Fur Ring HELP!

[JBauer]

Hi, I'm new here and im desperate for help with my little boy, Chester.

I've had my chinchilla for about a year and a half now and am used to checking for fur rings. But about a week ago i took him out to play and realized his penis had come out of its sheath and was quite red and i removed the sudden fur ring. His penis retracted and i thought everything went back to normal.
Over the past few days ive noticed his penis is still hanging out of his sheath and his penis inside the sheath is swollen and i keep removing constant fur rings almost everyday with some sort of white substance caking to the fur. He does seem to be cleaning himself more than usual but it doesn't seem to be bothering him too much, he still plays and coos when I give him raisins. I have recently moved and there are no exotic vets where I live now, and i'm very worried about my baby boy.

I have taken a picture of it just a few minutes ago and since I last removed the fur ring tonight his penis has retracted back in but is still swollen.

I'm so worried and want to make sure that he is going to be ok, and i know everone here is experienced and im just looking for some advice, and some answers.
Please help.

 

[tunes]

Welcome! I'm glad you decided to come and post. You've already got my answer elsewhere, so I'll stand back and let other people have a swing at it.

I will say, his testicles look normal. They look like they might be a teeny bit red, but in comparing them with one of my males (yes, I actually brought one to the computer screen!) I am not seeing a huge difference when comparing the two sets of genitalia.

 

[AZChins]

Have you fully extended the penis to see if there is anything impeding it getting back into the foreskin? Sometimes the semen and fur can get backed up in there are not allow it to fully retract. Clean it up really well and he should be fine. Some male chins just discover themselves a little later in life and make a real mess of themselves. The white stuff is semen.

This is just about my least favorite thing to talk about! I'm sorry you have to deal with it. Is he by himself?

 

[JBauer]

Yes, im glad you referred me here. This website is very helpful.

I've just never seen his penis being so red and swollen. It's definitely not usual for him. But like I said it doesnt seem to be bothering him too much, he cleans it more often but hes running in his excersize wheel as we speak.
and I'm just so worried that if it were to come to it I'd take him to a vet who doesnt know a thing about Chinchillas because of where i live now.
I feel so irresponsible for not checking before but i never thought that this area wouldnt have any exotic vets.

 

[JBauer]

Have you fully extended the penis to see if there is anything impeding it getting back into the foreskin? Sometimes the semen and fur can get backed up in there are not allow it to fully retract. Clean it up really well and he should be fine. Some male chins just discover themselves a little later in life and make a real mess of themselves. The white stuff is semen.

This is just about my least favorite thing to talk about! I'm sorry you have to deal with it. Is he by himself?

He is by himself and always has been.
I was just hoping the white stuff wasnt like "pus" from an infection at the base of his penis, inside the foreskin. He keeps getting fur caught up in the skin every day or two and I keep removing it. This is the first time he has been able to retract it back into the skin in a day or two. I feel the same way about talking about it, but he's worth it.

 

[AZChins]

I know...we have to talk about it! ick.

Just keep him clean, if it's retracting now, it's probably fine. Some males are just like that. This time of year a lot of the chins are releasing a bit more fur than they normally do so that could definitely be the cause of the fur rings.

The funny thing is that once the problem is resolved most males never have an issue again. I hope that this is the case with your little guy. We all have to be vigilant and just be aware that the males can have fur rings and issues with things getting gooped up a bit down there.

 

[Chinniechantel]

What kind of cage (solid or wire bottom) and bedding do you use?

 

[JBauer]

What kind of cage (solid or wire bottom) and bedding do you use?

Its solid bottom cage and I use Kaytee Timothy Hay.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Ok well that could be the problem. I had a chin come in with a HORRIBLE hair ring. I thought he was going to die. I thought fleece liners would be better than wood shavings, but in reality it just made the fur so much easier to get in there. He had hair rings 4 times a day. I finally decided to try bedding like my other chins, and he got better really quickly. The hair sticks to the solid surface and then when it gets wet, sticks to him. Think of trying to get fur off yourself. I would try shavings and keeping the area really clean.

As stated, I don't think it is that bad yet, just different and you are being a good chin mommy! It is always better to prevent things if possible

 

[Tillygizmo]

Where are you in Florida? Maybe someone knows of a vet in your area and also have you gotten a chance to check out the reccomended vet section?