Chinchilla Depression/Stress

[beccabee13]

Hey guys, I haven't posted in about a year which is when I first signed up. Originally, I owned 2 chinchillas. Up until 10 days ago, when my girl Eve passed away at the age of 5 showing signs of malocclusion. She was very sick for quite awhile and after many failed vets that didn't seem to help her, she finally passed. I've been taking it hard, but it seems my boy chinchilla Adam is taking it harder. They weren't housed together, because he wasn't neutered. Although they were let out for monitored play time together and got along fantastic. I picked Adam up when he was just a baby from a breeder only 2 years ago, and eves been with him almost his entire life. When eve died, it was hard for me to get a grip, but I slowly started to notice my boy was biting his tail. At first, it didn't concern me. he always had a habit of it seemed chasing his tail. Never ripping the hair out, but just spinning around trying to catch it. I just figured he was playing. Afew days later I bent down to see him before I go to my afternoon classes as always, and noticed i could see the tip of his tail. The fur is perfectly ripped off. There's no wounds on his skin, which im grateful for so far. I went to class but wasn't feeling good so came home early, only 2 hours had passed. He had chewed a considerable amount more off. I've tried putting a stuffed animal that resembles eve by him, he has no reaction and it doesn't help. He's only okay when hes getting attention. When hes not, thats a different story. I can't leave the house without worrying he's going to continue to do this. Im panicking because He's not just ripping it off, hes ingesting it. It's great that there are no wounds yet, but if he keeps eating all his hair digestive problems are sure to follow. He's still going to the bathroom normally and everything is fine so far, but i need to know how to help him cope with her passing to keep it that way. I know someone here has had to deal with a chinchilla losing it's friend at some point, so any advice would be fantastic.

 

[Encantadora]

I have two ideas.
1. I can try to RR you a super sweet young male at a low price. (I need to move a few pets. Also have a sweet female.)
2. Play soothing music or talk radio and put fleece in the cage. Try to make the environment relaxing.
3. Get gas drops to keep on hand if you think he may need them.

 

[AZChins]

Sometimes chins feel our stress and sadness. They know when we feel a loss and it throws them off. It can mean changes in behavior for sure. It has only been a short time since Eve passed away, so it's very possible that as you get back to normal your boy will get back to normal. I'd really try to keep him calm. You can try to distract him from feeling sad...put in his favorite toys and give him a dustbath every day. Try to handle/get him out him more and spend more time with him.

A radio is a good idea...chins love country music.

 

[Reni B.]

A friend of mine fed some honey to her chin after the little one escaped and spent almost two weeks in a basement chased by cats. They found him, but he was really stressed and he started chewing his fur. My friend said that honey calmed the little one's nerves.
This of course depends on how your chin is "trained" in feeding. Honey sounds good because it's not sugar, but it's sweet, you could put a small amount in Adam's water supplier to see how he reacts.