Just found this forum and need help my male chin!

[kellypug]

Hi,
I have a male chinchilla (named Buffy - didn't know he was a boy at the time)for 7-8 years now who is having health issues. He hasn't been doing well lately.
I'd say half a year ago, we noticed that the chins (4 total - Lulu(mama), (Buffy)papa, and 2 baby female kits) had "gunky" fur. We thought the water bottle leaked, but the water bottle is fine. We weren't sure what was going on. So we would brush out the gunk a bit each day. Lulu and the babies are fine now. Occasionally one baby has some gunky stuff on her fur. We've realized that it's Buffy that is having issues - he doesn't like to be handled so we didn't check up on him until recently.

The fur below his chin is always gunky (not matted, but like wet fur that has been left out to dry together in clumps?) and also the fur around his butt. The gunk on the other chins may have been rubbed onto them by Buffy. I just read about some infection in the mouth, causing chins to drool onto their fur. It may be partially this? He is having difficulty eating lately - eats quite slow - and is losing weight. But unrelated to this (or maybe it is related!), his boy parts have been hanging outside the sheath since we checked him a couple weeks ago.

Please help! TIA!!

 

[HaleyGoBoom]

His "boy parts" could be hanging out due to a hair ring, you should check it yourself or have a vet do it and if there is one remove it.

How are his teeth? If overgrown he could be having trouble eating. I'd take him to a vet.

As far as the fur, I'd say fur chewing maybe

 

[mishellyshel]

not sure where you live, but i would find an exotic specialist and have him check out.
sounds like there is a lot going on.

 

[starleomach]

When you see parts hanging out that is often an indication of a hair ring. You will need to get that taken care of now. It can cause major perminant damage to the penis and can even lead to a painful death. Do a search on the forum for hair rings and do a hair ring check and possible removal.

As for the drooling, losing weight and difficultu eating he may be suffering from Maloclussion, a tooth abscess or any number of other things. He will need to see a vet for x rays

 

[kellypug]

Do they just develop Maloclussion suddenly? I know their teeth are constantly growing, so I can understand that. I've had him for 8 years and he's been fine til recently I've seen a few threads about hairring, still not sure what it is. Will take another look asap.

Chinchilla is in San Jose, CA (Bay Area). I heard there's a chin doctor at a VCA hospital about an hour's drive away. Asking my sister to take him there. He's a family pet and I don't live at home anymore.

Thanks SO MUCH for the quick responses!

 

[Chinniechantel]

Here is a helpful video on hair rings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BafuUFuO-oA&feature=related

 

[BaxterJoy]

I am by no means an expert, but I've done a lot of reading since getting a chinchilla just for the sake of awareness. From what I've read, it definitely sounds like a tooth problem. All the symptoms seem to be pointing that direction. If he's the one with drool/infection on his chin, and he's not eating, and he's losing wieght, and he doesn't seem to be himself, then it's definitely him. It sounds like it has escalated quite a bit especially if you've been seeing those signs for a while. The gunk could be from not only drooling drool, but drooling infection. If it's on the fur of the other chins, it's probably from him either trying to groom them or even just rubbing his drool on their fur, you know? Sounds like a vet situation for sure! He's probably confused about why he's so miserable which would certainly make him less inclined to be affectionate. Take that little guy in!

Also, there are instructions online that make hair rings pretty easy to understand. I read up on it, and did a little inspection just to see what they were talking about. Probably is a hair ring especially since he lives with his wifey. Mating increases the hair ring possibilities.

 

[Rickman]

If the temps there are as bad here, make sure the cars air is on, and the temp is around 75 or lower, or you'll be taking a dead chin to the vet!!

 

[kellypug]

I looked up photos online about the hair ring; so far, the photos I see are showing what no hairs stuck look like. I can't watch the video at the moment - at the office.
I dunno if it's drool that's what is making his fur wet, but it sure sounds like it from the threads I've been reading.

Man, makes me so sad that we've waited this long - making him live thru all this misery.

Yah, A/C in the car will definitely be on - it's in the 90s today.

 

[Spoof]

The boy part hanging out could also be lack of fluids to pull it back in (due to excessive drooling/diarrhea) and you might have to put some KY jelly on it to help it. I'd wrap him in a towel and check for the hair ring first then make sure it goes all the way back.

