Charlie (M) – Chronic Soft Droppings

Diarrhea · Bloat · G.I. Stasis
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emilyam19

Post   » Mon Aug 05, 2013 10:04 pm


Charlie
GL member: emilyam19
Medical thread: Charlie’s Medical Thread

Charlie had chronic soft droppings as long as I had him. His previous owner said she noticed them as well but assumed they were normal for him. In both homes, neither of his cage mates have had digestive problems. Since I’ve had Charlie, he has been healthy in every other way. His appetite is great, he has tons of energy, and has not seen any weight loss.

Signs:
Charlie’s droppings were usually soft and misshapen blobs. Occasionally he would have droppings that were almost normal but had a soft texture and “Hershey’s kiss” tip (tear shaped). Droppings would be unusually large (“one” even weighed 14 grams). They would sometimes appear too soft for him to pass and would only pass when another pushed it forward.

Diagnostics:
• Intestinal parasites with giardiasis ELISA; July 13, 2012; Result: negative
• Wet mount; July 9, 2013; Result: tritrichomonas
• Gram stain; July 9, 2013; Result: some yeast but no overgrowth; normal for mammals
• Culture (aerobic C&S); July 9, 2013; Result: overgrowth of klebsiella and enterobacter; no fungus

Diet Changes:
• Originally withheld veggies for two weeks; didn’t notice any improvement
• Switched from Oxbow pellets to KMS pellets
• Tried different cuts/varieties of hay
• (7/9/2013) began giving Charlie a strict diet:
-Unlimited hay
-1 teaspoon pellets
-Vitamin C supplement
-½ Oxbow digestive support tab
-Charlie didn’t poop for a few days after being on the strict diet; immediately reintroduced veggies and began hand feeding until we saw droppings; these were firm but a new shape (long and thin); these can be seen in the “odd shaped droppings” photos below

Supplements:
• Acidophilus capsules (generic CVS brand)
• Kyo-Dophilus Probiotics Plus Enzymes
• Bene-bac Small Animal Powder
• Oxbow digestive support tabs
• Vitamin C (0.35 ml) daily
• Bio-Sponge

Medications:
• Metronidazole (Flagyl) susp 0.5 mg/ml; July 13, 2012
• Metronidazole susp 0.33 mg/ml twice daily; July 9, 2013; two weeks
• Enrofloxacin (Baytril) 0.4 ml twice daily; July 27, 2013; two weeks
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Other medical issues:
• Fungal infection on the ears and hind foot

Images:
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