RDZCRanch
RavenousDeadlyZombieChins
First off...Stace...feel free to use these pictures if you want.
I put together and repaired/paired about 18 to 20 chinchillas yesterday. The majority of them are still getting along and doing great together. They are having cuddle fests and grooming and love on each other.
Two of the pairs I put together did not work out. One ended with a bunch of fur pulling and they're separated now to keep from any lasting injury.
I paired up two males in a cage that doesn't have a female's scent or any reason for them to fight. They chased each other for a minute or two last night then resorted to grooming and cuddling. I sat in the room with all these new pairings of chins for a good 5 hours yesterday just in a panic and worrying if anything went wrong. Everyone was fine though and I checked three times before I went to bed...all was quiet and all the chins were cuddling. I got up this morning and checked on ALL the pairs...everyone was still cuddling and doing well together.
I checked about three hours ago and found that the male/male pair I had put together ended up fighting. The older male ripped into the younger male and just left him in a horrible mess. Spooky is doing well though and is not showing any signs of shock. In fact, when I took him out to clean his wounds he thought it meant playtime in the bathroom and he kept trying to jump away so he could nibble on things and investigate. I'm posting this not because I want to horrify anyone but to let people know about the dangers of pairing chinchillas. This boy is lucky that this happened with me...I have so much wound experience with animals that he will recover fully with no long term health issues. Also, since I've done this so many times over the years...I was able to clean him up and medicate him without hurting him or making him cry. I can only imagine what would happen if this were something an inexperienced owner would have to deal with. Hopefully SEEING the wounds that can be caused will make people think twice before throwing chin A into breeding with chin B. This isn't wounds from breeding...but I've found this wound pattern on all too many females. The MOST common wounds are on the head from between the ears to just between the eyes. BE CAREFUL!
Higher view...
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0929.jpg
close up on some of the wounds...
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0933.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0935.jpg
and now after I cut away all the fur that would interfere with healing...he was blu koted. He now looks like a Skunk and was given a couple raisins to keep him from going shocky. He thinks I was spoiling him and now he won't stop begging for more raisins...such a good sport!
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0937.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0940.jpg
I put together and repaired/paired about 18 to 20 chinchillas yesterday. The majority of them are still getting along and doing great together. They are having cuddle fests and grooming and love on each other.
Two of the pairs I put together did not work out. One ended with a bunch of fur pulling and they're separated now to keep from any lasting injury.
I paired up two males in a cage that doesn't have a female's scent or any reason for them to fight. They chased each other for a minute or two last night then resorted to grooming and cuddling. I sat in the room with all these new pairings of chins for a good 5 hours yesterday just in a panic and worrying if anything went wrong. Everyone was fine though and I checked three times before I went to bed...all was quiet and all the chins were cuddling. I got up this morning and checked on ALL the pairs...everyone was still cuddling and doing well together.
I checked about three hours ago and found that the male/male pair I had put together ended up fighting. The older male ripped into the younger male and just left him in a horrible mess. Spooky is doing well though and is not showing any signs of shock. In fact, when I took him out to clean his wounds he thought it meant playtime in the bathroom and he kept trying to jump away so he could nibble on things and investigate. I'm posting this not because I want to horrify anyone but to let people know about the dangers of pairing chinchillas. This boy is lucky that this happened with me...I have so much wound experience with animals that he will recover fully with no long term health issues. Also, since I've done this so many times over the years...I was able to clean him up and medicate him without hurting him or making him cry. I can only imagine what would happen if this were something an inexperienced owner would have to deal with. Hopefully SEEING the wounds that can be caused will make people think twice before throwing chin A into breeding with chin B. This isn't wounds from breeding...but I've found this wound pattern on all too many females. The MOST common wounds are on the head from between the ears to just between the eyes. BE CAREFUL!
Higher view...
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0929.jpg
close up on some of the wounds...
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0933.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0935.jpg
and now after I cut away all the fur that would interfere with healing...he was blu koted. He now looks like a Skunk and was given a couple raisins to keep him from going shocky. He thinks I was spoiling him and now he won't stop begging for more raisins...such a good sport!
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0937.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/fuzzychinchy/IMG_0940.jpg