FECAL EXCRETION AND DIGESTIVE TRANSIT IN THE CHINCHILLA - PHYSIOLOGICAL VALUES, EFFECT OF DIETARY FIBER INTAKE AND CHANGES IN DIET

Constipation associated with reduced dietary fiber intake is considere d to be involved in most of digestive pathologies of the chinchilla. H owever, this assertion is not based on experimental data. The aim of o ur study was to describe the characteristics of fecal excretion and di gestive transit in this species and to determine the role of dietary f iber on these parameters. Fourteen adult chinchillas placed during the experiments in metabolic cages allowing the collect of feces each hou r, were used. Digestive transit time was define from the appearance in the feces of a marker (Cr-51 sodium chromate) given orally. Four diff erent foods containing crude cellulose varying from 13.6 to 21.6 % wer e tested. We have shown that fecal excretion appeared exclusively duri ng the night with a maximal excretion at 22:50 (+/- 125 min). The mean time of digestive transit was 12-15 hours. This time is similar to th at observed in other rodents. Transit time was not modified by reducin g the level of dietary fiber. However, each change of food lead to a d ramatic decrease (about 50 %) of food intake, and consequently of feca l excretion. For example, on a diet containing 20.6 % of crude cellulo se, digestive transit time was 13.9 +/- 1.0 h, food intake was 23.9 +/ - 5.2 g/day and fecal excretion 15.2 +/- 2.6 g/day. On the third day o f a new diet containing 16.6 % of crude cellulose, these values were 1 3.9 +/- 0.8 h, 13.3 +/- 5.0 g/day and 6.6 +/- 2.1 g/day, respectively. In conclusion, this study has shown that, unlike the current opinion, the digestive transit of the chinchilla is insensitive to the level o f dietary fiber but anorexia that followed each change in diet, even m inor, may play an important role in digestive pathologies of the chinc hilla.