Plentiful droppings is a very good sign that the digestive system is working correctly.  Healthy faeces from a chinchilla should be solid, dry and pellet shaped.  They should be numerous in quantity and look brownish in colour.   It is almost as if the pellets come out again looking almost the same a how they went in.

The droppings should be odourless and not have pieces missing, be watery or sticky or have holes in them.  Any of these things could suggest a problem or illness with your chinchilla.

The colour of a healthy chins poo will depend a lot on its usual diet - the only time to become alarmed is when the size, shape or colour changes for your chin when its diet has remained the same.

Chinchillas do however actually produce two types of dropping the same as rabbits do, one is for disguarding waste and a second type is for eating and reprocessing the nutrients.  These are often eaten as they are produced and are not dropped to the floor.

This dropping-eating (called coprophragy) is essential for their health - and it allows them to balance their intestinal bacteria/flora in order to breakdown their foods and is also their main source of B vitamins - which are produced internally in the caecum!! 

 

Signs of a too many treats or digestive upsets may be:
Soft, mucous, slimy, additional fluid, green, joined together in chains

Signs of constipation may be:
Small,  hard, very dark, curved, thin droppings (see below)

Signs of dental problems may be:
Small hard droppings due to the chin with dental problems eating less fibre to continue normal gut function, or droppings that contain unchewed hay when broken open.

Soft Droppings:
If too many treats are feed then the droppings may often become soft or sticky, if this is the case, cut back on treats totally, reduce the amount of pellets and increase the amount of hay that is available.  This will help to clear out the chins intestinal system.

Few Droppings:
If there are few or badly formed droppings then increase the amount of roughage that you are giving by increasing hay rations and reducing treats for a few days (stopping altogether is best)  to encourage them to eat more hay and fibre to cleanse the digestive system.

Cures for General Dropping Disorders:
In cases of a mild upset stomach feed VERY burnt toast.   The carbon on the toast will absorb impurities in the body and help to speed up the cleansing process.  If that does not work then try administering

Probiotics in the drinking water can help to re-balance the intestinal flora, try some drops of cider vinegar in the drinking water, or ask your vets if they stock them, they can be bought without a prescription.

Paediatric kaolin from a chemist can be used to draw impurities out of the gut and to help solidify runny or loose droppings.

I have heard that a blackberry leaf a day for up to three days is an good cure for diarrhoea.  Try feeding a medium sized leaf (vigorously washed in case of chemicals) for two days to see what effect it produces.   Usually two days and the droppings will solidify, but if it's really runny then a third day may be necessary

CAUTION:  Only treat your chin with one or other of the above remedies or you may end up with a constipated chin!

If there is no change in the droppings within 2 days then take your chin along to your vet as well as a sample of the droppings.  If the chin should stop eating at all hen take them along  immediately!  It is better to have the vet say it is nothing than to lose your pet!