Chin ate a sticker???

[PandaChilla]

So my chinchilla Tinsel was playing outside her cage while I was pasting stickers into my planner. I was watching her, and when she went to a place she is not allowed I nudged her away. Then, I let her sniff my planner, and she seemed to pick a sticker off and start chewing on it. They were those 3D stickers, kinda like foam or whatever.

It was a very small one. About 5 millimeters long and 2 millimeters wide. Will this be toxic to her? I am very nervous and worried.

 

[Minccino]

She will likely be fine! Just monitor her habits over the next couple of days and make sure her pooping is normal.

My chin is obsessed with stickers. There has been a couple of times when he has found one stuck to a box or a ceramic dish and he tries to peel them off/eat them. Of course when I noticed I would take it away, but nothing has ever happened from the tiny bits he did eat.

 

[PandaChilla]

Thanks for replying! I hope she will be fine. Before she ate it, her poop was already a bit soft, so I took out her pellets and have been giving her plain hay. Other than that, She is doing ok

 

[Minccino]

Thanks for replying! I hope she will be fine. Before she ate it, her poop was already a bit soft, so I took out her pellets and have been giving her plain hay. Other than that, She is doing ok

That's good news )
Be sure to keep us updated!

 

[riotheoleo]

Correct me if wrong, but if her poop is soft, wouldnt you want to increase the amount of pellets and take away her hay?
Hope everything works out

 

[Kokorobosoi]

Rio its the other way around. take away pellets, and give hay.

 

[riotheoleo]

Really?? Maybe its because I feed mine alfalfa

 

[Godofgods]

most chin pellets are alfalfa based. That is one reason why we feed timothy hay; to balance out the diet.

 

[Amethyst]

You want to remove the pellets and give just grass hay (alfalfa is a legume not a grass) to increase fiber to help firm up the poop. Most pellets contain some form of sugar, among other things, to make them tasty to chins and sugar can make diarrhea worse.

As to the original post you just want to watch for lack of poop 12-24 hours after eating the sticker since foam is not digestible the biggest worry would be a blockage.

 

[Jessica T]

My chinchilla had soft stools a couple of years ago. We let it go a few days and then took him to the vet. The vet gave us antibiotics to give him (they were inexpensive, $30) and said he probably had an upset in the balance of proper gut bacteria. The antibiotics cleared up the problem quickly. The vet NEVER mentioned removing hay or pellets or water from the cage - these are essential to the chinny's diet. Chinchillas go downhill very quickly - if Tinsel has had softer poops for more than a couple days, TAKE HER TO THE VET. When I was there the vet applauded me for bringing mine in so quickly - she had had to euthanize a rabbit with the same problem earlier that day because the problem was so far out of hand... Would've been very treatable had it been brought in earlier.

 

[ticklechin]

I tend to agree with the above post, people have had luck with pulling pellets but I never have, I treat the loose poo and leave the hay and pellets alone.