Excess Protein Causing GI probs

[CrystalH]

It's all guesswork of course, but my chinchilla has had a series of really effed up poos these last couple months.

1. waaaay back he displayed symptoms of constipation or something. took him to emergency non-specialist and they gave me metoclopramide. after a few dosages, he seemed totally back to norm. so i discontinued the meds because i didn't really think he had stasis or was displaying stasis anyway.

2. new years rolls around and my extend fam passes through. i caught one of my cousins giving him some oats (without permission) and i'm not sure how much she fed him. i usually only give him like a pinch a day as treats...but she could have been giving him a lot more than he usually has.
add onto the stress of having guests over...he started getting soft, mushy poops. took him to specialist exotic in fresno (only one close to where i'm at)

3. took him to vet. poops got better in the car...vet does nothing tells me to wait for changes. giardia test comes back neg

4. poops become malformed and liquidy. freaked out. took him the next morning and vet perscribes dosages of albon/panacur. he goes through treatment having dark/well formed but larger than normal poops. total improvement having finished a week prescribed treatment

5. then he gets mushy poop again but not as serious. just bouts here and there that go away should i have extended albon/panacur treatment?

6. i decided to buy some lifeline with intent to use as supplemental probiotic. gave it to him for two weeks alternating days. 1/4 tsp. some he ate right off a spoon and the other half i sprinkled on his oxbow.
i think the oats and protein chocolate chins includes in the mix is what's causing the problem. (not that i'm blaming the mix. i think it must be wonderful but it was my own miscalculation).
but after a while, the poop goes full circle to small, constipated, harder than usual poops which i surmise as being an improvement to full on diarrhea. THEN, they get greasy and dark (and soft), and last night they were lighter brown and soft...

7. i've discontinued oxbow and have him on free feed tim hay. also discontinuing using lifeline for fear of the oats being a trigger to his upset stomach. throughout this whole affair, his behavior and outward appearance did not change really...

8. planning on running out for some probiotics. can someone suggest a safe human grade brand of probiotic capsule i can use? also...is this even the right course? if his poops don't improve, i am scheduling a vet visit.

 

[CrystalH]

while he was on treatment, i was also guilty of giving him rolled oat treats out of habit (and plus he knows how to beg for them...so irresponsible). i have since discarded them...

 

[greychins]

Wow. I really don't know enough to comment about your chinny's problems, but I can recommend a probiotic. This is the one I use http://www.gnc.com/Nutrition-Now-Pro-Biotics-Acidophilus/product.jsp?productId=2134397 - 14 billion live bacteria. I've always bought it from GNC, they usually have it in stock at the store by me anyways.

Best of luck! Hope you can figure out what's going on soon.

 

[CrystalH]

thank you!!! i'm sitting here hand feeding him hay right now hahaha. he seems ok, active...idk what it is

 

[ticklechin]

Does the poo stink? Have you had any poo that looked like swiss cheese holes? Do you feed shredded wheat?

 

[CrystalH]

Dawn: i have curtailed all treats and have fed him nothing but hay/feed last two weeks. i have fed him shredded wheat in the past tho. a little after his panacur treatment.

the poop does not smell unless i bring it to my nose and break it open...it has a slight smell. nothing out of ordinary. smells like...fresh grass almost. (sounds gross but yeah). i have noticed a small hole once or twice. but nothing that resembles swiss. consistency of his poo seems decent. altho...sometimes it will look rough when it comes out (which i attribute to bad digestion)

 

[ticklechin]

Do you feed mazuri? Also, make sure you taste any probiotics you give, some are really nasty tasting and will make the chin go off feed.

 

[CrystalH]

dawn: i said previously that i feed oxbow chinchilla deluxe. what kind of probiotic do your chinchillas prefer? what exactly am i tasting for? bitterness?

 

[ticklechin]

Nasty tasting, something you would not want to eat. I have not used one in a long time, but I got it from whole foods in the refrigerated vitamin department, it was 30billion and was a powder with a scoop, meant to be eaten over food.

 

[AZChins]

It sounds like your chin has a lot of intestinal irritation and inflammation. This could have all started with the metaclopramide, it could be something else. You may need to wait it out for a few months to see if it goes away. Unless it is a parasite....sometimes those tests come back negative one day and the next positive. I don't know how chins do it, but sometimes giardia doesn't show up even though that is the problem.

Probiotics can help a lot with regulating the gut bacteria, definitely use it! One thing that I have used that helps with calming things down is dried peppermint. It helps to soothe the intestinal tract. The albon will help to coat the gut and soothe things...if it gets really bad again, give the albon for a few days.

The oats could be a problem. If you give them, only give a small amount. With oats or wheat there can be problems in the gut digesting them since they are so starchy and are so easily absorbed. The chin needs pellets, don't go for more than a few days at a time without pellets or there could be some significant weight loss. (And, not just fat loss...the chin could end up losing muscle and that is bad for the kidneys, the liver and can cause secondary problems.)

 

[CrystalH]

thanks! i'm going to give him the pellets back tonight when he's ingested more hay and sprinkle the probiotic on it. does a capsule sound like the right amount to administer per night? if this doesn't help clear up soon, i'm going to get another test for parasites. ugh. driving to fresno is like 2 hours...such a bummer. but i love my fuzzy boy :-(

 

[CrystalH]

also, az chins: i don't think i'm going to give treats anymore so i'm 86ing oats completely. we're sticking with scratches and twigs. maybe rosehips here and there when he gets better. this is so incredibly frustrating and stressful and i want to thank all commentors for their input.

 

[AZChins]

You can sprinkle an entire capsule, that works pretty well. It will stick to the pellets, mix it around them a little. Don't worry about overdoing the probiotic...anything extra just comes out with the droppings and doesn't cause any issues.

He'll be fine without the oats or treats. Chins can be amazingly stressful when it comes to these issues. I drive to the vet an hour each way quite a bit...you get used to it. (Hopefully you won't have to go to the vet too much more.)

 

[CrystalH]

can i give probiotic in a syringe if chinchilla stops eating feed? (mix powder with water)

 

[AZChins]

Absolutely! You can mix it with Critical care or Life Line if you want. I do this quite a bit when I hand feed certain chins.