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Health / Re: Fur Biting
« on: August 18, 2016, 01:18:52 PM »
Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for that and just monitor things closely.
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Health / Re: Fur Biting
« on: August 17, 2016, 11:57:05 PM »
So I took our chin to the vet. The first "specialist" we found was terrible and didn't know anything about chins, she stressed everyone out and didn't give us any info, not even her weight! I found another option further away and this guy was great. He did a physical and oral exam as well as standard bloodwork. Everything came back great and he said she was in good shape (especially for her age), which is great news. The only issue is she's still fur biting. I thought it might be from boredom. She has a wheel, a wood house, wood chews etc. I sometimes stuff alfalfa in cardboard tubes for an added challenge. She used to like pumice stones but got bored with them long ago. I recently added a tunnel made out of hay but she wasn't into that either. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some toys that I could try? I'm thinking she may need some more stimulus. Thanks!
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Health / Re: Fur Biting
« on: August 05, 2016, 08:57:48 AM »
Thanks. I haven't been measuring weight all along so I don't have a benchmark to go by for weight. She's definitely eating and she doesn't look like she is losing weight but I know that visuals can be deceiving with all the fur. There's no drooling or wetness but the fur biting is very minimal on the right side and largely concentrated on her back left side. From the feedback above it sounds like there might be a source of pain there. I think I'm going to take her to vet this weekend and hope for the best.
Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.
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Health / Fur Biting
« on: August 03, 2016, 10:19:51 PM »
We have a senior chinchilla, she's about 15 years old. She always tended to have a spot at the tip of her tail but other than that she's never had any issues with her fur or signs of fur biting. Two days ago I noticed fur biting near her backside. It's on both sides but more prominent on one side. She's acting normal. In fact she's currently out of her cage and bouncing off the walls right now!
Since she's older I'm not sure if this is a sign of stress related to some health issue. I know Chins are excellent at hiding their health issues until it can be too late. We've had a heat wave the last two weeks and even with our AC unit running full blast it's definitely been warm. This happens at some point every summer though and we've never seen fur biting before. We've also been traveling for work a lot and so she hasn't gotten to run around outside her cage as much as normal these past few months as our pet sitters never know how to get her back in the cage. She does have a 5 story cage and a wheel but I'm wondering if she's just bored?
Based on other people's experience is this likely from heat / boredom etc. or do I need to take her in to a vet? We used to have a good exotics vet a long time ago but that was years ago and I haven't been able to find a good replacement since. I worry if this is stress related that a trip to a new vet would just make things worse but at the same time I know it can take 3 months for the fur to grow back normal and don't want to wait that long if there might be an issue. I'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks so much!
Since she's older I'm not sure if this is a sign of stress related to some health issue. I know Chins are excellent at hiding their health issues until it can be too late. We've had a heat wave the last two weeks and even with our AC unit running full blast it's definitely been warm. This happens at some point every summer though and we've never seen fur biting before. We've also been traveling for work a lot and so she hasn't gotten to run around outside her cage as much as normal these past few months as our pet sitters never know how to get her back in the cage. She does have a 5 story cage and a wheel but I'm wondering if she's just bored?
Based on other people's experience is this likely from heat / boredom etc. or do I need to take her in to a vet? We used to have a good exotics vet a long time ago but that was years ago and I haven't been able to find a good replacement since. I worry if this is stress related that a trip to a new vet would just make things worse but at the same time I know it can take 3 months for the fur to grow back normal and don't want to wait that long if there might be an issue. I'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks so much!
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Breeding 101 / Re: Until what age can a chinchilla reproduce or be neutered?
« on: October 04, 2011, 08:35:48 PM »
Yikes! We've only neutered one but had no issues whatsoever. I guess we were lucky! Thanks for the tip, I will definitely ask for more info about medication.
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Breeding 101 / Re: Until what age can a chinchilla reproduce or be neutered?
« on: October 04, 2011, 04:27:41 PM »
Well after some delays we finally adopted our friend's chin over labor day weekend. We've kept him in a separate, neighboring, cage and have only been letting one chinchilla out at a time. Our original chin, Peanut, finally started eating her pellets again once her new buddy arrived on the scene. She's very curious about him and jumps all over his cage when she is let out. She's definitely perked up since we got him.
Charcoal, the new adoption. has never lived with another chin and doesn't really pay any attention to Peanut. He doesn't really seem to notice her unless she comes right up to his cage and is nose to nose with him. However, I have my doubts his disinterest will continue once we finally get them into the same cage. We did find a vet that would neuter an older chin, we're just still waivering on the decision.
