So normally I don't do this

[chobi333]

Just a note. I started to give my chin a flower salad that is chinchilla safe (as a treat) and he got diarrhea that was tinted red. I used to give him a piece of shredded wheat but have stopped.

Chinchillas are fine without treats and I think to be safe I am sticking to pellets and Timothy hay only.

Not that treats are bad (all the time) I just think that chin owners like to give them to chins more that the chins NEED them.

[Jamie]

Dec 12, 2010 14:59:59 GMT -5 chobi333 said:

Just a note. I started to give my chin a flower salad that is chinchilla safe (as a treat) and he got diarrhea that was tinted red. I used to give him a piece of shredded wheat but have stopped.

Chinchillas are fine without treats and I think to be safe I am sticking to pellets and Timothy hay only.

Not that treats are bad (all the time) I just think that chin owners like to give them to chins more that the chins NEED them.

Hi Jessica
not sure if your talking about the flower salad from Crysta
but in general if it has hibiscus (whether its for them or us)
it will taint the stool a redish color

HIBISCUS FLOWERS. Astonishingly large amount of chromium and selenium. Excellent for sugar diabetes, where insulin is not made in sufficient quantity. ... Bowel regulator, safe for infants, may color the stool red do not be alarmed this

its great that you are careful about all this...
we all try to be

hugs
jamie

[Essentia]

Was this the salad you purchased from me? If so, I have NEVER heard of this happening with anyone else, counting my own chins that eat the salad. As a precaution I am going to contact everyone else who has purchased this new batch from me.

Dec 12, 2010 14:59:59 GMT -5 chobi333 said:

Just a note. I started to give my chin a flower salad that is chinchilla safe (as a treat) and he got diarrhea that was tinted red. I used to give him a piece of shredded wheat but have stopped.

Chinchillas are fine without treats and I think to be safe I am sticking to pellets and Timothy hay only.

Not that treats are bad (all the time) I just think that chin owners like to give them to chins more that the chins NEED them.

[feistychins]

I use hibiscus flowers in my Herb & Grain Fusion and it has never tinted their poops any color.

Chobi333 - If your chin got soft poops, by all means give him a shredded wheat to help firm his poops up. It will not hurt him and that is what was stated earlier. You don't have to completely remove an occasional shredded wheat or a pinch or oats. I also use organic whole oats and suggest others try to use organic also.

Yes, most chin parents give way too many treats to their chins. It is an ongoing battle for me and I know for others who try to teach people about feeding a healthy diet.

Marne - I personally would not give fresh veggies to my chins, but would try dehydrated in very limited quantity. I have seen chins with severe bloat and it is horrible to see them in such pain and it can take days to try to get rid of it.

I do understand what you are saying though and respect your decisions. I do believe that every chin has a different degree of tolerance for dietary changes. Just as with people, some are more sensitive to diet changes, treats or giving something outside of the 'normal' chin diet. I also am beginning to believe that if a chin is fed certain foods that are healthy from the time they are young, that they have a better chance of adjusting to it versus a chin that has never had anything other than pellets or hay.

This is a HUGE step for chinchilla parents though and what we have learned that has worked. It definately needs to be a gradual thing introduced, if at all, and people would need to gain more knowledge of what is being given.

[narnibird]

Yeah, I should clarify. I think it's ok to give *some* chins very limited amounts of fresh veggies, but we are talking very tiny amounts, and only to SOME chins. I'd never give them to anyone here but Pepper, and I only do that because I've done it since he was young. Older chins, I don't think, should get them if they didn't grow up getting them. And of course you have to be very, very careful. I did try giving other chins here bits of kale, but like I said before, they all just barked.

I'd never, ever tell anyone to do it. And I can see where it is deadly to do if you don't know what you're doing. You would never give a chin a pile of fresh veggies, or even 1/4 cup. You'd never feed them freely, or just plop down fresh veggies suddenly one day. That would definitely lead to bloat, and it could even be deadly.

I didn't mean to imply that bloat and/or death are not possible if you give fresh vegetables to a chin. They are definitely a possibility, and I firmly believe it is better to not tempt fate. So in that, I do agree with you. Pepper, he occasionally gets a tiny piece of something the size of my thumbnail. He always has, and he loves radicchio. But even him, I'd never just give him a pile of anything fresh. It's tiny and it's limited. So I hope I didn't give that impression. I'd never, ever want anyone to do something that would endanger their chin.

