Treating small droppings

[calcaneus]

I've got a chinchilla who has basically the same problems as in this thread: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?p=200596#post200596 (Except that as of last night she was still interested in treats like old-fashioned oats and barley).

Her food was changed recently - I'd had her on a bad pet store brand and wanted to switch them over to better feed, but because I was running out of the pet store brand it was a rather abrupt transition which I think might be to blame. She's still pooping, but they are smaller than her usual. When I handfeed her pellets she will eat a few, but she doesn't seem to be taking much out of her bowl (she's never a great pellet eater) and she has gone off her hay a bit too.

In terms of medicating her, are there specific brands of simethicone drops available in drugstores that work for chins? How much would you give them? AZChins recommended in the other thread to provide it with a supplement. I've never given them supplement before, and since she might have a digestive upset of some sort I'm not sure I want to continue to introduce new things. Are the supplements usually powders?

Is there a particular probiotic that's safe for chins, or does any normal drugstore brand work? I've just ordered some lifeline but that will not be in for a few days, so whatever I can do to get her stool back to normal now would be helpful.

AZChin's advice:

Most of the time, I noticed, that when chins get smaller droppings like that it is because they are a little gassy or have some constipation. When they get like that I don't hesitate to give them simethicone mixed with maybe some life line to get them going again. It won't hurt her if you give him some baby gas drops or phazyme to help break up any possible gas bubbles in her tummy. The problem *could* resolve itself, but I don't like to wait to see if that happens.

Give her probiotic, as well. That will help get things back to normal more than most anything else. If you notice that she starts acting strangely or lethargic, you may want to take her to the vet. Gas, bloat or constipation can cause the smaller droppings and also cause a decrease in appetite, but so can many other things like infections.

 

[lauralynne]

What brand of feed did you switch to? Is she eating timmy hay?

As far as simethicone, I've been told to just use the infant's drops in the children's med section.

Acidophilus is a probiotic. It is best purchased at a whole foods type store. You can get counts in the billions and take apart the capsule and sprinkle it on food. Do you have Lifeline, Critical Care or Essentials for Life on hand?

ETA - Sorry, just saw that you said you've ordered LifeLine

 

[calcaneus]

The feed isn't a name brand - it's what Whimsy feeds her chins, I believe she gets it from a breeder supplier.

They previously have been eating timothy hay and I got a new sort of hay from Whimsy as well - sort of an organic blend with lots of types of grasses (I believe it has some alfalfa in it too, if I remember correctly). They aren't totally convinced by it yet, I've been putting half and half in and they haven't seem to have been eating all that much of it. That could be part of the reason why Tea, the female, is off her feed a bit, but she isn't eating all of her timothy hay either.

 

[6Dusters]

Whimsy had been feeding Shoots formula. However we both ran out. I'm not sure what she's using right now.

My questions would be:

A) When did you change hay? ( your first hay over to Whimsy's hay)
B) How often do you give the treat?

My suggestion would be to switch back to the hay your chin HAD been eating. Watch the amount of the treats given. I personally would only give a pinch every other day or cut it out altogether until I see better bowels.

Make a note to see if poo size increases. If so, the new feed and your first blend of hay is preferred. Stick with it for a week. Then add a small amount of Whimsy's hay into your first hay in smaller amounts. Keeping your first hay as the main source of forage.

Sudden feed changes can make some chins unhappy. Depends on what they were eating before. I don't think I would be looking into meds just yet.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[calcaneus]

I changed hay at the same time I changed food (Tuesday), but like I said I've been mixing the hay for now since I still have some of the timothy left. I'll switch back to the pure timothy for now, though.

I've been giving them barley or oats (~4-5 pieces) almost every night, but had planned to la since I noticed the stool change.

So 6Dusters, you wouldn't necessarily put her on anti-gas medication yet? She's active and inquisitive, and is still eating pellets when I offer them to her.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

 

[Stackie]

It won't hurt to start her on the simethicone. The kind I get is in a blue and white box and is labeled Infant's Mylicon.

Once you get the lifeline, get some acidophilus capsules (at least a 10 billion count), break them open, and mix the poweder in with some lifeline. My chins will eat the lifeline in it's powder form.

 

[6Dusters]

Well it can't hurt. If this situation seems very serious I would recomend a vet visit. But if the poo has improved then stick to what is working. The suggestion for adding probiotics to the lifeline is a wise choice. I keep the live stuff in my fridge. Never know when the chins or the family may need it.

Also it helps to keep bedding, ledges, fleece cleaned up daily or twice a day. This can help an owner monitor the bowels and not have to second guess what did improve and what did not improve each day.

Have you noticed any changes thus far?

 

[calcaneus]

Well, I've been cleaning off the ledges every few hours since two days ago, and some of her droppings look like they are getting better (3/4 of normal size) and some look still pretty small (1/2 normal). Her appetite for hay has increased, and her activity level last night was very high - she's still alert, not hunched up. I don't see any new droppings in the last 6 hours, but she's also sleeping on her perch in the same position she was 6 hours ago, so I'm not worried about that yet. I think she ate more pellets last night than before.

I felt her belly compared to her brother's a day ago and her belly didn't feel any harder than his did (his poops are normal, so I'm assuming he's fine). I gave her one dose of simethicone but am not sure how much of it I actually got down her - she has quite an impressive ability for violent struggle, and since she's got an injured leg I don't really want to exacerbate that by making her bicycle her legs! She also really fights anything going in her mouth, and doesn't drink from the dropper. I tried to give her simethicone on a piece of oat as a last resort and she refused it, but I left it in her bowl overnight and she seems to have eaten it now.

Anyhow, based on the symptoms she's showing at the moment I'm not too terribly concerned, but I'm going to wrangle her using a fleece tonight and ensure that she gets more of the anti-gas medication down her. This might be a two-person job...!