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[zukitchi]

I have a 3 year old chinchilla, Bowser, who I think has been biting his fur for at least the last year - year and a half. I don't know what I can do to help him. I have not seen him bite the fur off but I don't know what else could be causing this. It doesn't look like ringworm/fungus. There are no completely bald patches to the skin, but the fur is much shorter and tatty-looking in pretty much all the places he can reach, aside from his coarse tail hair. But I've never noticed the fur being wet. He lives alone, but his cage is right next to another cage housing two 13-year-old chinchillas, a male and a female. The other male is neutered but the female has not been spayed. Bowser has not been neutered. Sometimes Bowser will get into these mating moods where he makes sounds to the other chins and does his little mating dance with the tail wagging, etc. Could he be biting his fur do to the stress of not being neutered and being housed next to an unspayed female? Should I risk getting him neutered? He gets a dust bath maybe once a week and I take him out for play everyday. I can't really remove any of the chinchillas from this room because of other people in the household. Also, on most weekends I stay at a friend's house and I take Bowser with me. There are no other animals at this house. But I have been doing this since he was a baby, so it's nothing new, but I still wonder if it would stress him out. Any advice would be appreciated. He's ruining his beautiful coat! Otherwise he's a very sweet chinchilla and he gets along with all people. He will fight with the other chinchillas if I put them together so I avoid it.

[chinclub]

Chinchillas do start fur biting due to stress or boredom.  I have housed many males in the same room with females and have never had one begin chewing so I do not recommend getting him neutered or moving out your other chinchillas.

You can try giving him more toys and/or not taking him with you on weekends if you think that might be the cause.  The only problem is you say he has been doing this for over a year now.  When a chinchilla bites long term it becomes a habit, like biting your nails.  At this point, even if you figure out the problem is and fix it he may continue to chew his fur.

[Jo Ann]

    I agree with Jamie.  Unless you can figure out what is stressing him (if he still feels stressed) is a major question.  Or if it has become a habit ... this will be hard to correct.   Lots of extra 'special' attention may help. 

Dust baths with 1 teaspoon of anti-fungus foot powder to 1/4 cup dust powder dust is usually soothing and relaxing for chins.

Also, I would give him a "small pea-size" amount of hairball medication (Petromalt or Laxatone - comes in a tube in the cat/dog section of the pet store) about once a week for a month, then about once a month, if the fur chewing continues.  This will help any fur ingested pass through and not block the digestive tract.

If you start seeing patches of bare skin, I would get him to a vet to be checked for any other problems that could be going on.

Surgery is always a big chance of adding additional problems to one that is already there.

   Jo Ann