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[iSpi]

I was recently looking at what should be in a chinchilla first aid kit, and saw something about split and broken whiskers.
My chinchilla had a kit in November and I always thought it was from her kit picking on her. Her previous owner said the male in her cage had pulled her fur some so I figured her fur was just patchy and still growing back (it looks a lot better from when I got her).

I read that this could be a fungus though. She doesn't seem really itchy, and the kit who is about 3 months old seems perfectly healthy. I read that you need to clean their cage and can put foot powder in their dust bath with their bathing dust and that should help. Could this possibly be a fungus though? If so, how do I clean a wood cage and what powder should I use to help clear this up?

[GrayRodent]

How long ago was it that the fur got pulled and what part of the animal is "patchy"? If the whiskers are broken or chopped off they'll grow out. If one is split to the root and causing trouble that might be different but I've never heard of that being a problem before. If its a fungus typically the fur won't grow back and you'll see an irritated spot on the skin. There are some types of infections that are bit more subtle.

[iSpi]

It's mostly around her lower back and sides. Around her hips and the roundest part of a chinchilla. Her fur was patchy when I got her which was the end of September, but it still looks shorter in some spots. Her fur also seems to fall out easily. When I hold her she seems to leave a thin layer of fur on me. She doesn't have any bald spots, but I figured her fur would be even and full by now. Her nose isn't scabbed and she has fur around her eyes, so she doesn't seem ill at all. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't anything like a fungus.

[GrayRodent]

If you can post a picture. I am starting to suspect fur chewing. This manifests as the fur looking rough. You'll notice the hair is chewed down the dull gray undercoat in the areas you describe. If it is that there's a few options we can explore to try to diagnose it. Has this chin had a veterinary checkup recently?

[iSpi]

Sorry for the bad quality of pictures. I couldn't get the camera to focus at first, and when I finally did she was moving around to much for me to take a picture of just her fur.

She doesn't have bald spots, and it doesn't look like she's chewing her fur out herself, but you can kind of see that it's uneven and a bit rough looking. You can see her one black whisker that's slightly bent, but it was hard to get a picture to focus on some of her split white whiskers.

It's possible that maybe her kit it teasing her by messing with her whiskers, and that her fur hasn't fully grown yet. I'm not sure how long it takes for a chinchilla to regrow hair so maybe it's still growing back from her previous mate biting her fur out.

[GrayRodent]

I would think 2-3 weeks would be a good timeframe for fur to grow out. It's really hard to tell what it is from the pictures. This is the first time I've tried to diagnose fur chewing on a pure white coat. With standard greys it's usually quite obvious. It doesn't look like fungus to me. Typically the skin is exposed on most fungal infections but I'm not seeing that. Not saying it can't be but the fur does seem to be growing out pretty well.
The fact it falls out easily is disturbing. I recommend a checkup with a reputable exotic veterinarian. Make sure her weight is good, her liver is normal size, and the skin is in good condition. I still suspect fur chewing but I cannot tell by looking. What is her diet like?

[iSpi]

I was in a bit of a rush when I was trying to take these pictures, so I'll try to take better pictures tomorrow. Her fur doesn't necessarily fall out whenever I pick her up, but sometimes I see little pieces where the fur is sticking out where she may have bumped into something. She is a nervous chinchilla, so maybe she is just fur slipping when she accidentally hits something?

Her diet consists of pellets, timothy hay, and alfalfa hay all by Oxbow (more timothy than alfalfa. I do let her nibble on some of the treat seed sticks every once in a while, but not much because she seems too grabby when I offer her treats. She does eat A LOT though. My other chinchilla rarely ever finished her pile of hay over the course of 24 hours, but my white chinchilla eats a ton. She does live with her kit who is about 3 months old, but even then they eat a significant amount of hay and pellets. She's not as big as my other chinchilla either.

The kit's fur and whiskers look fine though, and so does my other chinchilla who is not sharing a cage with them.

[GrayRodent]

Not a problem. It sure sounds like chewing to me if the fur is coming off in fragments. I'm not sure if the intake amount is significant or not. May be indicative of nervousness as well. I still recommend getting a basic checkup from a vet just to rule out anything dangerous.
What is your pet's environment like?

[iSpi]

She lives in her cage in the basement, but she has definitely been more friendly since the time I brought her home. She was in my room for a while when she had her kit, but she was moved the new cage in the basement. I'm not sure what the exact temperature is, but it is cooler than  most of the house (69/70 F). There is insulation to make sure it doesn't get too cold or too hot. There are occasional noises like the water heater, and people walking upstairs, but they are not loud enough for them to panic. I will take better pictures tonight when they are more active.

The last time I went to the vet in late November, he said the mom and kit looked fine and her fur looked a little worse than it does look now. I'm not sure if you could determine from their droppings, but they looked at a sample that she had in her carrier at the vet and they said they didn't find anything unusual.
Can fur grow back differently if pulled out? As I said, she had a cage mate that pulled her fur before I had her so can there be long term damage to the fur?

[GrayRodent]

I wouldn't take her back to the vet then. I'll be glad to see your pics. If you would like to send larger ones you may email me at admin@chinchillaclub.com.