Charcoal, the new adoption. has never lived with another chin and doesn't really pay any attention to Peanut. He doesn't really seem to notice her unless she comes right up to his cage and is nose to nose with him. However, I have my doubts his disinterest will continue once we finally get them into the same cage. We did find a vet that would neuter an older chin, we're just still waivering on the decision.
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Health / Re: Need Help asap ! Kidney failure?
« on: July 24, 2011, 05:55:00 PM »
So it has been a few days and I'm still a bit concerned about my other chin, Peanut. Overall she seems to be doing well. She is active and still loves running on her wheel. We've been giving her extra time outside the cage which she very much enjoys.
She pretty much refused to spend any time on the lower level of the cage (unless it was to run out the door). I thought it might be because that is where her buddy was spending most of his time during his last days. I gave the cage a good cleaning today and have since seen her hanging out down there so I think it helped. The thing that concerns me is that I can't get her to eat her pellets. I've seen her eat hay and drink on her own but the food dish is still full. I tried moving it to an upper level but that didn't help. If I hand feed her a treat she will devour it. If I hand feed her a pellet she will eat one if I'm lucky, then realize it's a pellet and either refuse the next one or take it and throw it aside!
We thought she may only be eating cause it's like comfort food during a sad time. Much like humans. Just a theory.
Since she will eat treats out of my hand, are there things I can give her by hand that aren't pellets but would have some nutritional value?
I read on this board to try oats so I was going to go buy some tonight. Is there anything else?
Also, I know a sudden change in diet is bad. Should I try to buy a different brand of food tomorrow and mix it with the current food? I know a sudden change in diet is bad as well, but I assume it's better than no food.
Thanks again for all your help!
* * *
UPDATE: I gave her the rolled oats and she LOVED them. After feeding her a few by hand I tried mixing it into her food bowl. I'm not sure if she ate any pellets but she did pick out every single piece of oat! Should I just give her a bowl of oats to go with her timothy hay?
She pretty much refused to spend any time on the lower level of the cage (unless it was to run out the door). I thought it might be because that is where her buddy was spending most of his time during his last days. I gave the cage a good cleaning today and have since seen her hanging out down there so I think it helped. The thing that concerns me is that I can't get her to eat her pellets. I've seen her eat hay and drink on her own but the food dish is still full. I tried moving it to an upper level but that didn't help. If I hand feed her a treat she will devour it. If I hand feed her a pellet she will eat one if I'm lucky, then realize it's a pellet and either refuse the next one or take it and throw it aside!
We thought she may only be eating cause it's like comfort food during a sad time. Much like humans. Just a theory.
Since she will eat treats out of my hand, are there things I can give her by hand that aren't pellets but would have some nutritional value?
I read on this board to try oats so I was going to go buy some tonight. Is there anything else?
Also, I know a sudden change in diet is bad. Should I try to buy a different brand of food tomorrow and mix it with the current food? I know a sudden change in diet is bad as well, but I assume it's better than no food.
Thanks again for all your help!
* * *
UPDATE: I gave her the rolled oats and she LOVED them. After feeding her a few by hand I tried mixing it into her food bowl. I'm not sure if she ate any pellets but she did pick out every single piece of oat! Should I just give her a bowl of oats to go with her timothy hay?
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Breeding 101 / Re: Until what age can a chinchilla reproduce or be neutered?
« on: July 24, 2011, 05:39:58 PM »
LOL 
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Breeding 101 / Re: Until what age can a chinchilla reproduce or be neutered?
« on: July 24, 2011, 11:15:47 AM »
impregnated through the cages?! Wow. I assume these are rare occurrences?
Unfortunately we don't have enough room to keep side by side cages long term.
Unfortunately we don't have enough room to keep side by side cages long term.
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Breeding 101 / Re: Until what age can a chinchilla reproduce or be neutered?
« on: July 22, 2011, 09:36:30 AM »
Thank you for this info, it is very helpful.
We just realized that the cage is large enough that we could probably split it by running some chicken wire down the middle. It seems that this would provide them both with some level of companionship without the risk of breeding. The cage would not be very wide any more but would still be quite tall and they would still have lots of levels to jump around on. I would think a smaller space but would a good trade for a companion, assuming she wants one?
This is of course, assuming they indicate they want a mate. I know the introduction process can take about a month. You mentioned that she may not want a cagemate. Is there a way to tell if it's just the slow process of introducing two chins or if they have no desire for a mate?
