Lost tons of fur!

[Chinchillalover123]

From its back to its tail all it's fur is gone! I've separated it's playmate, who is also male, but fighting or chasing isn't the case. I've been giving it the proper care, feeding it handfulls everyday, cleaning its pen every few days, ect. It's also making noises that I haven't heard from it before, it's usually very quiet. And it's poop is greener and slightly bigger.

I'll post a picture of it

 

[Chinmama]

It sounds like possible fungus. (ringworm) Pictures would be helpful.

 

[Riven]

Back to tail, I'd guess it's chewed.... stress can cause chewing and changes in poo. But like above, really hard to tell without pics.

Also want to make sure it's really two males, females have a penile cone as well.

 

[Chinchillalover123]

 

[jags]

not chewed but hard to tell if it is fungus or not, but that would be my guess unless it was pulled out by you or another animal. Did you find an unusual amount of fur in the cage?

 

[Stackie]

Seeing the pictures it looks more like a very large fur slip to me. If the skin appears red, dry/flakey/scaley, and itchy then those are the signs of fungus.

 

[Chinchillalover123]

The weirdest part is I barely found any fur in the cage, but there was a lot of fur scattered along the bottom in thin patches.

I hope it's a fur slip, I will closer examine him and try to take a clear picture. It doesn't seem red, just light pink (as I suppose that's what their skin is supposed to look like). I don't know if I can tell if his skin is dry or scaley... And when I'm around I never see him itching.

How would a chinchilla get fungus?

 

[Cuddlebug]

I think it looks pulled out, too. Either another animal or a person may have handled him rather roughly.

 

[Chinchillalover123]

I'm starting to be suspicious now... Maybe it was my little brother, but he is usually in school when I get back. We do have cats, but I don't see how they could get in the cage because the bars are very close together.
How could a chinchilla get fungus? Maybe I can trace it back just to make sure it isn't fungus.

 

[Stackie]

Chins get fungus either by spreading it to one another (it is usually highly contagious) or being kept in poor/unsanitary conditions. Since it happened at once and not over a period of time , and the skin appears healthy, I'm sticking with a large fur slip. Him and his cage mate could have gotten into a scuffle or as mentioned above he could have been handled roughly. I have seen chins pull fur out of another and actually eat it when fighting. Nothing about it really points to fungus IMO.

 

[jags]

You do not have to have unsanitary conditions for chins to get fungus, many get it when kept in clean conditions where there is simply to much humidity in the air.

 

[jags]

Also if the skin is pink it is probably not fungus but it would not hurt to treat for it just in case. We do it here periodically as a preventative. Also the skin will turn a blue color as the new fur comes in.

 

[Riven]

The culpurt is your cage. Other than being a chewing hazard I'm going to guess it has "holes" for them to jump through? I'd guess they were chasing each other around, he was stressed and jumped up through a hole at a wrong angle or at the same time as the other chin and slip, there when the fur. I've seen it happen when people have houses with holes that aren't quite big enough as well.

 

[Zoaea]

Also how do you know it wasnt a fight, no blood means they weren't trying to kill each other but if one got scared/stressed he would release fur like crazy. It could have been your cat too, he doesn't have to be in the cage. For example say your chin was sleeping against the cage wall and the cat came up and paw'd at him, the chin can release a clump in fear as he ran off. Id watch to see if he seems very nervous, and keep a close eye when you put em back together.

I don't think its fungus but to answer your question fungus is a microorganism, it can float spoors in the air, its in the dirt, and more than likely on you too. It only grows when it gets the chance.

 

[Riven]

I doubt the cat was involved because it's equal on both sides. I still think it was a "jump hole" incident.

I have seen chins that will pluck the fur out, instead of chewing it, but that, like chewing is not usually that even on both sides.

 

[Chinchillalover123]

Omg my chinchilla died! I feel horrible, my little sister is so sad D: We were going to take it to the vet today, but when I went to feed it he was dead )':
How in the world could it have died from fur slip? Or if it somehow was fungus, could it have died from that? I really have to figure this out because I want to save my other chinchilla if this is some sort of disease. Yesterday I fed and gave him some open room in a medium sized pen (that connects to the cage) and he seemed very energetic and happy on his wheel like usual. I was convinced it was fur slip because he wasn't acting out of the ordinary and none of the signs showed fungus. I am so lost.
My other chinchilla (Skit) is fine right now, could it have been that he was fighting with Charles (the beige chinchilla)? Do they fight when one of them is weak?

 

[Cuddlebug]

Chinchillas hide injury and illness really well. It could very well be that whatever caused the problems with the fur is what killed the chinchilla. the only way you will know for sure is to have a necropsy done on the deceased chinchilla.