Poop. Always the poop question

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Llittlebllonde

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Messages
73
Last night while Sprockety Rocket was out for playa time I noticed she was not her normal poop rocket self. No poop anywhere. I scooped her up and we had forced belly rubs which produced some poopin.
After looking at her I decided she might be a little bloated.

I swept her cage so I could monitor for new poop. By morning there was some, but not a lot. Most small and dark. Came home on lunch and she seemed ok. After work I went to get some baby gas drops. She hates them and won't take them willingly. I have yet to try and force her. She still seems a bit bloated but she is running around like normal, stealing stuff and running in her wheel. She seems to be eating fine. She is not a big pellet eater and seems to love the fresh hay I brought her the other day.

I am not sure what is normal for a chin as she is my first. Her activity, food and water consumption has not changed much since I got her. She only gets wood and dried rose petals or camomile, hibiscus, and alfalfa flowers for treats.

So questions - do chins like belly rubs when they are bloated? Or will I need to force the belly rubs?

Do I really have to put her in a chin burrito and make her take gas drops if she is still not poopin as much as everyone says she should? I think I read one poop a minute? She is pooping maybe one every three to five minutes.

Can someone post a "normal" chin poop with a dime or something for size comparison? I have only seen a single poop that I was the size I would expect. They are mostly just a bit larger than a mouse poop.

Thanks again in advance!- we need a poop smily.:vomit:

She did however steal the box for the gas drops.
http://imgur.com/e3NKDIQ
 
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Here is a link talking about constipation, but does have photo of a ruler next to some poops to give you a size idea, http://cuddlebug.dyndns.org/information/health/constipation.html If it is bloat I'd burrito wrap and force feed the gas drops, they don't do any good unless you get them in. Also if the chin is having issues they should not be getting any treats, wood is fine, but just hay and pellets for food. I know that the flowers you mentioned are safe, but it could also be possible with your chin one or all of them are the cause of the bloat, just like some people can't have certain foods.

Another size note, that wheel in the photo you posted is not a chin safe wheel, a wheel should be a minimum of 14" if you chin is small, or 15" minimum for a normal to larger chin, otherwise the chin is bending it's back the wrong way which will lead to back issues sooner or later. Also the wheel is plastic which if chewed and swallowed can cause issues, and those wheels have been known to fall over trapping the chin under them.
 
Thank you for the link Amethyst.

I am well aware of the wheel situation. This chin was given to me and I am in the process of making changes and treating her constipation. The wheel is the only thing she does not chew on and it is attached to the wall and will not fall and trap her.
 
In my experience, some like belly rubs and other not so much. If she doesn't want to hold still for the belly rub, then massage it as much as she will let you in short burst. It's better than nothing.
Some don't like laying on their backs for the belly rub but are okay with the belly rub while standing.
If she won't take the gas drops willingly, then yes you'll have to force them. Hopefully she takes them willingly. Most of mine seem to like them.


Can you post pictures of her poops?
 
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Awe, BooBoo I am so glad you asked lol I can post some poop pics.

The poop on the left is what I have been seeing since I got her. Sometimes longer with rounded ends but skinny like mouse poop. I didn't really realize there was something wrong until she didn't poop while out at playa time the other night. I thought the poop was awfully small but it was constant. On the right is from tonight. She was sitting on my improvised chin cooler when they were made. Not sure if that had anything to do with the size. Last evening I force fed her some gas drops and we had some standing tummy rubs. She would prefer no tummy rubs she is not a big fan of being held.

More gas drops tonight?

Waiting on imagur pics to come
 
My chinchilla does have the same poop as you sometime about 5 years, but i wont worry to much , as long she is eating, drinking & active that will do , as long chinchilla have enough fibre and water intake that will be fine, you can let her out of cage often to let her exercise more, you can also get fibreplex with pro-biotic added and feed her two time a day to enhanced her fibre intake and good bacteria to her body.

you can also give her unlimited oxbow Timothy hay & orchard grass hay.

if you worry to much , you can bring her to the vet see if you can get access medication cisapride , metolon oral (know as metoclopramide),

Cisapride is good medi on treating bloat (mostly chinchilla love the taste, because is abit sweet)

Bloat need take sometime to recover, must be patience.
sometime it take a few days , weeks or even months. its all depend on your chinchilla, as long as you did what you have to do for her.