Thank you again for all your help!
We just realized that the cage is large enough that we could probably split it by running some chicken wire down the middle. It seems that this would provide them both with some level of companionship without the risk of breeding. The cage would not be very wide any more but would still be quite tall and they would still have lots of levels to jump around on. I would think a smaller space but would a good trade for a companion, assuming she wants one?
This is of course, assuming they indicate they want a mate. I know the introduction process can take about a month. You mentioned that she may not want a cagemate. Is there a way to tell if it's just the slow process of introducing two chins or if they have no desire for a mate?
Thank you again for all your help!
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Health / Re: Need Help asap ! Kidney failure?
« on: July 21, 2011, 08:52:34 AM »
Thank you. I will try those suggestions!
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Breeding 101 / Re: Until what age can a chinchilla reproduce or be neutered?
« on: July 21, 2011, 08:44:59 AM »
Thanks for your response. Is it safe for an older chin to give birth? I feel like it would be nice to give both chins a companion so I would like to still bring them together, however I don't want to do it at the risk of my female's health. Also if you put a male/female pair together in the same cage are you assured to get kits? Not sure if they need any chemistry between them to reproduce. ;-)
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Breeding 101 / Until what age can a chinchilla reproduce or be neutered?
« on: July 20, 2011, 09:07:33 PM »
I had a male and female chinchilla, very sadly the male just passed away. For the first time the female is alone and I am worried about her. Prior to this unexpected death we were asked by a friend to adopt her 7 year old un-neutered male. She has developed a severe allergy and until she can find him a new home the poor guy is living in the basement of her house and is completely isolated except for daily feeding and cage cleaning. Needless to say, she is anxious to get him into a new home and give him a better life again.
I was hesitant to take the un-neutered male because my female has already given birth twice. We thought we had two males and ended up neutering the dad when we figured out which one was the dad! I do not want to be a breeder but now that my little girl is all alone I am leaning towards adopting my friends chin. He would give mine company and his own quality of life would be so much better.
He is 7 years old so I assume that is too old to have him safely neutered? She is over 10 years old. Can chins reproduce throughout their entire lifespan? If I eventually put them in the same cage is it likely that they will mate?
Thanks so much for your help.
I was hesitant to take the un-neutered male because my female has already given birth twice. We thought we had two males and ended up neutering the dad when we figured out which one was the dad! I do not want to be a breeder but now that my little girl is all alone I am leaning towards adopting my friends chin. He would give mine company and his own quality of life would be so much better.
He is 7 years old so I assume that is too old to have him safely neutered? She is over 10 years old. Can chins reproduce throughout their entire lifespan? If I eventually put them in the same cage is it likely that they will mate?
Thanks so much for your help.
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Health / Re: A lonely chinchilla (complete with sad story)
« on: July 20, 2011, 08:43:12 PM »
I have a very similar story. We had a "male" chinchilla and then got a male friend for him. Turns out one of the males was actually a female. We ended up with 2 little ones before I got the dad neutered. It has been years since then but the third one in the family passed away early this morning leaving a lone chinchilla behind. ;-( She is now over 10 years old and she is not used to living alone. I was just wondering how your chin is coping with it all and if there is anything you'd recommend to make the transition easier? I know they are very social creatures so i am very concerned about her.
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Health / Re: Need Help asap ! Kidney failure?
« on: July 20, 2011, 08:26:05 PM »
Thank yo so much for your quick response yesterday. I really appreciated it. We followed the suggestions and gave him a little heating pad. We hooked him up to receive lots of fluids and force fed him with a syringe. Unfortunately he didn't show any signs of improvement after being hooked up to the fluids for 24 hours. The vet felt that he had been hiding his symptoms for a long time and by the time he stopped hiding them it was simply too late. It was just as you said, he had no interest in anything, he just lay there and refused to swallow foods. Our emergency vet was able to talk to an exotics specialist but in the end it seemed the best thing to do would be to let him go. Signing the papers to do that was the hardest decision ever but in the end it was apparently the right decision. He beat the vet to it and passed away on his own about 10 minutes before they were going to put him to sleep. 
As hard as it is for me, I am most concerned about her cagemate. They were inseparable and this is her first time being alone in 8 years. I know they are very social animals and I am hoping she will be ok.
As hard as it is for me, I am most concerned about her cagemate. They were inseparable and this is her first time being alone in 8 years. I know they are very social animals and I am hoping she will be ok.
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