So please, no one start giving their chins fresh veggies on account of something I said. It was wrong of me to speak so unexplicitly.

I agree with you about the ability to adjust. I've been noticing the chins with variety seem to be more able to handle changes than chins who have been on strict pellet and hay only diets. If you can give variety, by all means, do. That includes the occasional shredded wheat or pinch of oats.

This diet I talk about in this thread is only something I've found works for chins with malo. I wouldn't put a healthy chin on this diet because it is restricted, and I don't know how this much extra calcium would affect them. Our healthy chins get Manna Pro Sho, alfalfa hay (sometimes coastal), and random treats (not daily) that include rosehips, rosebuds, Chinny Bites (cookies made from pellets), dehydrated veggies, shredded wheat, 1/4 tsp of oats, charcoal, herbs, acidophilus, etc. We do the grains sparingly, because we use them to firm up poos, but we do still give them on occasion.

[Essentia]

You may have fed too much, or just have a chinchilla with a very sensitive tummy. I asked all the people who have ordered from me in the past month, and all of them have said that the poop has been fine.

[AppleWoodRescue]

Ok... first off I would like to thank Jamie for pointing me to this thread!

Secondly... WOW! I know that I am new to this malo game but what has been stated here has made so much more sense that what I've found previously. It's like DUH!! lol

Some background on my cases.

Marty is a 5 year old chin that came to the shelter on September 19th weighing 350 grams. Fur and bones can't even describe how she looked and felt. Her first trimming was that week and my Vet said that she is missing about 40% of her teeth and wasn't likely to make it. She just had her 3rd trimming this last Friday and now weighs 515 grams.

what I have done is soak her pellets (Mazuri) and mix in a good amount of critical care nightly. She has not touched any timothy since I've had her even though it has been available. she may not be able to chew it with her lack of teeth. I have been giving her oats which I will now stop.

Marty is such a happy girl these days and is a total lover. It's so nice to pet her down her back and not feel every little bone!

Pumba is my second case and is my guinea pig. Do you know if these procedures would transfer over to piggies? He started drooling about a month and a half ago and has had two trimmings since. I cannot get him to maintain his weight and just started giving him the soaked pellet (guinea Mazuri) and critical care mixture last night to which he ate pretty well. I have been syringe feeding him since he was first diagnosed. He is also getting a very large amount of metacam right now that as soon as I try and wean him off he drops a bunch of weight.

I am so excited for this thread. My Vet hasn't been very positive with me about these two and I want so much for them to still live long healthy happy lives. I will do anything for them to experience normalcy (as much as possible).

Thank you so much ladies!!
Hugs
Jinna

[narnibird]

Hi!

Aw, I'm glad Marty is with you! She's gained a lot of weight! That's awesome. It's hard to get them to gain and maintain weight. If you think she could use more weight, see about adding extra fleece for her to snuggle in. That will help. I do that with fur chewers here. Poor baby, missing so many teeth! Are they molars she's missing (like top and bottom matching molars)?Will she chew alfalfa? Maybe hay cubes, since the alfalfa in them is broken down some? I have calcium powder I can send to you if you'd like to try it out with her, and possibly a little herb supplement. I have to see how much I have on hand at the moment. I think there might be enough for a few ounces.

I don't know much about guinea pigs. I do know that someone used methods usually used for guinea pigs who have malo, on her chins with great success. I'll have to see if I can find out more about that, I can't quite remember what all she did. I would see about adding vitamin C for him, since they need extra anyway, to see if that helps. If he can't eat rosehips, I think I still have plain organic rosehip powder here. I'll have to double check, but if I have some, you are more than welcome to have it. Oh! I have plain organic alfalfa powder here, too, if Marty can't eat alfalfa, the powder would still benefit her.

I will see what I can find on guinea pigs. I want to say that it makes sense that what works for chins would work for guinea pigs, but I can't say that with 100% confidence. It's more like 70%. I know for our rabbits we do something different if their molars over grow, and since they're different animals it makes me pause.

[AppleWoodRescue]

All my chins are kept on fleece liners and have fleece snugglies.

