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[ZyMOS]

Hello,

My chinchilla, named Chaluppa, has been fur bitting. I think.

Above his hid legs his fur is short and spotty., but not bald.  On both sides. It started as a small patch but is getting bigger and is about 1/8 of his fur now.

I read it can be due to stress.  I have done some travelling where i had another take care of him, but that was one week in Dec, and 3 days in mid Jan.  I have been at home since.  My schedual is the same every day.  I let him out at 5pm, he hides in his out-of-cage cubby till 8, and then he plays from 8pm till 12.  almost the same every day.  I give him dust baths 1-2 times a week.  I give him treats 1-2 times a week.  He doesn't seem stresed, but something must be wrong......



Thanks
Jeff
http://howto.wikia.com

[Jo Ann]

     Our little ones love us very much.  When we leave them, it can stress them.  Chinchillas like regular routines.  It sounds like you have tried to get things back to normal for him, but it's not quite working.

 Is/has there been a change in the diet?  Different brand? 

Are you wearing a new perfume?  Using a new shampoo or conditioner?   

Changed brands of washing detergent or softner?  New cleaning products?  New Air freshner?

Beleive it or not, something this simple can stress some chinchillas.

Keep us posted!

   Jo Ann

[Leslie]

My chin started fur biting at about 9 months.  He has done so ever since, and he's almost 6 now.  I am adamant that there is nothing I have done to make him fur bite, and it's a genetic thing.  I went through a long period of worry and stress about it, not understanding what I was doing wrong.  I let him out on a regular basis, the environment he lives in is calm but not too quiet....he gets regular dust baths.  His diet is good, only quality pellets and a raisin a day.... it can't be the location of his cage, for we have moved his cage 3 times in the 6 years we've had him and he bites his fur no matter what we do.

That being said, he just bites off the tips and he looks motley but it doesn't hurt him.  He's like a little ragamuffin to me.  He just seems to over-clean himself.  I rarely even see him doing it.

He was always a stressed animal though, he came from a pet store and he's a biter (to strangers, not to me anymore).  He has the disposition of a human that bites their nails at lot.

I have learned to accept him like he is.  Of course, I'll never breed him.  He's a great pet still though.

[ChillinChinchillas]

I have to agree that it sounds like a genetic thing. Chins do miss you when you are gone, but it wouldn't necessarily lead to fur biting. Some are goofy looking, some are gorgeous, but we love them all the same!

[ZyMOS]

Ive had him for about 6months for the first 3-4 months he was fine, even when i first got him he was really friendy, no fur biting.  I also forgot to mention, my friend visited for a month, and i had to keep him cage more that usual.  For some reason, my friend didn't like poop on the bed. But that was all a month ago, and it seems to be getting worse.  Also he used to have a wheel in his cage.  I made it lopsided so he could only run for 30 sec at a time.  But aat x-mas it broke.  Thats when the fur bitting started.

 Is/has there been a change in the diet?  Different brand?
yes ~months ago, i changed from timothy hay & alfalfa based pellets to alfalfa hay & timothy hay based pellets
Im allergic to timothy hay

Are you wearing a new perfume?  Using a new shampoo or conditioner?   
nope

Changed brands of washing detergent or softner?  New cleaning products?  New Air freshner?
nope

I read one rasin a day is too much.  Is that true?  I mostly give him oats. If i get rasins, i seem to eat them all.  Another worry i have is he chews on allot of cardboard and paper.  Can this be bad?  He has cardboard tubes, and his, outside of cage, hideout is a cardboard box, he chews on allot.  I used to have a book i gave him to chew on. (he didn't eat the glue, just the paper), but i took it away from him, because i worry.

But anyway he is a cutie, you can see him helping my build a transformer. 
thanks,
Jeff

[ChillinChinchillas]

Yes, keeping him in his cage when he was used to having more out of the cage time could be the cause. I took in a little lady that the people had bought for a younger child and then determined they didn't have time to take care of her. She had chewed the fur on her tail until it was all very short. She has been here since October, and now the fur on her tail has completely grown back with no further signs of fur biting. It took a little time to get her used to us and our chin schedule, but once she was comfy the fur biting stopped. If the chin is younger, and stops chewing the fur will grow back quicker than if the chin is a few years older. That is about the extent of my fur biting experience. Maybe others have ways of calming it down some, but the only fur bitter I have had was obviously strictly stress related. I don't know what you can do if it is genetic. It will most likely be a little scruffy, but still lovable. I am not sure when it would begin if the problem is genetic. I am not sure if it is something they do from birth or if it is a problem that suddenly arises out of nowhere. Good luck. Keep us posted with your babies progress.

[ChillinChinchillas]

Also, if your friend does not want the chin running around, you can invest in a cheap, used play pen or pack and play. You can put some toys in there and give the chin a little more room to play and some freedom from the cage if you don't have a specific chin proof room for him to play in.