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[glafond]

Hello everyone:

I have had my Chins for about a week. Here is my scenario:

I noticed there were slightly smaller dark brown hard poo's in the cage.

The only change in their food from the breeder is I am feeding them Oxbow timothy hay instead of the kind she was feeding them.

I have seen them both eat and drink.

Rambo is a little less active than Fluffy (sits in one spot more often).

Rambo is smaller than Fluffy. Rambo is 2 Fluffy is 1.

They are both males. Not brothers, my breeder tried them in a cage together for a week and a half and they worked out fine until I picked them up.
 
I have narrowed it down and it seems like Rambo (beige) is the one who has the hard dark brown poo.
 
I also noticed Rambo has little tufts of fur missing, not much just a little bit. There is some missing from the top of his head and some missing from back area. I do not think it is fur chewing (how could he chew the top of his own head, lol). Again it is not deep down into the fur only small area and small amount missing.
 
I saw Fluffy (mosaic) do the humping thing and it looked like he was biting rambos back area last night, but Rambo did not alert to  any pain and there is no blood or broken skin and it did not appear there was much if any fur missing from Rambo in that area.
 
Is it possible Fluffy is doing this to assert dominance or rough grooming?
 
Their first out of the cage session went pretty well last night. Getting them in was a chore, but I suppose that is to be expected.
 
The only thing that concerned me is, Rambo came out first because Fluffy was being a big woosy and hid up in their bed house for a little while. Rambo bounced off of the walls and playpen and played until a little bit after Fluffy ended up coming out. Then Rambo sat in a corner for most of the time and Fluffy ran around and played.
 
When Fluffy went back in (he was the first one we were able to get back in) Rambo began to play again bouncing off walls, etc...

What is odd is, I moved the sleep box to the first shelf instead of the third shelf and they both slept in it together today. It appears they cuddle some other times too.
 
Should I be worried about any of this or should I just closely observe longer?

I contacted my breeder and she said I should add 100% pure apple juice (just a small bit) to their water to encourage drinking. I did that last night, but it is too early to tell a difference.

I want to hear your opinions since you guys are Chinchilla experts too!
 
Thanks a million!


If you need me to provide anymore information please ask!

Garren

[SteveD]

The small hard poo is generally a sign of constipation and/or dehydration.  The apple juice should help if it causes them to drink more.  You may also offer a small piece of dried papaya (not too much though).  Papaya can aid in digestion.  It is fairly common for a chin to have a decreased appetite when it is stressed from a change in environment.  We had one that refused to eat or drink and we eventually had to syringe feed Oxbow Critical Care feed for about 10 days.  She finally came around and started eating and drinking.  Now she is my favorite as she really bonded with me during the hand feeding process.  We have noticed the grown chins seem to take changes in environment harder than the younger ones.  The humping is dominance mounting and can be common between two males.

[glafond]

It appears that they are both eating and drinking, they are not drinking that much, but from what I have read they do not drink a lot anyways. When they each come out for play time they are active and bounce off of the walls (literally). They are doing everything chins are supposed to do from what I have read. Rambo seems a little less active than fluffy though.

Rambo also has a patch of fur right under his tail (not his butt area but between that and his tail) it looks wet, or like it was wet and then dried and matted. He is not exhibiting lethargy or anything of that sort. I do not think it is wet tail ( i have heard they can get wet tail, but it is rare).

I have read that some people who have pairs of mail chins have reported that the more dominant chin actually humps the other one and, I guess, ejaculates in that general area, and can cause the patch of hair I am speaking of.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

[GrayRodent]

If it is wet tail the patch will likely be green and there will always be signs on the cage floor. It's kind of a disturbing thought what you said. I wonder if these two should be separated. Some males do not live well together and can later kill each other without notice. The one with constipation may not be eating because of the stress caused by the other chin.
Or it could just be not being able to cope with relocation. It's your call.

[glafond]

They both eat just fine, I know that.

They both cuddle together and groom just fine. They do not fight and sometimes they even play together.

I have only had them for a little over a week. I think there is a lot for them to get used to and one may just take a little longer to adjust than the other. They got along just fine at the breeders before I brought them home. She had them together for a week before I picked them up. She has been breeding for 7 years and she said they were doing just fine.