Not drinking, dry poo

[caballtaz]

I got a new chin Sunday, and he's been very stressed. He spent the first couple of days hiding in the back of his cage and barking, especially when I would reach in to feed him. He's calmed down a lot now and isn't hiding as much.

However, he's barely had anything to drink at all since he came. I did see him drink a little bit, but the water barely goes down and his droppings are very dry. I don't want him to get too dehydrated, so I finally gave up trying to avoid stressing him, and I caught him and dropper-fed him some water. In the process of catching him, I noticed what looked like dried diarrhea around his anus. Not a huge amount, just a little bit. But I have seen NO diarrhea unless he ate it overnight.

He eats no pellets but eats plenty of hay. I have not had white paper towels down to monitor pee. He seems bright eyed and alert. He's not quite as active as my other chin, but I assumed that was because of stress. He still will jump around his cage occasionally.

Should he go to the vet, or should I keep giving him water in a dropper?

 

[Harleychin]

Are you sure the water bottle is working right?

 

[caballtaz]

Can't figure out how to edit my thread, so I'll post a reply.

I asked a friend for advice and she gave me some ideas. First, she suggested maybe he doesn't like the taste of the water, which is valid since he's used to distilled water. Second, she suggested getting some celery or other vegetable with a high water content and seeing if he'd eat it. So I'm going to run to the store and try those.

Yes, I'm sure the water is working right, I've tested it. I actually added a second bottle in a different location in the cage.

 

[Harleychin]

No fresh fruit or veggies.You could send his gut out of wack.
Are you using purified water?
Could the stain on his butt be blood or does it look like he just sat in his own pee?

 

[alli713]

I'd be very careful with the vegetable suggestion. A chin not used to vegetables can get bloat from them.

If you're sure the bottle works, and have seen him drink once, he may be okay on the water part. Chins in general don't drink much. Have you marked the bottle at all to see if it is going down, but just not enough that you notice it?

 

[caballtaz]

Okay, so no veggies. I use a Brita faucet filter that specifies it's good for giardia and other contaminants, and now one of his bottles had distilled water in it.

The stain on his butt could be pee, I didn't think of that. I'll mark his bottles tonight. I've been mentally marking them, but I should probably be a little more accurate.

 

[caballtaz]

He drank from the distilled bottle last night. Yay!

 

[starleomach]

Chinchillas also need to transition in change of water as water can taste very different from different sources

 

[TheNobleFight]

NO... A Brita filter is not good for GIARDIA. I am treating a chin right now for Giardia from a Brita system. The part per million requirements for Giardia filtering are set for human consumption not Chins.

Give them Distilled or Reverse Osmo water only!!!
Or stock up on FLAGYL and get ready to hand feed meds for 2 weeks.

 

[Essentia]

Pur 3-Stage Faucet Filter does filter giardia.

 

[caballtaz]

Can you please specify what ppm for giardia filtering is required for chinchillas?

 

[caballtaz]

I'd also like to point out that bottled water is regulated by the FDA, while tap water is regulated by the EPA. The EPA's standards for testing and contamination are MUCH stricter than the FDA, and it is possible for bottled water to be contaminated. It is also my personal belief that bottled water is unnecessarily harmful to the environment due to its use of plastic.

Here are articles regarding bottled water regulation:
http://www.allaboutwater.org/regulations.html
http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/bwinx.asp

"BRITA On Tap Filter System removes 99.99% Giardia as certified by the international National Sanitation Foundation (NSF)." (source)

So yes, it could still have 0.01% of the originally low level of giardia cysts, and that could theoretically cause an infection (in a stressed, susceptible animal, because healthy animals can tolerate a mild infection) (Source: Hoefer HL, Crossley DA: Chinchillas. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets, 4th edition. British Small Animal Veterinary Association, 2002; cited here).

A more likely route of infection is transmission from an asymptomatic carrier (fecal-oral) to a stressed chinchilla.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

A chin with giardia would have loose stool, probably mucousy, and smelly. Your chin has small dry poops, most likely not giardia.

A change in environment can often lead to changes in output. Unless he is lethargic or you feel he looks sick (you said he was bright eyed and fairly energetic I believe) I would keep giving him fresh water and pellets and hay and watch him for a couple more days to see if things get to normal. He may be just settling and not have as large of an appetite causing his poop to be smaller and drier. I think if you mess with him too much he will continue to be stressed. Again, if you feel something is wrong, take him to a vet, but poops being smaller for the first few days can be a normal part of a transition just as loose poops for a couple of days can be.