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[TokiDokiWartooth]

My little girl is completely and utterly bonded to both me and my boyfriend.  When one of us goes out of town she gets a quick bought of diarrhea that resolves extremely quickly.  It only happened when I would spend a night out of town, but now Toki is doing it when he goes.  We were hoping to leave her with a sitter for a week in Sept for vacation, but at this rate it doesn't look like we will be going.

Also, what is the best way to clean her fur? 

[TokiDokiWartooth]

Note on the cleaning, I do brush her and I try to comb through her fur around her butt being careful not to pull.

[GrayRodent]

As far as separation anxiety I'm not too sure what is causing diarrhea. I would think it would be constipation from not eating instead unless maybe your chin is drinking too much water or something like that. I am no chin expert or owner but would like to see others comment on this.

I know with my mom's parrot it's hard because he'll often stop eating if left alone all day and loose. He'll do better on weeks when we're in an out a lot but there is a little bit of weight loss (we weigh him regularly). Some animals need some extra transition time to adjust to a new routine especially when spoiled like our parrot.

I do know that you should clean the area with a damp washcloth just try not to soak other areas with water. If it hardens and won't come off you'll just have to wait until it grows out. If it's really bad where it accumulates new poo or is causing a lot of matting you'll need to trim it off with scissors to prevent infection, maybe bandage scissors, that have a blunt tip to prevent accidents. I've done this with rabbits. If you are unsure if you can do it safely have a vet do it but usually it takes more than one day for it to get that bad.

[chinclub]

Does the diarrhea have a bad smell and does it have any oval poop shape at all or is it truly liquidish?  If it has a smell and doesn't have a pellet shape I think you should visit your vet and ask for a wet mount of fresh poop the chinchilla produces at the office.  Ask them to check for giardia. It is a common parasite often found in small amounts in public water.  Many chinchillas carry small amounts in their body and in some cases it flairs up when a chinchilla is stressed. 

[TokiDokiWartooth]

No smell at all.  I have never caught her in the middle of having diarrhea, I check her every morning and at night when I play with her.  Her poops are normal and healthy looking, I have never caught her in the act.  I have been trying to get her in for a reg check-up but the heat has not been kind.  She is in a room that is kept at 68 degrees.

[TokiDokiWartooth]

The fur is not matted, just discolored.  She is almost pure whitr underneath, so that is why I was curious about cleaning her.

[GrayRodent]

I wouldn't worry too much about staining. It probably won't wash off but it will grow out.

I think taking her to the vet is a good idea especially if she's due for a regular checkup. See if you can get there early before it heats up.

[Xterms]

…maybe your chin is drinking too much water or something like that.

Since the regulation of body water occurs via the urinary system, I don't think drinking much water would cause diarrhea. It's enough to imagine a human drinking a lot of fluid: he won't have problems with poop as a result. Yes, I know chins are not humans, but most physiological functions have been preserved during the evolution, and mammals don't differ much in this viewpoint.

But anyway, why would a chin drink too much?  

[chinclub]

Lets go back to the beginning.  Define diarrhea.  Are we talking about soft poop that will flatten when stepped on or wet stuff that looks nothing like oval poop pellets?  What did you see in the cage to know she was having diarrhea?

[GrayRodent]

Xterms:

Actually this is not unheard of. I've observed this in pet birds that during bath time when they are in a heightened state drink way too much and get really runny poo. I have observed animals (horses, cats, birds) getting bored and becomes obsessed over something like playing with their water or overeating when they are bored or stressed. Usually with cats they puke water. Horses I'm not sure. Mine have been more interested in splashing it than drinking it. I'm not sure if that's applicable to chins specifically.

Even the most meticulously designed systems can't account for all possible contingencies. Some animals can be prone to self-destructive behavior because of genetic defects as well.

I have read several case studies of giardia outbreaks in chins and this seems to be more consistent with diarrhea under stress for chins. However like Jamie said in her last post, Toki will need to better define diarrhea, which in my mind is different from squishy poo. So Toki please let us know.

I hope it's not because antibiotics are notorious for causing chins to stop eating and owners to have to hand/syringe feed in some cases and must carefully regulate their diet and water consumption through the course of the antibiotics. But, if it is a giardia infection and it's not treated there's a possibility it can destroy the intestines and cause them to bind up and cause serious complications like rectal prolapse, malnutrition, and death. It's just not a pleasant experience for anyone to have to go through so I wanted to throw out simple things as a possibility to rule that out and see what others might say. True liquid diarrhea is always a danger sign in chinchillas and rodents though and should be diagnosed.

[Xterms]

Actually this is not unheard of. I've observed this in pet birds

Mammals. I said mammals. The fact that the digestive and urinary (and the reproductory) systems  haven't isolated completely in birds is obvious by just recalling that they have a united exit of them: the cloaca.

But I give you right partially and say sorry namely I have forgotten that chins can't vomit, and as a result, the excessive water that passes beyond the capacity of the kidneys CAN leave the body via the intestines. So yes, I must draw back my previous statement that it's impossible. Sorry!

[GrayRodent]

You are right birds are not mammals although it's an example of captive animals displaying neurotic behavior.

And it very well could be chins will never do this. Although I've not intended this to be a debate I thought it was common knowledge that (at least) humans can drink too much liquids and get diarrhea if done intentionally. If you want to debate I'd be glad to take it to a dedicated thread. I'll leave this alone here since this thread is about a potentially sick chinchilla that might need help.

[Xterms]

If you want to debate I'd be glad to take it to a dedicated thread. I'll leave this alone here since this thread is about a potentially sick chinchilla that might need help.

Go ahead, just let me know somehow where to search for the new thread!
And secondly, our little debate here was intended to clear out a possible cause of the illness of the chin. I hope Toki also sees it that way, since we didn't want to destroy.

Off ended.

[GrayRodent]

To Xterms and those interested in the split thread: Let's start in "Can a chinchilla drink too much and get sick?" Let's start in "Can a chinchilla drink too much and get sick?" Here is the link:
http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,3769.msg28765/topicseen.html#new

[GrayRodent]

I'd like to repost this message from earlier in the thread:

Chinclub states:

Lets go back to the beginning.  Define diarrhea.  Are we talking about soft poop that will flatten when stepped on or wet stuff that looks nothing like oval poop pellets?  What did you see in the cage to know she was having diarrhea?