Watery poop?

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jalu1908

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Joined
Apr 20, 2022
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2
Hello, I am a new Chinchilla owner. I got Skittles about 4 days ago and I’ve noticed her poop is super watery. The local pet store were feeding her a Kaylee pet brand that had lots of treats in it, and I immediately switched her to the Oxbow essentials along with Oxbow timothy hay. but her poop has not hardened. I am worried that something is wrong. Skittles is obviously still kind of shy but she is running around her cage and eating/drinking normally. I have her in a fairly small cage as i await her new cage (Critter nation model 162), maybe her smaller cage has been causing stress and that could be it? She’s active and not drowsy, and interacts when i’m with her. advice?
 
Hello, I am a new Chinchilla owner. I got Skittles about 4 days ago and I’ve noticed her poop is super watery. The local pet store were feeding her a Kaylee pet brand that had lots of treats in it, and I immediately switched her to the Oxbow essentials along with Oxbow timothy hay. but her poop has not hardened. I am worried that something is wrong. Skittles is obviously still kind of shy but she is running around her cage and eating/drinking normally. I have her in a fairly small cage as i await her new cage (Critter nation model 162), maybe her smaller cage has been causing stress and that could be it? She’s active and not drowsy, and interacts when i’m with her. advice?
I would take her to the vet immediately watery poop can cause enteritis or inflamation of intestines
 
I second taking her to see a vet ASAP. If it were just her bad diet, her poops should have hardened up by now after several days on better food. Watery poo can be a symptom of all sorts of potential health issues that can be quite serious if not treated. Chins will do everything they can to hide health issues for as long as they possibly can, so just because her behaviour seems okay doesn't mean there's not a problem. She should see a vet as soon as possible.
 
Hello, I am a new Chinchilla owner. I got Skittles about 4 days ago and I’ve noticed her poop is super watery. The local pet store were feeding her a Kaylee pet brand that had lots of treats in it, and I immediately switched her to the Oxbow essentials along with Oxbow timothy hay. but her poop has not hardened. I am worried that something is wrong. Skittles is obviously still kind of shy but she is running around her cage and eating/drinking normally. I have her in a fairly small cage as i await her new cage (Critter nation model 162), maybe her smaller cage has been causing stress and that could be it? She’s active and not drowsy, and interacts when i’m with her. advice?
Hello, I am a new Chinchilla owner. I got Skittles about 4 days ago and I’ve noticed her poop is super watery. The local pet store were feeding her a Kaylee pet brand that had lots of treats in it, and I immediately switched her to the Oxbow essentials along with Oxbow timothy hay. but her poop has not hardened. I am worried that something is wrong. Skittles is obviously still kind of shy but she is running around her cage and eating/drinking normally. I have her in a fairly small cage as i await her new cage (Critter nation model 162), maybe her smaller cage has been causing stress and that could be it? She’s active and not drowsy, and interacts when i’m with her. advice?
Update!!! I called the emergency vet hotline and they said since she was eating they’re not too concerned about her and to continue monitoring her at home. I just got home from work and her poop is now the original solid rice size! I will continue to monitor but as of right now there’s no more watery poop.
 
Update!!! I called the emergency vet hotline and they said since she was eating they’re not too concerned about her and to continue monitoring her at home. I just got home from work and her poop is now the original solid rice size! I will continue to monitor but as of right now there’s no more watery poop.
This is great news I'm glad all is going well
 
Sudden change in food as well as the stress of a new home can both cause gut issues that cause runny poop. Ideally food should be changed over slowly over the course of a few weeks to avoid stomach upset, or if the food is really terrible, or the chin refuses to eat the new food with the old food still there, you can just give hay for 3 days then switch over to the new pellet food. Unfortunately most vets don't know chins though, they lump them in with other rodents, so they don't realize how serious watery poop is for an animal that don't naturally drink much water and should have dry poop. Chins can dehydrate fairly quickly so even wet/damp poop is cause for concern with them. It's good that her poops aren't runny anymore, but their poops should be bigger then the size of rice (though I guess it depends on the type of rice and if you mean before or after cooking, lol), it should be more like around the size of a tic-tac, smaller poops can be a sign of constipation and/or gas (which is fatal in chins if not treated). There should also be a couple hundred poops a day.
 
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