Possible Hair ring

Cole1987 · Jul 15, 2023

Hello all, I have a male chinchilla with a possible hair ring. The only reason I think so is because he cleans his penis at least once a day. His penis seems to be fully retracted into his body and is not prolapse . I only worry because his brother I rarely see clean his penis. I worry about checking for hair myself because I don’t want to hurt him. Is this something most chin owners do themselves or have the vet do? I’ve watch video of hair ring removal on YouTube and they make it look so easy. Any help would be appreciated . Thank you

tunes · Jul 18, 2023

If I check for a hair ring, I check myself. It is easier to have someone hold him while you check, but you can do it yourself. I rarely check. I have so many chins it would take me forever. That said, some chins just enjoy the feeling so they do it frequently. If he's not swollen, red, or protruding, if he's eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping normally - odds are, he doesn't have one. I can honestly say that I've only had a couple of chins in the past 16 years that have had hair rings.

Cole1987 · Jul 18, 2023

Thank you so much. I didn’t want to stress him out by taking him to the vet for no reason.

Lissy · Jul 19, 2023

If your chinchilla likes being held, it shouldn't be too difficult to check. Mine doesn't, so I have to get my husband to hold him best he can while I attempt to unsheath him. I check often by just looking at it while he's cleaning himself and have only had cause to remove something twice when he was under 6 months old (he'll be a year on the 30th). I honestly think he took the hint and figured out what to do on his own because he didn't like me messing with him

Cole1987 · Jul 19, 2023

I try to check when he’s cleaning himself but he’s very private about it . Lol. He usually does it in the corners where it’s darker or in his little house.