 

[alli713]

Malo can really turn up at any point in time. Malo can also be the elongating of the roots into the jaw and eye sockets and for those to be detected he'd need an x-ray done. If it were to turn out to be malo, I'd keep an eye on the kits as malo can be genetic.

And are all the chins living together? You do know that dad can impregnate his own kits right? Just checking to make sure that you have them all separated. The gunky fur could also be from the dad humping on the other chins causing his semen to get on their fur.

 

[kellypug]

Weird, my posts don't seem to show up.

At what age would the chin kits be able to become pregnant? Yah, they are all living together right now - kits are 5mo. I'm looking for a new cage to house them.

I'm not sure if it's drool, but from what I gather on the threads, it sure sounds like it. Or semen..
When the vet takes an xray of the chin, does he need to anesthetize (sp?) him?? I'm a little scared of that since my dog passed away from overdose of it(I think) and Buffy is so little compared to a dog and not in great health now

I'll have to get my sister/mom to look at the hair ring stuff. I am away from home so can't do much about it

 

[kellypug]

Lulu and Buffy had another previous litter of kits born late August. Both seem fine as of now - eating enough food and quite playful and active. These two live with me so I'm able to monitor them 24/7.

 

[Kalandra]

New members start out in a moderated status. They eventually show up when a moderator or administrator approve them. You are almost done though, it only lasts about 5 posts, long enough that we know you are not a bot.

Now back to your question....

 

[alli713]

Malo may not show up on their other kits (if it is indeed malo) for a couple years.

The girl chins should not be in with their dad. Most people take the dad chin out before the mom gives birth to her kits as you can get breedbacks on the mom chin. She is capable of getting pregnant again right after giving birth. So you may have her pregnant again. A chinchilla can get pregnant as soon as they have their first heat which I believe can be as early as 3 months or as late as 5 or 6 months. I would not keep them in with their dad. At such a young age, they are not ready to be having babies. Their bodies need to grow quite a bit yet and they need to focus on growing, not growing babies. Not only that, but if they aren't large enough at the time of giving birth, there are chances that they may not be able to pass the kits.

 

[tunes]

Ditty what Spoof said as to the fluids, but the penis hanging out and not being retracted can also be a sign of pain. If he is maloccluding, and it sounds like he is, he is most likely experiencing extreme pain.

The kits are definitely able to be impregnated now. They should have all been separated now later than 8 weeks. None of the offspring should be bred either. If dad has malo, that makes the offspring carriers. If they get matched up with another carrier or a chin with malo, then the offspring from that pairing are pretty much doomed. Dad should have x-rays and choices made about him, but then the people who have the offspring should be alerted to his diagnosis so that they can be watchful for symptoms in their chins.

 

[kellypug]

Yah, we don't plan on letting the kits have babies, especially so soon in their lives. I thought they would need to be at least a year old before they can become pregnant.

I am getting another cage to separate them - probably put the kits and Lulu in one and Buffy in the other. Hopefully Buffy gets well enough to have a cage buddy (ie. another male) introduced so he won't be too lonely.

How do breeders know if their chins have malo before they breed them? It sounds like some chins are only a couple years old when they have their first litters. Buffy is already 8 years old and this is the first time this has happened. So if he was used as a breeder in his earlier years, we wouldn't have known. We'll probably be keeping the kits so no need to worry about letting their future parents know.

do chins need to be anesthesized (sp?) when getting x-rays?

 

[HaleyGoBoom]

I'm in San Jose as well, well Los Gatos. I know there is a pretty good vet in Los Altos

 

[alli713]

Yes, to get good x-rays your chin will need to be anesthetized. But if you find a chin knowledgeable vet, this should not be an issue and I would not worry about him dying from the anesthesia. He's more likely to die from not eating due to pain.
For reputable breeders, they get their chins from other reputable breeders who will cull (remove from breeding) any chin that shows signs of malo. They will also inform any people who have bought that chin's offspring so they can also remove the offspring from breeding. This is why it's so important to get your breeding chins from a good, reputable breeder. If you get them from the petstore or a breeder who isn't keeping good records, you run the chance of them having malo in their genes. People who are breeding good animals will want to get their chins from some of the top breeders and ranchers in the country.

 

[Sandi]

do chins need to be anesthesized (sp?) when getting x-rays?

Mine did in order to get a few good head xrays! It was very difficult for my vet to do it without the anesthesia, but I have heard that it is possible to get xrays done without it though. It might depend on the vet and his experience with chinchillas.

** just noticed that we posted at the same time )