Matted fur

[starrynight0621]

Orville has a hard, dry clump of fur on his back. The clump is pretty large, about the size of two quarters next to each other.

I searched threads on here and saw most people say you should just pull the fur out with your fingers. When I think about pulling Orville's fur out, I imagine him in an immense amount of pain and feel sick to my stomach. I just don't think I can do it.

Are there any other ways I could handle the issue?

 

[Tillygizmo]

Hmmm.I hate to reccomend this because it be reallllly dangerous if your not super careful, but can u snip it with a really small scissor to break it up a bit and then brush a bit each day?

 

[ChinnyMom]

chinchillas 'fur slip' (releasing their fur from their skin easily in clumps) when they are feeling threatened, so gently pulling the mats out isn't going to hurt him any. i wouldn't try pulling the whole mat out at one time, but gently work on it day by day with your fingers until it is loose enough to come off.

My Guss had a small mat on his hip area a little while ago. i just kept working at it til it came out.

 

[greychins]

I wouldn't use the scizzors... no matter how careful you are, I know if it were my chin, it'd move... and things wouldn't be pretty. Sharp things around chins, at least for me, is a no-no.

If you just gently tug at the matt, it should come out. We get rescues in covered in matts... and they do express some displeasure about having them all pulled out (some of the chins end up looking quite patchy) but they all do come out with gentle tugging.

 

[starrynight0621]

Thank you for your input everyone! I took Orville out for playtime and the matt had fixed itself... Either he or his cagemate must have groomed it out