I'm not so much worried about her weight now since she has gained so much, more about her getting all the nutrients that she needs. She is missing molars and her bottom left incisor. there are only a couple sets of bottom and top teeth that actually line up. She eats with vigor and is always so excited when I replenish her mash. she still holds it in her little hand to eat.

I would love to try anything that you have extra to send. I have ordered Andrea's herb mixture in the past and everyone really likes it.

Pumba is actually eating his salads still (not quite sure how he's doing it). I have the Oxbow vit. C supplement that I'm going to crush into his mash tonight since he ate it so well last night. I would love to try the rose hip powder in his mixture. I have crushed that he seems to eat around. It is Pumba's back molars that are his problem. He hasn't touched any timothy since I separated him from my other piggie.

Thanks for your help and any research you come up with. These two babies are my first with teeth issues and I want to make sure I'm doing everything for them.

Hugs
Jinna

[chobi333]

Sorry I haven't been here fir a while don't know if it was the chin salad or what.

I just could a reddish dried liquid on one of his hamocks. At first I freaked and thought "blood" but I picked himup and checked him all over and nothing. His fur by his penis and anus was fine, not matted or colored in anyway. I also smelled the dried liquid and it smelled kinda poopy.

Do you think I should take him in?
He may have just had colored liquid poop... But yeah. What do you guys think?

It happened one time again the other night but there was very little of it compared to the first time.

He is acting normal.

[booboo]

^ are you sure it wasn't pee in the hammock?

[Essentia]

If it was a rusty color it definitely sounds like urine, which is actually quite normal. Urine can range in color depending on how much they have been drinking, what they ate, their hormones, sometimes just because the sky is blue that day. The first time I saw it years ago I freaked out thinking there was something wrong with my chin.

Did it look like this?



If so, it is urine, and again is completely normal. It can range anywhere from a darkish yellow to a brownish orange/red.

[feistychins]

Yes, my first thought was urine also.

I don't know a lot about guinea pigs, but know that they require the extra vitamin C, so I would think they really need to be given more than usual to help strengthen the gums.

Also, there is a guinea pig rescue here in CT and I met one of the women who runs it and we were talking about the differences between piggies and chins.

You can feed piggies veggies correct? So I would think you would have more flexibility in sources to give extra calcium.

[chobi333]

Dec 14, 2010 21:21:48 GMT -5 Essentia said:

If it was a rusty color it definitely sounds like urine, which is actually quite normal. Urine can range in color depending on how much they have been drinking, what they ate, their hormones, sometimes just because the sky is blue that day. The first time I saw it years ago I freaked out thinking there was something wrong with my chin.

Did it look like this?



If so, it is urine, and again is completely normal. It can range anywhere from a darkish yellow to a brownish orange/red.

Yes looked just like that. Whoa, I'm so releaved, I have been worrying!

I was going to call the vet today. Thanks SO MUCH for helping! I am so glad this forum exists!!!

cheers!

[chichismama]

This story mad me sad, and brought me joy all at the same time! I never understood how people can be so cruel to animals and children. Humans can be the most cocky group of living beings! Spiritually we are taught that we are giving dominion, that means that we are responsible for animals, not we eat and beat them--just as we are giving our own lives and we should cherish them! They are a gift! It sickens me to read the shape that you found the girls in, but I'm glad that there are people like you in this world that dedicate their lives to giving a good life to our little ones:-)

[puhi]

Beaphar Xtra Vital Care+ is my chin's favourite food. Even I like it, lol, it's very tasty!
The chins are very beautiful! You are one very big hearted person!

[chubb]

I'm pretty sure this thread is pretty old, but I just found it and I have yet another question. My chin has malo, he's underweight and crumbles his pellets. He's on science selective chinchilla but will this wear his tooth points down? Will I need to get his teeth filed? Or will they wear down on their own? Thanks.

[narnibird]

It depends on how severe his teeth points are. If he has a smell to his breath, he will need antibiotics for 14 days, and then if he has severe tooth points, they will need to be filed down. Usually (not always, but usually) a good food like Science Selective will help keep his teeth worn down. The Beaphar we use here is very good at doing that, even for chins who needed tooth filing every 6 weeks. Science Selective is slightly better than Beaphar, so I imagine it will be the same.

[continuum2063]

WOOOHOO YAYYYYY great story.