Question:
My chinchilla Boo has had a case of soft stools twice in the last month or two and it is starting to worry me. He will get soft stools for a few days and then they clear up. Then about two weeks to a month later he has them again. There has been no change to his diet and he is kept in a clean enviroment/cage. Other then his soft stools he is a young, healthy chinchilla. Does anyone know why this would be or what I could do to help him overcome his soft stools?


Answer:
Hi Desiree,

I have never had soft stools stop and re-occur over several months with our chins. Generally, their soft stools occur because of an infection or diet change. I would speak to your vet just to be on the safe side and make sure they are getting enough hay in their diet. Sofie and Lixx (members) really know their chins so you could always send them a quick note requesting their advice. Also, you could refer to the chin archives in here...you can find a lot of useful information. I hope this helps. Good luck!


Answer:
Des, has he seen a vet? One short bout of soft stools that clears up quickly isn't usually a problem...but I am worried because it keeps coming back. Is there anything that could be triggering it? A certain cleaner that you use? A soap used to clean his food dishes?


Answer:
That's what I'm wondering too! I'd have him checked by a vet, have a fecal sample done and see if that detects anything.
Carleen


Answer:
Ditto to the above. Think too of anything that could be stressing him out, and change in the room, new curtains, cage in a new place. Sometimes the simplest things to us are big deals to them. I would take a fresh fecal sample into the vet for analysis.


Answer:
Some of mine wouldn't even wake if I took their cage out to the van, ran it over a dirt road and back.
Then their are a couple, one in particular, that even if I move his cage from one shelf to another he's play dough.
Next time get a test, but wait until it's soft again or you could get a false negative reading.
I had to have 2 done to detect giardia years ago.It can calm down on it's own, only to flare up again.