Question about Rodya/Sonya, and Fur chewing.

[Brittany_Lynn]

First, the shorter question: what does fur chewing look like? Rodya has been reaching around to his back hip area and biting kinda like a dog would if it had fleas, and I checked the area and it looks like there are some small mats there This is fur chewing, isn't it?

Secondly, I currently have Sonya's cage on top of Rodya's cage, so that there aren't any 'oops' babies. I noticed the other day that Rodya had leaped up onto his highest ledge which happens to be under Sonya's cage, and made the "I'm lonely/horny" noise. A few seconds later, Sonya hopped over to the far corner of her cage--exactly above Rodya--and started digging furiously at the fleece and newspaper I have under the fleece. This morning, all the newspaper in the corner had been chewed and shredded down to the wire bottom of the cage, the fleece had been pushed aside completely. It's as if she is trying to get to Rodya. I put her cage down next to Rodya's --about a foot apart--and they both made the lonely noise and sat directly across from each other, staring at each other. I just went out there and Sonya is sleeping as close to Rodya as she can for being in a separate cage. Rodya isn't sleeping, he's just sitting next to the bars of his cage which are closest to Sonya--also, that happens to be on the first ledge in his cage, because Sonya is on the top shelf in her (shorter) cage.
What's going on? Is this just a mating thing, or do they really miss each other for companionship or whatever? I feel so bad for them, but I do NOT want anymore babies, and I don't have the money to get Rodya neutered yet, so they WILL NOT be sharing a cage...I just want to know what's going on.
Also, I have tried to give both of them fleece buddies, and they ignored them. I even left the fleece buddy in the cage for 1 week, then switched, hoping that when Sonya had the fleece buddy that smelled like Rodya, she'd warm up to it (and vice versa), but again, they were just ignored and (in Rodya's case) literally pushed aside.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

Anyone?

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

I know you guys are looking at this thread!!

 

[AZChins]

They probably both miss being around other chins. I wouldn't put them together...maybe spend a little more time with each chinchilla so that they don't feel so lonely? Let them out separately and cuddle them, I use a fleece pouch for chinchillas that are alone....I snuggle them so they aren't quite so lonely.

 

[Tanya]

You can find pictures of fur chewing here .

If Rodya started chewing on his fur when you separated them, it's probably stress related. You can have a look at natural stress and anxiety relief for chins.

I would give him lots of chew toys, several types of hay ( including some alfalfa as it's rich in nutrients) and take him out for play time daily.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

Thank you both for the information. I don't know if Rodya is fur chewing...if he is, it isn't bad at all, esp compared to the pictures on the site Tanya's link sent me to (chinnation.com).

I tried the fleece buddies, but they really seem to hate them. I even switched them so they'd have the other's smell (Rodya's fleece buddy went in Sonya's cage, and the other way around for Rodya). What do you mean about the fleece pouch, Susan? I'll do a site search, too, but if you have any pictures that would be great.

They separately get 10 to 30 minutes of out of cage time daily, it seems to stress them out more than anything so I like to keep it short. IDK, the first 4-7ish years of their life (depending on their age, which I don't know) were spent solely in a breeder sized cage (not a run), no out of cage time, so that's why I think they seem to get freaked out more than anything. Sonya especially. She's always "why are you touching me?! I shall run away!" and when I catch her, she then decides "if i stay reeeally still, she won't eat me."

I give everyone both timothy and alfalfa, on advice from my vet. They seem to prefer the alfalfa. Rodya has plenty to chew on, but I think I'll start rotating toys, and cut down on the number. I do that with my parrotlet, it helps keep him stimulated, so hopefully that's all Rodya needs.

Thanks again guys

 

[Tanya]

You can find pics of fleece pouches here http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10991 (I made the leopard one )

 

[mishellyshel]

you could also put a piece of sheet metal or metal pan between the two cages if you preferred to stack them. it may be easier on them if they cant see eachother.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

you could also put a piece of sheet metal or metal pan between the two cages if you preferred to stack them. it may be easier on them if they cant see eachother.

I had to stack them again because I moved everything around in my living room. They can't see each other, but they can hear each other and I'm sure they can smell each other. We'll see how this pouch thing goes--thanks again everyone

 

[alli713]

My picture of Chibi's furchewing is in that thread, and there are times it's less than that, just a nickle sized chunk of fur missing, so it comes in all sizes and amounts.

However with furchewing the fur isn't matted, it's shorter giving it that darker appearance since chin fur is different colored along the shaft.

As far as your chins go, I'm sure they're missing each other. If it were to go on for a long time and you still can't get the male neutered I'd contemplate putting them in separate rooms because it isn't really fair on them to be always calling for each other and trying to be near one another, but that's just me and what I would do.

Also, for what it's worth, most people do not recommend giving alfalfa hay on a regular basis assuming your chins are on an alfalfa based pellet (which most are) as then they get too much calcium. Alfalfa is fine as a treat perhaps once a week though.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

However with furchewing the fur isn't matted, it's shorter giving it that darker appearance since chin fur is different colored along the shaft.
...
Also, for what it's worth, most people do not recommend giving alfalfa hay on a regular basis assuming your chins are on an alfalfa based pellet (which most are) as then they get too much calcium. Alfalfa is fine as a treat perhaps once a week though.

I wonder why his fur ends up matted? He gets baths at least 3 times a week, the same as all my other babies, and no one else has matted fur... hmmm...

*curses vet* Ya know, they told me cheerios were terrible treats for chinchillas that should never be given to them EVER, but raisins were fine...I should have known there that there was something 'off' with their information. I will make sure I only give it as a healthy treat in the future, except maybe for Rodya--we'll see if Alfalfa gets him to stop gnawing on his fur. Thanks for the memo.

Hopefully I'll get enough money to get Rodya neutered soon, I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

In the meantime, I was thinking about just putting he and Pico together, so I cut their whiskers, put vanilla on them, and brought them into the bathroom with a dust bath, and although it went a thousand times better than Pico/Mork, it didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Rodya was very territorial over the dust bath...they barked at each other a lot, and there was some chasing--no fur pulling though, which was good. I might try driving them around and see if that helps. I'll probably wait a few days before that though.