As long she try, you also try, don give up :)

serious bloat can take a long time to recover, I have a chinchilla having a serious bloat now and have been 2 months, I only can continue giving him medication of cisapride , metolon & metacam , and more exercise out of cage everyday.:)
 
So after nice plump poops last night I gave more gas drops and tummy rubs and have seen almost no poop. She is still eating well and drinking and active. Granted she was asleep most of the day I am not not sure what to expect, or sure if I should be worried or not.

Do chins poop in their sleep? Do chins poop less during playa time once they become more comfortable?
 
some chinchilla will poop while sleeping but some dont.

i have one chinchilla that he pooping like have timing, morning to afternoon he sleep all day, after night time he start eating, drinking and start pooping etc.

does you chinchilla chew on any plastic or eating to much bedding in her cage?

you can try feed her small amount of CC like 5-10ml a few times a day, see if she pooping.

for what i experience when chinchilla start to not pooping that a early sign of illness bloat, constipation etc.
 
My chinchilla chews on almost anything. There is nothing in her cage that is plastic, and I have not seen her eat any bedding. Last week she pulled a rubber piece off the back of her wheel during the night and ate some of it. That is when the bloating started. She is definitely bloated and not pooping today. I gave her more gas drops and tummy rubs tonight, but still no poop. She used to be a poop rocket, pooping all the time. Beginning to think its time for an x-Ray.
 
If the symptoms started after chewing on the rubber I would get her into the vet ASAP, especially paired with no poop. She very well could be impacted, and if she is not pooping it means the gut is beginning to shut down. Ileus is serious and will lead to death if not treated quickly and vigilantly.
 
Finally some poop! But from everything I have read she is certainly constipated.

http://imgur.com/X8FCbVB

I am watching her vigilantly and will get her to the vet as soon as I see if I can find one with some chin experience. If I can't my regular vet will x-Ray and follow the advice found here.

Anything I should be doing in the mean time? Still eating and drinking. Less active than usual in her cage but was her normal crazy self during playa time.
 
Llittlebllonde said:
Finally some poop! But from everything I have read she is certainly constipated.

http://imgur.com/X8FCbVB

I am watching her vigilantly and will get her to the vet as soon as I see if I can find one with some chin experience. If I can't my regular vet will x-Ray and follow the advice found here.

Anything I should be doing in the mean time? Still eating and drinking. Less active than usual in her cage but was her normal crazy self during playa time.
Click to expand...


As i told you before my chinchilla have the same problem as you , today i have solve the problem, i when to my vet today and get 3 medication for my male chinchilla , cisapride , metolon, bactrim(strawberry flavour) & Fibreplex(Pro-boitic) , after i giving my chinchilla those 3 medication follow by 10ml CC and 3 hours apart of bactrim i feed my chinchilla fibreplex(Pro-boitic), my chinchilla poop when back to normal after 4-5 hours ! that really fast as i thought. hope this help !
 
UPDATE and questions.

The Rocket survived her bout of bloat with only gas drops and tummy rubs. No treats other than wood and dried flowers. She has been having plump well rounded poops for over a month. I still monitor them closely. I have learned there are hours of the day where she is not likely to poop.

During this time I began to weigh her about every three days at aprox. the same time each night. Over the month of data her weight ranged from a low of 664g to 700g. going up, down, up down. She is 680g today. Is this fluctuation normal?

She appears to be a fairly lazy chin. Eat, sleep. Eat, nap. Tiny bursts of wheel running. She rarely goes into her fleece hanging house. But if she is going to sleep it is there or on her wheel. Sometimes on top of it. During play time she is still a ball of energy and fast. Normal? Not normal?

Thanks for the help.
 
It is normal for there to be times of day when there is more poop than others. It typically coincides with times of the day where they are more active or eating/drinking more. I find that new owners freak out if they are not regular little poop pez dispensers but as long as they are regularly pooping there is generally little concern. Some days the poop may be a little smaller and dryer which indicates that they are not drinking as much. This can be environmental or an indication of illness. Make sure they have a clean water bottle, fresh clean water and mark water level with a dry erase marker at same time each day to see if water level is going down. Weight fluctuations are also normal, a chin can change weight 50 gms or more over a period of time typically based on appetite and activity level as well as water consumption. As long as there is not a consistent downward trend over time then it is generally not a concern.
 
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