Soft Baby Chin Stool

[UnhappyRefrain]

I got a baby male chin two weeks ago (he's about 2 months old). Since I got him from the breeder, he has had soft stool. It has no odor, it's just a little soft and sometimes sticks to surfaces (he manages never to get any stuck in his fur or anything). I have not given him any treats and I have been feeding him Oxbow pellets and Timothy hay. I tried the plain mini wheat remedy, but it doesn't seem to have an effect. The breeder told me that it is probably just nerves from moving to a new home, but I would have thought that it would have stopped by now. He eats, drinks and exercises normally, it's just the stool. I am starting to wonder if this is just how his stool normally is? Any advice or insight?

 

[Amethyst]

I would just keep a close eye on it, it's only been a couple weeks so it very well could be nerves, it takes some chins up to a month to settle in. If you notice any other signs (lethragy, poop getting runny or smelly, etc) though or lasts for past a month I would take him to the vet. You can also try taking the pellets away for a day or two and see if the increased fiber from just hay helps firm up the poops. Since he is still so young you can give him alfalfa hay in addition to the timothy, kits can use the extra calcium and protein for growing. Also is Oxbow what the breeder was feeding? and the same Oxbow too (the Essentials is the safe one but there are a couple other kinds out now) if you changed food that can cause a bit of an upset stomach too.

Also I'm not sure what you mean by exercise, but keep any out of cage playtime to a minimum, 5-10 minutes a week at most if at all, they can over do it easily.

 

[tunes]

Ditto what Amethyst said, but I'd like to add, no treats until after 6 months. If you want to give him a "treat" give him a hay cube or a wood chew.

 

[UnhappyRefrain]

I would just keep a close eye on it, it's only been a couple weeks so it very well could be nerves, it takes some chins up to a month to settle in. If you notice any other signs (lethragy, poop getting runny or smelly, etc) though or lasts for past a month I would take him to the vet. You can also try taking the pellets away for a day or two and see if the increased fiber from just hay helps firm up the poops. Since he is still so young you can give him alfalfa hay in addition to the timothy, kits can use the extra calcium and protein for growing. Also is Oxbow what the breeder was feeding? and the same Oxbow too (the Essentials is the safe one but there are a couple other kinds out now) if you changed food that can cause a bit of an upset stomach too.

Also I'm not sure what you mean by exercise, but keep any out of cage playtime to a minimum, 5-10 minutes a week at most if at all, they can over do it easily.

The breeder also gave him Oxbow pellets. The breeder gave me a bag of the pellets she had been feeding him, so I'm still using those same pellets. I also haven't had him out of the cage yet, so what I mean by exercise is that he zooms around the cage, popcorns all over the place and runs in his wheel. I do have some alfalfa, but i was worried that it would upset his belly with the mix of Timothy. I really appreciate everyone's advice here. I just lost my 13 year old chin, so i'm extremely paranoid about anything happening to my new baby. Thank you.

 

[Amethyst]

The breeder also gave him Oxbow pellets. The breeder gave me a bag of the pellets she had been feeding him, so I'm still using those same pellets. I also haven't had him out of the cage yet, so what I mean by exercise is that he zooms around the cage, popcorns all over the place and runs in his wheel. I do have some alfalfa, but i was worried that it would upset his belly with the mix of Timothy. I really appreciate everyone's advice here. I just lost my 13 year old chin, so i'm extremely paranoid about anything happening to my new baby. Thank you.

Oh, yeah no wheel until 6 months either, it can cause him to lose weight (can even be an issue for adult chins), and kits can over do it ending up having a sudden drop in blood sugar causing a seizure, coma or death.

I was also thinking, you can see if your vet is willing to do a fecal test on the poop just to check to make sure it's not anything serious causing the issue. Some are willing to do it without having to see the chin, then you bring the chin in later for treatment if there is an issue. A wellness check isn't a bad idea either though, it will give you peace of mind that your new little guy is doing ok and if not get him on the right track. Also that way your vet can get to know your new chin and have them on file already should something happen.

 

[UnhappyRefrain]

I might take him to the vet next week. Didn't know about the wheel though. That's scary. He is rarely on the wheel anymore since he has discovered the wooden 'jungle gym'. I might consider taking it out for now though.

 

[ChinsForLife]

Can I see A pic of your cage? What do you mean by jungle gym? I'm getting a chin the same age! Trying to decide on a cage setup...

I might take him to the vet next week. Didn't know about the wheel though. That's scary. He is rarely on the wheel anymore since he has discovered the wooden 'jungle gym'. I might consider taking it out for now though.

 

[Skiklutz]

I remember when our baby chin was little (not as young as yours) and she got really soft goo poo is how I would describe it. Not smelly, but not firm, as it should have been.

I posted on here and thank God Amethyst replied right away. She advised me to take away the pellets and to only give our baby her water and her hay to firm up her poo. It worked like a charm.

I didn't realize that I had given her a small piece of dehydrated corn on the cob, no more than half an inch thick, as a healthy treat. I had bought a few cobs of them from the owner of Pet Paradise, where we purchased our chinchilla from. He told me that the corn was a good treat for chins. Wrong!!! I hadn't read the list on this site, then, but have since.

Hope your baby is feeling better soon and that it's nothing too serious.

 

[UnhappyRefrain]

Can I see A pic of your cage? What do you mean by jungle gym? I'm getting a chin the same age! Trying to decide on a cage setup...

Sorry, I just saw your question today. I call it a jungle gym, but the official name is play table. My chin loves it so much, that he has gone through a few already. Oxbow makes them. You can look at one here: OXBOW Play Table Small Animal Toy - Chewy.com

 

[Amethyst]

Sorry, I just saw your question today. I call it a jungle gym, but the official name is play table. My chin loves it so much, that he has gone through a few already. Oxbow makes them. You can look at one here: OXBOW Play Table Small Animal Toy - Chewy.com

Just a heads up, not all the things on there are chin safe. The sisal rope is debatable, if the chin swallows a long enough strand in can tangle in their gut. Seagrass seems to be the only recommended rope now, but it's up to you, some people also just replace it with stainless steel wire. In small bits sisal is digestible, and people have used it for years without issue, so more a situation of it can be an issue not that it will. The other thing though, the bulrush ( the thing that looks like a broom bristles), can cause digestive upset for chins.

 

[UnhappyRefrain]

Just a heads up, not all the things on there are chin safe. The sisal rope is debatable, if the chin swallows a long enough strand in can tangle in their gut. Seagrass seems to be the only recommended rope now, but it's up to you, some people also just replace it with stainless steel wire. In small bits sisal is digestible, and people have used it for years without issue, so more a situation of it can be an issue not that it will. The other thing though, the bulrush ( the thing that looks like a broom bristles), can cause digestive upset for chins.

Buttons doesn't really bother with the ropes actually. He just chews up the wood and likes to sit on it and under it. I may consider pulling the rope out though just in case. *sigh* I really wish I could get things right.

 

[ChinsForLife]

Buttons doesn't really bother with the ropes actually. He just chews up the wood and likes to sit on it and under it. I may consider pulling the rope out though just in case. *sigh* I really wish I could get things right.

Hey, I bet your chin is really happy with that toy! Don't be hard on yourself! I bet your doing great!

 

[ChinsForLife]

I would take the ropes off though. Otherwise, that looks neat!