Not eating. Small poop.

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Rebecca

Rebecca

That one bookworm girl...
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
276
Location
California Bay Area
Hello. Lately I've been noticing that the boys have a lot more food left in their bowl each day than normal. Today while cleaning, I noticed that many of the poop pellets (about half) are half the usual size. I have two boys in the cage, so I think one of them is sick/not eating properly. I haven't noticed any behavioral differences. What should I do?
 
Do you weigh them regularly? If not, you should. It may be easier to tell who is having issues based on weights.

Are they still eating hay?
 
Can you split them up for a while? Can you weigh them, or rather, have you been weighing them? It is important to find out which one is off his food or if it is both. How is their hay consumption? Water? Anything different about the pellets lately?

I gather this has gone on a few days. If so, I would first suspect teeth problems. I would get to a vet before the holidays. Start with a probiotic anyway, Bene-bac or whatever you prefer.

Good luck.
 
I have yet to weigh them. Are there real world stores that sell accurate enough balances, or do I need to order one online? I'd like to get that started asap, so the sooner I can get my hands on one the better.

I have a collapsable cage with the emergency supplies, and I could set that up for one of them. The thing is it is rather small (a quality cage collapsable), and Edmund freaks out when they're apart. I can still do it if you guys think that is best.

Hay consumption has been normal, as has water.

I also just hand fed him a few food pellets which I dipped in a raisin (they refuse to hand feed food), and he didn't seem to be in pain when eating them.

I called the vet I had intended to use, and apparently his number has been disconnected :/. User Kendra suggested Dr. Lynn up in Oakland, who will be my next course of action if I don't hear back from the breeder (Cara Beasley) I bought them from. I'm hoping she knows of a closer vet. Can I buy a probiotic, or does it need to be prescribed by a vet?
 
If hay consumption is normal, things shouldn't be too bad. Go with what the breeder suggests unless there are more or continued symptoms. Anything different with the pellets? What brand?

Salter makes a good scale, +-2 gms. Bed Bath and Beyond or similar stores carry them.

Raisins are the last thing they need.

I use Bene-bac regularly. Comes in 3 small tubes at pet stores or 15cc tubes from vets or online. 1cc every other day = 1 syringe tube per month - about $5 online from Revival. All our chins love it.
 
I have them on Oxbow pellets, which I've had them on since I got them in August 2008. I buy in 5lb bags, so I can start a new one to see if that fixes anything.

It's not a whole raisin, I just rubbed it on the pellets to give them flavor. I'd say I've used about 1/8th of one so far, but I can stop if it's bad. I just wanted to get some food in him.

I'll call the petstores in the area tomorrow to see if they cary benebac.
 
You may want to get a hold of some critical care if you have not already. Keep it on hand in case you guy stops eating completely. The last thing you want is your chin going into GI stasis, which can happen fast when they stop eating. Hope everything works out well!
 
Rebecca I would also be feeling bellies to see if they feel hard and gassy--as small poos could be constipation which they would need belly massage to help expell. If neither or them feels this way I would push hay more than pellets and see if this helps. Whenever I've had poo issues--runny or small I've pulled pellets for 3-5 days and fed nothing but tons of hay and each time the issue has cleared itself.

It may also not be a bad idea to get some lifeline through Dawna at chocolatechins.com or you can PM Kristy, Starleomach and see if she can get you a direct line of communication to her as well.

I hope both boys are okay and continue to thrive
 
PetsMart carries Bene-bac, 3 small tubes in a package. There are lots of other probiotics. I like this because it is easy to use and to get them to eat. Oxbow is good food.

You still need to see if it is just 1 not eating pellets, or if it's both. Try to do it by observation. Watch to see if they eat pellets and hay.

I would also see a vet to be on the safe side, before you need an expensive emergency visit. If you need Critical Care, you can get it from the vet, or else powder some pellets in a blender and use that with a probiotic.

But first you need to finish diagnosing the problem. Get all the info you can to tell the vet. Be prepared if things get worse. Don't be surprised if they go back to normal. Get ahold of the breeder.

Others here can help or feel free to pm me. My # is on my web page if things go bad.

Good luck.
 
Also, I was using carefresh bedding in the litter box. I've only ever seen them nibble on it occasionally, but I read that it can cause impaction, so I just pulled it. If the issue was the carefresh, what should I do?
 
If you have poos, it is not an impaction. Make sure both are pooing. I don't think there is much chance of carefresh causing an impaction. It might swell but it would also lengthen and likely pass through without any problem. IMO.
 
I coaxed a poo out of both of them today, so I guess it isn't impaction. He's acting normally, but I still haven't seen him visit the food dish.
 
>I coaxed a poo out of both of them today

Not sure what you mean. They have no control over pooing and there should be a steady amount. If both size and quantity are continuing to diminish, you need to act. Find out which one is not eating. If both, then look for common factors: something contagious (you would probably notice something), something about the pellets, some external stress (something different in their neighborhood).
 
I visited the vet today. He says everything looks fine with Jack, but Edmund has some gas. He gave me some medicine to give for the next week. I hope to see things improve. Thank you all for your help!
 
Thanks for the update. I hate gas. What did the vet give you to give him?

Please study up on bloat. It is a serious, often deadly condition.
 
Hope he gets better soon. Let us know when he does?

Best foir the holidays!
 
Ya! That's great.

When there are more than 1 chin in a cage you lose some of the info about their health if you can't sort out whose poo are whose, food and water intake, etc. Observation and a decent scale can be valuable tools.
 
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