Should I seperate him?

[TeddyBearChin]

Hi Everyone!

So I'm worried about one of my boys. I have 6 chinchillas living in a 2 floor Ferret Nation cage. The three bottom boys get along perfectly fine. It's hard to actually see them separated from each other (always cuddled up). The problem I have is with my oldest boy. He's been fur chewing for years. I've taken him to the vet for it I don't know how many times (one Dr. actually mentioned giving him Prozac ) He's almost 5 now..and I first noticed it at around 2 or 3 and he was a solo chin up until may of last year. So I figured maybe he was lonely. So I brought some more in..and the fur chewing hasn't stopped. He's with two 1 yr olds who are the sweetest boys ever. But he's about 400 grams, while the other two are 650+. My vet said my oldest is at a good weight cuz he's steadily been at ~400 and my other boys are just fatties. I've had him tested for worms, for fungus, for mites, everything and the vet always says he's perfectly fine and what I might have to do is separate him from the other boys. Now I'm willing to do that if it'll actually help him get better. But since he's been fur chewing for so long and nothing seems to help...I don't really want to just isolate him while all the other boys have buddies if all it's going to do is make him upset and lonely. They all have plenty of toys. Play time and I'm always around them. It's pretty bad fur chewing too. I can see the skin around his shoulders and neck area. I'm also worried about his weight because he looks so...puny compared to ALL of my other boys. I really don't know what to do =( Any help would be awesome.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Fur chewing, once it starts, usually does not stop. It only varies in it's severity. Probably the reason he looks so puny is because you can see his body a lot easier because of the shorter, chewed fur. The chances of you getting him to stop fur chewing are next to none. You can only help by reducing stressers and that will help limit his fur chewing. Is he in a quiet room? Are the 3 boys in the bottom of the FN very active? If the bottom three are super active at certain times, it would be a good idea to get a second cage and have 3 boys in each cage and move the fur chewers cage to another room where it can be quieter. Has he ever limped or injured himself? Fur chewing can sometimes result from an injury, but most times it comes on from a genetic predisposition and an inability to handle stress of any kind.

What food and hay are they on? Does he have unlimited access to both? What kind of toys are offered?

 

[tunes]

Separating him could go one of two ways, it "might" improve the chewing, or it might make him worse. Does he get along well with his cagemates? If he does, just leave them. Separating him may be harder on him than just leaving him.

He's chewing, he's not going to stop. What starts as genetic quickly turns to habitual, and it's almost impossible to get them to stop, especially if it's a severe fur chewer. As far as his weight goes, keep in mind that fur makes them look at lot larger than they really are sometimes. As Tab said, because his fur is gone, it really makes his size stand out. If he's happy, eating, playing, pooping, getting along with his roomies, doing all things chin - I wouldn't worry too much. Just let him be who he is.

 

[AZChins]

Has he always been at around 400 grams? If there's been really no change with the other boys, then I'd just keep them together. Some chins are just smaller like that. I know what you're saying about a chin looking puny around other chins. I have a few groups of chins that make me see this very clearly. One chin is just not nearly as big as the others...a chewer will look so much smaller since so much of the chin is fur.

As stated previously...if he's acting normal, he'll probably be fine.

 

[TeddyBearChin]

Fur chewing, once it starts, usually does not stop. It only varies in it's severity. Probably the reason he looks so puny is because you can see his body a lot easier because of the shorter, chewed fur. The chances of you getting him to stop fur chewing are next to none. You can only help by reducing stressers and that will help limit his fur chewing. Is he in a quiet room? Are the 3 boys in the bottom of the FN very active? If the bottom three are super active at certain times, it would be a good idea to get a second cage and have 3 boys in each cage and move the fur chewers cage to another room where it can be quieter. Has he ever limped or injured himself? Fur chewing can sometimes result from an injury, but most times it comes on from a genetic predisposition and an inability to handle stress of any kind.

What food and hay are they on? Does he have unlimited access to both? What kind of toys are offered?

All 6 of my boys are equally as active. When the bottom boys are running around so are the top ones. When the bottom ones are sleeping so are the top ones haha. I give them mazani and leave it in their cage all day (have a shelf and everything) and Timothy Hay. I read somewhere on here that a mix up with Alfalfa is good for them too so I'll pick some of that up. They always have both hay and food. If it's not the stray hay, then I have the bricks of it in there. They all have tons of toys and wood to chew on.

He was injured when i first put my second oldest Fievel in there. They don't get along at all (who ironically was the boy I bought for him to have someone to cuddle with). Fievel would bite him to the point of drawing blood. So that's where the 4 other ones came in and they get along great for the most part. Snickers is cuddled up in a hammock with the other two atm. But he is kind of like a grumpy old man sometimes. He doesn't wanna share the water bottle so he fights for sole "custody" when he's thirsty hehe.

I was afraid of the "never stopping" thing. I'll just leave him be. He seems ok otherwise. Just didn't know if you folks knew something my vet didn't. Thanks for the help everyone. I really appreciate it! :thumbsup:

p.s and yes AZ Chin..he's been around 400 since I first brought him to the vet I take him to now (which was around october). That's why the vet said he's ok. Cuz he's stable. Just worried me cuz he did used to be fatter and his spine wasn't so easily felt. It must just be that my others are huge (even the babies hehe)

 

[Pleiades]

I don't know about the fur-chewing, but if he's happy with his roomies, I say don't risk separating him- unless, possibly, he starts chewing the other boys' fur.

I have a 6 yr old (Max) whose spine and hip bones are easily felt. He is more of a costina/lanigera body type. While I'd love to put weight on him, I'm not really worried about it anymore, because he's been stable around 575g for a couple of years now. He's addicted to running on his wheel, and eats more hay than pellets. Some chins are just smaller, and if they're stable, it's ok.