I changed to fleece and since then, no poops.

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devonmariexoxo

devonmariexoxo

Annabelle's Mommy! (:
Joined
May 19, 2012
Messages
121
Location
Kentucky
So, I changed Annabelle's cage from bedding to fleece about an hour ago. Since then, she hasn't pooped at all. She's eating and she's running around and basically acting like herself. And I don't think her stomach feels any different than normal, assuming it would be very obvious if I felt and something was wrong, like bloat. Should I be worried? Or is it normal for her to not poop with a new floor in her cage? I'm really getting worried about her, so I need some advice.
 
It's now been 2 hours since Annabelle has pooped. Someone please give me some advice?! She's acting normal, basically. Her stomach is squishy, but slightly further out than her chest, when you feel. I don't know if that's normal or not. She doesn't seem to be trying to stretch or pushing her stomach to the ground or anything. I don't know if I need to do anything or just wait it out. I'm really worried, because I don't want anything to happen to her. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions?
 
This is exactly what happened to me last week when I switched from bedding to fleece. Koopa didn't go for hours and hours and I was so worried, but then he started up again at night. The same thing happened the next day after I cleaned all the poop off the fleece (I didn't see him go at ALL for hours and hours) so we brought him to the e-vet. Everything checked out okay. I'm starting to think that he just goes less during the day since he's sleeping, and I think when he does poop during the day, he eats it since I see him stick his head under his stomach and come back up chewing. Is it possible that Annabelle is doing the same thing? My guess is that this was his normal routine but I just couldn't notice it before when he was in bedding. It's so much easier to monitor them when they're on fleece, but also leads to so much more worrying!

Hope your girl is okay!
 
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koopashark said:
This is exactly what happened to me last week when I switched from bedding to fleece.
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This makes me feel better! Hopefully they are the same situations!

koopashark said:
I'm starting to think that he just goes less during the day since he's sleeping, and I think when he does poop during the day, he eats it since I see him stick his head under his stomach and come back up chewing. Is it possible that Annabelle is doing the same thing?
Click to expand...

That may be possible, I'll have to start watching her for that!
And I agree than the fleece leads to more worrying! Haha. But hopefully it will be worth it in the long run! How long was it before Koopa started pooping again?
 
The first day I noticed anything I didn't see him go for almost 7 hours. The next day, I cleaned the fleece off in the morning around 8:30 so that I could watch him and at 5:30 when my fiance got home from work and I still hadn't see any poops, we decided to take him to the emergency vet. He started up again around 8:30PM that night. She took x-rays and didn't see any gas or blockages so she said he seemed stable and to see an actual exotics vet the next day, but when I called, the vet couldn't see us until Saturday (2 days later) so I kept an eye on him until then - pretty much the same thing every day, no poops that I saw from 8:30AM to 8:30PM, which is when I started laying next to his cage and watching him during the day while he was sleepy. That's how I noticed he seemed like he was eating any poop during the day. The exotics vet gave us medicine to help with any potential constipation, but even though he's been on it for over 3 days now, same routine - I see nothing on his fleece during the day but occasionally see him chewing when he's not even near his food.

I shelled out a ton of money at the vets which sucked, but I'd rather spend the money and have reassurance than just sit around worrying. If she doesn't start going soon and you get worried/anxious about it, I'd say have her checked out for her own safety and your peace of mind!
 
That is so strange, but it seems like that may be what Annabelle is doing. She had a ton of poop from last night when I got up this morning (I know because I clean her hammock out every night before I sleep and it's always pretty full when i wake up, and this morning was no exception). I'll keep watching her tonight and see what happens. And I already have a regular service and an emergency vet number on hand in case it's needed. Hopefully I won't need them though. I'll keep everyone updated though!
 
Chins go periods in the day without pooping. It all depends on when they last ate. Since it is the middle of the day, you probably woke up her and she hasn't eaten in awhile.
 
Yeah, she's eating pretty normally, for early evening anyway. Just kind of nibbling off and on. So that may have something to do with it.
 
Here's an update on Annabelle:
We came home from church and Annabelle STILL hadn't pooped (this was about 11:15). So I freaked out and my dad told me to call and see if I could find a vet. While I was on hold, we got Annabelle out and put her in her pool. As the person at the vet was telling me they didn't see chinchillas, Annabelle began pooping. She pooped probably 20-30 times in like 25 minutes, so not too bad. She also dusted, which is something she wouldn't do earlier today. When I put her back into her cage, she didn't poop, but I'm hopeful she will while I'm sleeping. She's currently in her hammock, laying down and looking at me through squinted eyes and she has her ears back (her normal look when I put her up from playtime). Her tummy feels like the right kind of squishy, so hopefully everything will be alright in the morning. My dad thinks I should maybe still take her to the vet just as a precaution, which I am for, partially because I've been wanting to take her for just a checkup anyway. Thanks for your input everyone, and I will update you again in the morning!
 
Yay! Glad she started up again. You'll be glad you take her just so someone experienced can verify that she's okay. :)
 
Yeah, that's what I've been thinking. I have a vet that I know deals with chinchillas, they just aren't open right now. Haha. But I'm hoping I can get her in soon. And I'm also hoping I can find an emergency vet around here that will see her!
 
An update on Annabelle:
I got up this morning and checked her cage immediately. There's a pretty decent amount of poops, but not as much as I was expecting for an 8 hour period, like there are still none in her hammock when there are normally a ton. But there are quite a bit of pellets gone, it looks like she drank some water, and I heard her munching on hay last night as I was falling asleep. So all seems okay, minus the less than ideal amount of poops. But any poop is better than no poop! I just hate that she did this on Independence Day because there aren't any chin vets open around here. Fortunately it doesn't seem to be an emergency, so I'm thinking she'll be okay to wait. I'm going to clean up her fleece here shortly and monitor her throughout the day again. Hoping for a day full of chin poops!
 
I'm glad she has stopped tormenting you and is pooping again!

On a side note, though, you should have a knowledgeable chin vet lined up and ready in case an emergency does arrive in the future.
 
I have a regular hour chin vet, and I've been working on finding one in case of emergency.

She pooped during some playtime this morning, but hasn't since I put her back in her cage. My family currently has two theories, since she continues to act normal and eat normal:
1. She has never pooped during the day, unless she's out in her pool and more active, and I just didn't notice until I changed to fleece yesterday.
2. She's not comfortable on the fleece yet, since she grew up on bedding and she liked to burrow in it and felt safer in it and all that jazz.

I don't know if either of these are legitimate reasons or not, but they sound somewhat plausible.
 
So now I'm thinking Annabelle is eating her poop, especially during the day. I hadn't seen any poop since playtime, and then I went and checked on her around 8:30 and I saw one very healthy looking poop, so I was very happy about it! Then I went back around 9 and I cannot find that poop ANYWHERE. Soooo...now I think that's what she's been doing all this time. Hopefully this mystery is close to a breakthrough!
 
Sounds exactly like Koopa! I found half a poop on his ledge (during my anxious days when I thought he wasn't going at all) and came back shortly later to no poop in sight. Little devils. They were tormenting us!!:hair:
 
Yesterday I found Zoidberg sitting next to the food bowl eating a pellet, then eating a poo, then eating a pellet and so on. He is a little butthead like that :D They eat their poo because there are still good nutrients in it, hay/grass is one of the hardest things for mammals to digest. Cows have 4 stomachs to be able to digest it thoroughly. It's not a bad thing, just kinda annoying when you are giving them fresh pellets each day for them to turn around and eat poo.
 
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