fur chewing???

[chinny]

When my chin turns to where her head is pointed more toward her butt so that her neck is stretched out her fur seems to seperate instead of staying in that round smooth shape. Is this because she is having to use Kaytee dust right now which is not as fine so maybe it is not getting down into her fur as well which would cause it to part this way. (I do have some blue cloud dust ordered, by the way.)
OR is this fur chewing which I have know knowledge of what this would look like? I have seen her nibbling here or there but not excessively and it looks like regular grooming.

Also, this is only visible when she moves in a certain way that would stretch the fur out. And only around the neck area. If she is just sitting there you can't see it. All the fur looks smooth, round and matches up. No gaps.

What do ya'll think???

 

[alli713]

That's not fur chewing. A chin generally doesn't chew it's neck, that's harder to get to, they generally chew their back/hips. The separating fur is most likely due to the kaytee dust, which doesn't work as well. It can also be due to the chin's fur, some chins just don't have as nice of fur as others.

 

[chinny]

Okay, so no worries there. That is a relief. Another Q while I am at it. What would you think if all of a sudden your chin is being loveable? I mean mine has always been pretty good but she still was ready to hop and jump and when you tried to rub her in her cage she was more apt to slide away and look at your hand like what are you doing.
Now in the last two days she will let me rub her back and head and she will just sit there and look at me and then nibble on my hand sometimes but just real sweet. She still doesn't like to be picked up and will want back in her cage (maybe cause of the dogs) unless I am putting her in a room to play in and then she's good. SO would you say that she just has warmed up to me all of a sudden?

 

[Airyn]

Maia got really lovey when she was pregnant. How long have you had her?

 

[chinny]

maybe a month but I know for a fact that she is way less than 6 months of age. Maybe like three or so and I suppose they can still get pregnant around that age. She was the only one in the cage in the pet store. I don't know if there was another in there with her before. What are more syomptoms of that so that I can rule it out?
I really pray that she ain't and I don't think she is but don't hurt to have info on it.

 

[Airyn]

If she's only 6 months old, it sounds to me like she's just being a happy baby that finally warmed up to you. They can take a while to de-stress, especially when they've been shuffled around.

I only bred once, so my experience is far more limited than just about everyone else on this forum. With Maia, I found the mating plug within days and she didn't start showing any other signs until she was close to delivery. At that point, she was generally more lethargic, slept on her side more often, ate more, protected her belly, and got HUGE because she had 3 kits in there. Some people have mentioned nipple elongation about 1-2 weeks before delivery, but I never saw her nipples, as her fur was too dense.

I'm sure someone with more experience could give you additional details on early warning signs, but from what I've read, the general consensus seems to be not to touch her belly if you're suspicious, watch and wait.

Again, I only had the one experience, so I have no idea if lovey behavior is typical of pregnant chins. I would think they're like every other mammal and it varies on a case by case basis.

If you're paranoid, you could always take her to a vet. Mine all go at least annually for a check-up.