Itchy Chinchilla

[GilmoreT13]

Hi all!
I’m a new member here but have always turned to this website for help with my chinchillas. Well, I need help once again.
My 4 y/o chinchilla has recently been scratching her hip in the same place lately. There is a tiny spot where it looks like she’s been biting. It’s not bleeding and there isn’t any bare skin. I’m just concerned of what I should do to help her? She freaks when I try to look at it too.
—Another note; I took her to the ER last night because she was sprawling out on her stomach like a pancake and also flopping on her side, like she had something in her ears (which I’ve never seen her do before). She’s on medicine for her GI tract, and ears were clear.

Could she just be stressed? If that’s the case, what should I do to lower the stress for her?

 

[Amethyst]

Is the actually scratching the area on her hip or just biting/chewing the fur off? If she is just chewing the fur off that is often caused by stress or boredom, but could also be pain. If it's stress you need to figure out what is causing it, then fix it. Any new people around? new pets or animals inside or outside (like neighbors)? any new noises? heater clicking on, construction going on, etc? Any schedule change? Are you going through any stress right now? It's common around the holidays for most people and chins can pick up on the stress of their owners.

 

[GilmoreT13]

Is the actually scratching the area on her hip or just biting/chewing the fur off? If she is just chewing the fur off that is often caused by stress or boredom, but could also be pain. If it's stress you need to figure out what is causing it, then fix it. Any new people around? new pets or animals inside or outside (like neighbors)? any new noises? heater clicking on, consturciton going on, etc? Any schedule change? Are you going through any stress right now? It's common around the holidays for most people and chins can pick up on the stress of their owners.

Thanks for responding! I appreciate it!!

The biting/chewing is on her hip. It looks like she’s been chewing in that one spot the more I’ve looked at it. Our schedules around the house hasn’t changed- I’ve been stressed a lot lately, but never thought they’d pick up on that. Interesting. Our heater in our house has been hotter than usual- but I’ve made sure we set it at the appropriate temperatures for them.

 

[yspm10]

You should share a picture of your cage setup.

 

[Hresko]

If the temperature is too hot for our chins they flop on their sides like you described. Lower the temperature and see if that helps. We also had a chin once that picked fur and this was easily corrected by spending more with him and moving his cage closer to us. I hope this helps.

 

[GilmoreT13]

You should share a picture of your cage setup.

 

[GilmoreT13]

If the temperature is too hot for our chins they flop on their sides like you described. Lower the temperature and see if that helps. We also had a chin once that picked fur and this was easily corrected by spending more with him and moving his cage closer to us. I hope this helps.

Any input helps a lot, thank you!
I've recently lowered the heating in our house to accomodate them better. It seems like she's acting better.

 

[Hresko]

Any input helps a lot, thank you!
I've recently lowered the heating in our house to accomodate them better. It seems like she's acting better.

You are welcome‼ Nice cage❤