Uneven poop sizes and no poops during the day. Is that normal?

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Brenny

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2020
Messages
21
My chinchilla seems to have a timed scheduled to his pooping. He only poops at night (after around 9pm) and no pooping at all during the day. I also found his overnight poops vary in sizes. Some are only a few millimetres long, some are over 1 centimetre long. Is that normal? Thank you.
 
Normal chin poop is about 1cm long so smaller then that could be a sign of a problem. Chins don't poop much if at all when they are sleeping, but normally do get up during the day to grab a bite to eat or a drink and should poop some then. Does he act normal? Eating pellets and hay, drinking water, not acting lethargic or anything? Small poops and lack of poops could be a sign of gas or blockage.
 
Normal chin poop is about 1cm long so smaller then that could be a sign of a problem. Chins don't poop much if at all when they are sleeping, but normally do get up during the day to grab a bite to eat or a drink and should poop some then. Does he act normal? Eating pellets and hay, drinking water, not acting lethargic or anything? Small poops and lack of poops could be a sign of gas or blockage.
Dear Amethyst, thank you for your reply.

My chin seems to be quite normal. Active during playtime and when awake, eating pellets and hay, drinking about 25ml a day.

I had been feeding him some probiotics for a week and more but his poops still remain big & small and only at night.

Is there anything I can do to help him poop better? Thank you.
 
I'm not really sure, that seems odd that there are no poops at all during the day. The way their digestive tract works they need to be pretty much always pooping when awake, so I would think something is wrong since unless they are under stress they can't really hold their poop. If the chin is acting completely normal otherwise I had no idea, never heard of that before.
 
I'm not really sure, that seems odd that there are no poops at all during the day. The way their digestive tract works they need to be pretty much always pooping when awake, so I would think something is wrong since unless they are under stress they can't really hold their poop. If the chin is acting completely normal otherwise I had no idea, never heard of that before.

Hmm, I see. I will take him to see a vet immediately after lockdown is lifted here.

On another note, I noticed some flakes (almost like human dandruff) underneath his coat behind his ears. Is that something I should worry about too? Could this be fungal? He had a little bit of flaky nose so I was following an experienced chin breeder's advise to give him sand baths every other day with added anti-fungal powder (in Singapore, it is Daktarin). Could the sand bath be causing his skin to be flaky due to dryness?

Many thanks.:giggle:
 
Too many dust baths can cause dry skin, also anti fungal powders work by drying out the skin, so yes it could be the baths. The most common skin fungal infection is ringworm, which makes the skin look red and flaky as well as the fur falls out in the area, and it spreads.
 
Too many dust baths can cause dry skin, also anti fungal powders work by drying out the skin, so yes it could be the baths. The most common skin fungal infection is ringworm, which makes the skin look red and flaky as well as the fur falls out in the area, and it spreads.
My chin's skin is not red where the flakes are found in his coat and fur looks normal around that area too. If it is just dry skin, should I put bag balm on him (how to get through his fur to just apply on his skin would be another question here)?

Many thanks :giggle:
 
If it's just dry skin I would just cut back on the number of dust baths, were I live it's fairly dry so my guys only get a bath about once or twice a week. Bag balm is good for on the bottoms of the feet (if they are cracking) or parts of the ears without fur, you don't want to put it on the fur. The natural oils should help moisturize the skin if given the chance so just hold off on baths for a few days and see if it improves. I don't know if you can get it where you are but Oxbow also sells a skin and coat supplement that might also help.
 
If it's just dry skin I would just cut back on the number of dust baths, were I live it's fairly dry so my guys only get a bath about once or twice a week. Bag balm is good for on the bottoms of the feet (if they are cracking) or parts of the ears without fur, you don't want to put it on the fur. The natural oils should help moisturize the skin if given the chance so just hold off on baths for a few days and see if it improves. I don't know if you can get it where you are but Oxbow also sells a skin and coat supplement that might also help.

Dear Amethyst, I will try out Oxbow's supplement. :D Many thanks again for the very useful tips.
Just a quick question from my other post about what DIY fleece items: what threads do you use for sewing? Cotton or polyester?
 
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