Whisker chewing

[Drake592]

I got 2 new chinchillas about 3 months ago. They Introduced to each other by the breeder and have been together they whole time they have been with me. No real issues other than the ocassional bark at each other here and there.

Yesterday i notice one of them had her whiskers chewed. Not to bad right now there is still about half the whisker and i have seen no other biting on the ears or fur. I know this is a dominance behavior but i had a few questions.

How long will this go on, is it just until they figure out their hierarchy?

What is the best course of action if it gets worse?

Is there anything i can do?

Feel free to leave any other relevent info you may have as well. Thanks so much!

 

[tunes]

Whisker chewing can be a dominance issue but it can also just be over-grooming. If all they do is whisker chew, then I wouldn't worry about it. If it escalates to fighting, then you need to separate them.

 

[Drake592]

Whisker chewing can be a dominance issue but it can also just be over-grooming. If all they do is whisker chew, then I wouldn't worry about it. If it escalates to fighting, then you need to separate them.

Thanks thats what i thought. Just hate to see her wlosing her whiskers since the serve a purpose. Doubt I will need to seperate them though. I think they are finally reaching that age where they really need to work out the pecking order.

 

[Chinmin]

I got 2 new chinchillas about 3 months ago. They Introduced to each other by the breeder and have been together they whole time they have been with me. No real issues other than the ocassional bark at each other here and there.

How is your interaction with them? Is there still whisker chewing? Thanks.

 

[Pixie1984]

Whisker chewing is just the way chins establish who stands where in the herd hierarchy, the most dominant one will chew down the ones of the one less dominant than them, who will then 9/10 chew down those of the one less dominant to them & so on. My largest herd is made up of 6 boys, all but the most placid of them chew down the whiskers of the next in line so to speak, & their places in the herd haven’t seemed to change in the 5yrs they’ve been together.
Since you have 2 though, if the one with chewed whiskers hasn’t retaliated so far & has accepted their position, then it shouldn’t escalate to any fighting. No bond is ever guaranteed to last though, & all chins can fall out at some point (most of the time over something small & daft), so you may get the odd little spat here & there.