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[ymistry]

I have two chins, a male and a female.

My female chinchilla is about 8 years old and has never shown signs of fur biting until now.
I am wondering if my male chinchilla (7 years old) might be  biting her or causing her  stress? They seem to get along very well and always sleep cuddled up together. I've never seen either of them chew their own fur or the others ones fur. The male is definitely the dominant one though..He likes his food and will do anything to make sure he gets to any food or treats first. ;-)

In April my youngest chinchilla unexpectedly passed away. She had always had a patch of fur that looked rough but otherwise seemed to be healthy.
I've recently noticed that my female has roughed up fur in the exact place that the other chin did (rear sides). I'm wondering if my male chin caused this the first time and is now doing the same thing with my female? If so what can I do to prevent this?! 

We do have 2 cats that are curious about the chins, but I assume they aren't causing the stress since we've had them for a long time.
Our apartment gets very warm but we try to keep the air conditioner on timer to help cool it down when we're not there.
I can't think of anything else it would be. They are eating and drinking as much as ever. Does this require a vet visit?  I just took them to the vet about 3 months ago and they both received a clean bill of health.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Jo Ann]

   Let's see if I am reading this right ...
1)  You had 3 chins to begin with.
2)  The youngest of the three passed away in April. 
3)  The one that passed away use to have rough looking fur on it's hips.
4)  Now that it is gone, the other female is appearing to have acquired rough looking fur on her hip.
5)  The male is the dominate one.

The stress of loosing a cagemate could cause either or both to start chewing their fur.

The cats could also be causing them some stress.  You might want to make sure they always stay in different rooms.  We are in the dog days of summer, which always seems to cause animals to become more aggressive.

If the apartment is getting to warm, that could stress them.  That could also kill them.  What does the temperature get to inside your apartment?

Fur chewing can also be a sign of something lacking in their diet.


   Jo Ann

[ymistry]

Yes, that is all correct.

The fur chewing didn't start until recently, if it was due to the stress of losing a cagemate I assume it would have started right after it happened, back in April. Correct?

Keeping the cats separated from the chins is impossible as we live in a 1 bedroom apartment in NYC.
We're on the top floor so the apartment does get quite warm (At least 85 degrees without the AC  and fans running).  We keep the blinds drawn, the ceiling fan on 24/7 and the AC  on timer for intervals throughout the day so I'm not sure if there is anything else I can do to regulate the  temperature. I like the cooler temperatures as much as the chins do, do when it's possible I try to keep the temperature around 65 degrees.

Is there something specific that could be lacking in their diet?

Thanks for the help!

[Petco Chinchillas]

85 degrees fahreheit is way too hot for the chins!!!   Maybe if you kept the AC on a longer time during the day, it would cool off a little. What are you feeding your chins, and what brand?      If they are lacking something we need to know what you feed them.


                   Hope your Chinnie feels better.   

[ymistry]

I feed them Kaytee Timothy Hay/Alfalfa and Vita Vittles Chinchilla food (those are the only brands our local pets stores carry).
Since the food has treats mixed in already I usually don't give any additional treats except an occasional raisin or almond. They also get lots of bark bites to chew on.

And to clarify the temperature - it's about 85 without the AC and  70 - 80 with it cranking. We already have it running over 12 hours a day in the room the chins are in.
And when it's off it's usually because we need to run the AC in the other room or run the dishwasher (we'll blow a fuse if we run it all at the same time).

[Debbie.nl.ca]

There are many things you can put in there cage to keep them cool, ceramic tiles or frozen bottles of water.
They will also chew from boredom, or maybe she misses the one that passed.
Could she have a fungus?Maybe that's what the one that passed had?

[ymistry]

Thanks for the ideas. I have one ceramic tile but I can definitely get more.  Do you use glass or plastic frozen water bottles? I'd be concerned that they' break the  glass bottle or that they'd chew the plastic bottle, but I like the idea!

 Is there a way for  me to check if she has a fungus without taking her back to the vet? The vet checked about 3 months ago and at that time they were fine.

Thanks.

[Jo Ann]

Do you use glass or plastic frozen water bottles? I'd be concerned that they' break the  glass bottle or that they'd chew the plastic bottle, but I like the idea!

  Plastic would be chewed.  Plastic is a "no-no" when it comes to chinchillas.

Glass canning jars (Mason jars) are usually best ... they can be filled with ice cubes and screw the metal lid on tightly, then place it in the cage on the bottom floor. 

Do not fill the glass jar full of water and then freeze it ... that could cause it to bust in the freezer because the water will expand during the freezing process.  You can, however, place it in the freezer about 1/2 full of water and without a lid ... this allows it room to expand ... once frozen solid, then add a few cubes of ice just before you put it in the cage.

Your chin will huddle close to it for the cool air and lick the condensation off the sides for the cold water.

Always place this and any object that is heavy on the bottom floor of the cage, otherwise, it could injure/kill your chin if it were to fall on him from above.

   Jo Ann

[ymistry]

Thanks. I just tried this idea. So far they don't seem to have discovered the jar yet . (They have a large cage and spend most of their time on the upper levels).

 Would they chew aluminum/foil? I was thinking of  putting some foil trays in the freezer and then putting them on the upper levels as well.

[Jo Ann]

   Aluminum is a soft metal ... and ... yes, they will chew/consume it.

We have a chin named Cotton, he's known as the "head of the metal works department" here.  He can chew a 1/4 metal rod in half 1 1/2 times in an eight hour period.   

   Jo Ann