There's something wrong with my chinchilla's fur

ibuki · Jun 12, 2013

Hey guys. I posted a thread on here about the 2 chinchillas I recently acquired: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38858

There is a noticeable problem with one of the guy's fur though. It appears blotchy on one side and there is a flat patch right in the middle of the blotchy area. Here are some pictures:

http://i.imgur.com/eR7rAQc.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hqWBFVF.jpg

I couldn't get a picture of the flat area, but it doesn't look good. His right side looks fine. What do you guys think of this? Should I take him to a vet? Like I said in my other thread, I was given these 2 guys out of nowhere and I know very little about them and their history.

Any help would be much appreciated

tunes · Jun 12, 2013

Could be a couple of things. If the hair is choppy, like a bad hair cut, then it's fur chewing. Whether it's him or his companion doing it is hard to tell.

Another thing, since I am seeing some matting, is it's possible that he's been ejaculated on by his roomie. (I am assuming they are both male.) Have you seen dominance humping going on?

Lastly, if there is actually missing fur and bare skin, that could be from fighting, fur slip, or if the skin is red and scaly, fungus.

ibuki · Jun 12, 2013

They don't interact whatsoever. Sorry if that wasn't clear. They are always in separate cages, and always have been from what I am told.

ibuki · Jun 12, 2013

Again, sorry for the double post (I wish there was an edit function

) but here is a better shot of the patch I was talking about: http://i.imgur.com/41CJVVN.jpg

AZChins · Jun 12, 2013

It looks like the chin was either in a very dirty cage and didn't get dusted enough and/or he got wet on his back. It looks like a matted up nasty mess of fur...it will take awhile to get it to go back to normal. Lots of dust baths and maybe the occasional mat will need to be pulled out to help it look better. It's probably a husbandry issue...poor thing. You may want to clean off his ears, as well, they're pretty dirty.

ibuki · Jun 12, 2013

AZChins said:
It looks like the chin was either in a very dirty cage and didn't get dusted enough and/or he got wet on his back. It looks like a matted up nasty mess of fur...it will take awhile to get it to go back to normal. Lots of dust baths and maybe the occasional mat will need to be pulled out to help it look better. It's probably a husbandry issue...poor thing. You may want to clean off his ears, as well, they're pretty dirty.

They have both unfortunately been in dirty cages, and still are right now. As I said in my other thread - I'm not quite confident enough yet to let them out to clean their cages. I know they desperately needs cleaning and I want to do it asap.

ticklechin · Jun 12, 2013

In your other thread you said they will take treats from you so they are not that scared, scared rescues would rather die than take anything. Get a couple of cat carriers and put them in those while cleaning the cages, clean cages are more important I think than the chins psychological state right now, that chin is filthy, it will feel filthy and it will feel alot better when clean. Lots of dust baths also.

ibuki · Jun 12, 2013

ticklechin said:
In your other thread you said they will take treats from you so they are not that scared, scared rescues would rather die than take anything. Get a couple of cat carriers and put them in those while cleaning the cages, clean cages are more important I think than the chins psychological state right now, that chin is filthy, it will feel filthy and it will feel alot better when clean. Lots of dust baths also.

Noted. Going to clean them asap.

ibuki · Jun 13, 2013

A quick update on this guy's fur: I managed to pick him up today, and it appears it isn't a bald patch as it looks like in this picture: http://i.imgur.com/41CJVVN.jpg

The fur is clumped together and dried into a disc like shape. I'm not sure dust baths and being generally cleaner is going to fix that. Fortunately it didn't look red or sore, the skin seemed ok it just looked like his fur is clumped together. Any advice on what to do about clumped and dried fur would be great.

jags · Jun 13, 2013

Very easy like pull on small areas of the matted fur and it will slip right out. Work at it until you are able to work all the mats out. He may object a little but this will get rid of the matting and promote new fur growth. Looks like he was just real dirty and the fur matted real bad.

Jazicat · Jun 13, 2013

I've heard that there may be what look like bald spots where the matted fur is removed. This is just slipped fur and will grow back. I have a chinchilla that was beat up by a cage mate before we got him and his fur still shows it after two years. It may take a while before their fur looks normal again but they are going to love you for keeping them clean.

jags · Jun 13, 2013

Animals that have been beat up may or may not fur completely normal depending on the extent of the injury. Only time will tell.

Jazicat · Jun 13, 2013

jags said:
Animals that have been beat up may or may not fur completely normal depending on the extent of the injury. Only time will tell.

Thank you for the info. Jackie's fur has improved greatly and to be honest as a pet it doesn't matter. We are still in touch with his breeder because in his case it was an accident. I just wanted to say that it will take time for the fur to return to normal but being clean will make up for it.

There's something wrong with my chinchilla's fur

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

ibuki

Member

tunes

Administrator/Owner

ibuki

Member

ibuki

Member

AZChins

Pro Cage Cleaner Champion

ibuki

Member

ticklechin

Well-known member

ibuki

Member

ibuki

Member

jags

Well-known member

Jazicat

Well-known member

jags

Well-known member

Jazicat

Well-known member

Latest posts

There's something wrong with my chinchilla's fur

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

Member

Administrator/Owner

Member

Member

Pro Cage Cleaner Champion

Member

Well-known member

Member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!