Chinchilla chewing her cagemate's fur!

[amanderslovee]

I have two female chinchillas and the older chinchilla(Sydney) chews out her cagemate(Sheila) fur on her tail. How do I make her stop? They have been cagemates since my boyfriend and I have got them a year ago, they are 2 years and 1.5 years old and they seem to get along fine. I know it isn't a major health concern because the skin on her tail is not irritated or puffy at all, but it makes me think they shouldn't have been paired because they might not get along. :\

I also had a question about a new chin(Skye) that I had got from a poor lady who bought paired chin's and they were male and female even though she had been told they were both males. They had babies and she couldn't keep them so I adopted one of them. They are in separate cages and have been quarantined for a while now. We put the cages next to each other finally today and Sydney(the chin who pulls the fur out of her cagemate) does not like her at all. Sheila and Sky seem to get along fine and both seem very submissive toward Sydney. We have had to move the cage farther apart because Sydney will try to attack Skye's tail through the cage.

Thanks for reading all my questions and I hope with time Sydney, Sheila, and Skye will end up getting along.

 

[Laurie]

Fur chewing can be a sign of stress, it is also hereditary--are you sure it is the cagemate who is chewing the fur--have you witnessed this? Usually when they chew fur they chew their own fur as well, and it is often something you can't stop.

If you believe the chins are fighting and not getting along you need to separate them as this can sometimes lead to death.

I would not consider introducing all these girls together. If the one who you think is chewing fur of the other is in fact doing so, she should not have another chin introduced to her.

 

[amanderslovee]

Yes, I am sure that Sydney is chewing Sheila's fur out, I see her do it mostly when Sheila is tired after we let them out. Sheila will lay down on her cooling slab and Sydney will approach her side and start to pull her fur out of the base of her tail.