need a lil help with Hair Ring checks

[lovemychingary]

I'm still working on getting my chin Gary to bond and trust me. So far I can pet him but he doesn't like to be picked up. Should I pick him up anyway to check for hair rings or wait until he trusts me to handle him more and only check sooner if he starts showing symptoms? I read somewhere that hair rings are only common on chins that mate, but I don't want to assume that just because he is in a cage by himself that he wont get them..

 

[Ronda]

I'd let it go until he is more secure when you are handling him. Both breeding and non-breeding males do get hair rings but the non-breeding just don't as often. They also keep themselves pretty clean because they service themselves whereas I believe breeders don't tend to clean or service themselves as often.

Ronda