Question about "rat-faced" chins?

They're illustrating the differences between the two types of wild chinchillas. It was mentioned above w/ the more commonly used abbreviations. Brevicudata = "Brevi" = the boxy body type, Lanigera = the pointy, mouse-like body type. Crossing the two is common depending on the confirmation of each animal, as has been mentioned above as well.

chechinchillas said:

On another note I have also been told by Laurie at .com that the more brevi type face can have a higher rate of teeth problems.

Click to expand...

Interesting, I hadn't heard that before. It's certainly true of rabbits, dwarf lops are more prone to teeth problems than other breeds, as they have short faces. I worry a lot about teeth problems after having three rabbits develop malocclusion, it was just heartbreaking having to keep taking them to the vet to have teeth trimmed. Our little Hazel was less than a year old when he started having problems, we kept him going for five years - we wondered if it was fair to keep putting him through that, but he was so happy when his teeth weren't bugging him, playing and digging holes in the garden. I really don't want to go through it again, though.


Put me down as another one who likes more lanigera-type chins. I think calling them that sounds better than rat faced, actually, I do like rats, and had a pet one, but also felt the term 'rat faced' sounded like it was meant with negative connotations, even if people don't always mean it like that. Maybe I should call the brevi-types squashed face chins...
Not that I don't like brevi-type chins too, I do, but I personally don't really find them as cute, and I like the daintier, sleeker, more elegant look of more lanigera-type chins, to me that kind of chin is the prettier of the two. It's really interesting to hear about the other traits that sometimes go along with it, my standard boy (pedigree, and from good lines), who is a bit more lanigera-type, though not too extreme, is indeed very blue and clear in colour. I was told he'd be Ok to breed from if I wished, but I should be sure to pair him with a nice blocky female, so I'm interested to hear a few more breeders also say they do do that sometimes and it's considered Ok. I don't think I'd want to breed really blocky chins though, I like the other type, well, somewhere in between the two, at least! Hmm...
My rat:
As a kit: http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/Ampharos64/Henry/1989196-695m.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/Ampharos64/DSC002571.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/Ampharos64/DSC002451.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/Ampharos64/DSC00278.jpg

He's really irritating to photograph because he can look so different from one picture to the next, I think it depends on how he holds himself. Also, I'm pretty terrible at photography - the kit photo, which is the best one I have of him, was taken by his breeder.

aznmexaggie said:

Here are some I found on a google search. A rat-faced chin is basically a "wedgy" animal meaning if you look at them from above, their hips are wider than their shoulders and they have an elongated face. A high quality chin will have a blocky build and generally a more blunt nose and wider head/neck.

What I consider rat-faced or "ratty" chins:

Those chins also happen to be in desperate need of a dust bath.

Click to expand...

Hope it's ok to post this question here, since the thread's months old. The adult chin in the second photo has a type of fur I've only seen in my friend's "rat-faced" chin, even with dust baths. I mean the coloring mostly.....is that also a typical trait of these types of chins?

LovinTheSmallAndFurry said:

Hope it's ok to post this question here, since the thread's months old. The adult chin in the second photo has a type of fur I've only seen in my friend's "rat-faced" chin, even with dust baths. I mean the coloring mostly.....is that also a typical trait of these types of chins?

Click to expand...

That's not a typical trait. It's just lack of density (thickness) and fur strength (the fur's ability to stand up) which are both due to poor breeding. There's no way to "fix" it as it's just bad genetics. If you're talking about the color, that's mostly urine stains which are due to poor husbandry. If she's had the chinchilla for a while and the color is not going away, she can use a bar of unscented dove soap and wash the parts of her that are stained. If she does this or you do this, make sure to rinse her completely then dry her well with a towel, blow dry her on no/low heat with a blow dryer and put her into a clean fresh cage away from drafts.

RDZCRanch said:

That's not a typical trait. It's just lack of density (thickness) and fur strength (the fur's ability to stand up) which are both due to poor breeding. There's no way to "fix" it as it's just bad genetics. If you're talking about the color, that's mostly urine stains which are due to poor husbandry. If she's had the chinchilla for a while and the color is not going away, she can use a bar of unscented dove soap and wash the parts of her that are stained. If she does this or you do this, make sure to rinse her completely then dry her well with a towel, blow dry her on no/low heat with a blow dryer and put her into a clean fresh cage away from drafts.

Click to expand...

Ah, that answers my question, thank you. Density/fur strength is what I was looking for, Her fur is always laying down, though I don't think she's got the urine stains. I personally think she doesn't get enough dust baths, but she's not my chin,

This is really interesting, I've never heard of chins being rat-faced before. Chalupa is rat-faced for sure I think, but she's so tiny and I just got her and am trying to fatten her up, her owner didn't leave a constant supply of food in her cage. I'll have to take a peak at my big boy Chinchy when he wakes up later today though.

I have rats so it's funny to me because I never saw a resemblance between my chinchillas and them. They look more like fuzzy rodent versions of manatees to me, lol.

My Momo is pretty rat faced. But I love her anyway, and I think she's beautiful.