Such a bad fur slip, poor Kipper :(

[chin_gal]

I was feeding the chinchillas just now and I noticed that Kipper has a horrible fur slip out of his tail. It is darn near almost rat like now, I've never seen a slip like this before. It's really making me concerned to that he and Mango are fighting, and I've heard them scuffling on and off for a while now. May be time to seperate them.

Have any of you seen a slip like this? And doesn't tail fur sometimes never grow back?

 

[chin_gal]

:huh: Bump?

 

[RDZCRanch]

Tail fur will grow back...I've never heard of it not growing back. I've seen a couple of my chinchillas with their tails like that but it was a caging problem. Something in the run they were in was making it so that the tops of their tails were rubbing on something and making the hair fall out. I would check if his favorite ledge is in such a way that the top of his tail rubs on another ledge or against the side of the cage. If there's nothing like that he is more than likely being plucked by the other chin or plucking himself...either of those means they should be separated.

 

[chin_gal]

Thanks. It was definitely a slip, it happened within a few hours time. I was asking about it growing back because I remember reading that tail fur grows differently. Nothing has happened since this incident, but I have noticed that Mango has Kipper's wiskers bitten down to only about an inch long. Kipper is obviously being dominated, but since there hasn't been anything too serious, I've been hesitant to split them up. They've been together since they were kits.

 

[Gizmo24]

Gizmo had almost his entire tail shaved off when he got attacked by the cat. It took a while, but it grew in beautifully.

 

[lauralynne]

It's really making me concerned to that he and Mango are fighting, and I've heard them scuffling on and off for a while now. May be time to seperate them.

Nothing has happened since this incident, but I have noticed that Mango has Kipper's wiskers bitten down to only about an inch long. Kipper is obviously being dominated, but since there hasn't been anything too serious, I've been hesitant to split them up. They've been together since they were kits.

You're experiencing scuffling, fur slips, and whisker damage. I know you are very hesitant to split them up, but you saying there hasn't been anything "too serious" is because, as the old adage goes, love is blind. You love them very much, but be careful. You're treading on thin ice. If this continues, a scuffle could escalate very quickly into something else.

As much as you'd like to keep them together, it may be in Kipper's best interest to be away from his cagemate.

 

[AZChins]

This type of fur loss could definitely be a case of another chin chewing to assert dominance. It can happen quickly.

I'd trim back the more aggressive chin's whiskers to help reset the power balance between the boys. It could be a fur slip on the tail, but usually tails don't let the fur go that easily and it would be a small patch not the entire top of the tail. I've seen this type of chewing before...normally it's in breeding pairs, but it can happen even when chins are by themselves.

 

[RDZCRanch]

I stand by what I said earlier and I agree with Susan. Since there isn't anything for him to rub on and it happened in a short time period AND you have already noticed other dominance issues in the cage. Based on that...it's much more likely that the fur was plucked by the other chinchilla or by himself out of stress from the dominance issues. Either of those means you need to do SOMETHING to resolve the dominance issues. Susan gave a good suggestion or you can separate them.

 

[CJR]

You trim their whiskers to change dominance?

 

[RDZCRanch]

Yes, Ash. The chinchilla with longer whiskers is usually the dominant of the group. Trimming or cutting whiskers to make them all an even length or to make some shorter than others can reduce fighting or spats between chins. A dominant chin will chew a less dominant chinchilla's whiskers down so that they are shorter than their own whiskers. The whiskers grow back as well so there's no harm in it.

 

[Sierra]

When I trimmed Phoenix's whiskers that one time, she seemed calmer but I haven't placed them together since so I don't know if it still has the same affect.

 

[Ippo456]

This doesn't look like a fur slip, but more like it's been chewed over time either by Kipper himself or by Mango.
Don't worry because the fur will grow back over time.

 

[chin_gal]

Thanks everyone! I've done the trimming for intros before, not sure why I didn't think to do it for this. I will trim down Mango's wiskers and see how it goes, and if it continues, I obviously will not put Kipper in anymore danger and will seperate them. Thank you for your help, sorry for being kinda stubborn. When you have two chins that have been together since they were 2-3 months old for 4 years, it's hard to believe that they would ever have to be split up.