (which worked out for the better - we can get it in bulk here for much cheaper than Mazuri). He had been perfectly fine for at least 2 months, and we've been on the current bags of hay and pellets for at least a couple weeks, so I imagine he must just be really sensitive to change. We'll go ahead and pull pellets tonight. Hoping we don't have to resort to the kaolin-pectin - tried that last time and he was not a huge fan...
 
I have a boy that gets stress induced diarrhea and the slightest thing can trigger it. I agree with Stackie...pull his pellets and feed him hay only for a few days. You could also give him activated charcoal which worked very well for my Cheeko and you can also offer him a couple of shredded wheats. If you don't have activated charcoal, burnt toast will work too.

Just an FYI...I used to feed my crew Tradition and Cheeko would have his normal bouts with diarrhea. Since I switched everyone over to PANR, no diarrhea so far and they've been on it for over 3 months.

Good luck!!
 
I've got a boy who is one of those easily stressed chins. Even changes around the house affect him. It usually clears up after a day or so. I'd give him time. Usually no pellets for a day, a lot of hay, and a shreddie help here.
 
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