Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: mallerydr on October 20, 2014, 02:56:13 PM
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The past few month I have noticed that my chinchilla's fur looks different. It kind of looks like it is messy only on the bottom half of her body. I will attach a picture. I looked up a bunch of things about it and i know that matted fur is not good. but in my opinion it does not look matted. I thought maybe she was shedding too. I comb her sometimes and i give her dust baths regularly. I even thought maybe she was rubbing against the cage and that is why it looks like that, but a week ago i fixed that part of the cage. Another thing o just added to the cage is a fleece hammock, I don't think that would be the reason either since it has been like that for a few months. Any help would be great.
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From what I can see your chinchilla is chewing its fur.
You may want to have it examined by a veterinarian to see if everything is okay. In most cases like this there is nothing wrong. It is a behavioral problem that some chins are prone to.
How is its environment and stress levels?
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Her cage is in a basement, but it is a redone basement. Her cage is pretty big too. She has plenty to play with in her cage, i do not get her out everyday but I do go down and talk to her multiple times a day and feed her about the same time everyday. She is also very active.
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Another thing to ask is how is your pet's diet? Sometimes that can be a problem if the diet is substandard or high in salt.
Chinchillas should have constant access to chew toys and wooden ledges, and should have a regular day and night light cycle.
They should be kept in relatively quiet conditions where other pets like cats and dogs can't come in and terrorize them.
Sometimes it can be caused by internal problems, liver problems, or skin infections so you may want to have an exam done just to help rule that out. Most of the time it's just a behavioral quirk that some chins have and is harmless to the animal.
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She has been eating the same food since I got her a little over two years ago. I try not to give her a lot of treats. She eats raisins a lot though. She's barely bothered by the other pets in the house, they don't really go in the basement. Thanks for the help, maybe ill just take her to a vet for an exam.
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The weird shedding look is a sign of fur chewing. This one started after an infected nipple almost a year ago.
(http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u548/takakageri/chinchilla/ebonies/DSCN2044_zps628451ea.jpg) (http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/takakageri/media/chinchilla/ebonies/DSCN2044_zps628451ea.jpg.html)
Now it just seems to be behavioral. We've been trying various things. We finally attempted putting her with another chin and giving her a constant dust bath in her cage so long as her skin doesn't get irritated. We'll see if her fur begins to even out again. She improved slightly around last April and then started chewing again when we moved to a new house in July.
You should have a vet check for any skin problems, make sure the diet is good, and the dust baths are effective enough but it's often just habit and hard to break once they start. Some chins actually like being in a busy part of the house for entertainment. Aime and Katsu get bored and irritated if they don't frequently see dogs and people throughout the day. Their offspring, Sakura, is much the same but her cagemate is a little more nervous. The rest of mine are in the basement but Aisu and Kaguroi would likely enjoy being upstairs too. Aika just went to a new home. She would not settle around the number of animals we have or in the new house. She still wasn't dusting herself. I had to rub it in to her fur every other day. So she went to a quieter home. They really have a lot of variety and what makes one chew out of stress might keep another from chewing out of boredom.
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Too many raisins is not good at all for them.
Also...when you say she has been eating the same food for two years...what food is it?
It might just be the way the picture was taken but your chin isn't looking very healthy...
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I tell my family members not to give her so many rasins but they think because she likes them they can have a lot of them. I'm going to hide them so they can not give her anymore. I meant to say the name of the food, i forgot. Its Tropical Carnival for chinchillas. It said it was natural and when i tried to change her food her poop got very moist so I just kept getting the tropical carnival. That incident happened about a year and a half ago. Its just weird she seems so happy and excited all the time when i go check on her.I check her teeth and feet and exam her myself to see if there is any noticeable signs but i dont see any. I am trying to get a hold of some veterinarian clinics that do care for chinchillas at the moment.
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here is another picture. And I am not sure if anyone knows but, so most vets take care of chinchilla's?
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No you will want to find a veterinarian that specializes in exotic animals. If you find there are none in your area find someone that sees rabbits. Most cat and dog vets won't see exotics.
I did look up the tropical carnival chinchilla food and I strongly recommend you change its diet ASAP. This is not a suitable diet for chinchillas and may be a big part of your problem. A veterinarian should be able to tell if your pet has an enlarged liver which can be caused by this type of diet and present with these symptoms.
Chinchillas do best with a very bland diet of loose timothy hay that is supplemented with pellets. Different hays can be substituted but pelleted diets must be chosen carefully as many marketed toward chinchillas are quite detrimental to their health. I personally recommend Oxbow Chinchilla Deluxe but many high quality diets exist as well.
A proper pelleted diet does not have treats or sweets in it and does not contain nuts or seeds or variety that your pet can pick out of the diet. Transitioning takes time. Mix your food in stages over 10 days and you should have better results. During this time feed no treats. Raisins can cause diarrhea if your pet is given more than two a day. Any dried fruits or treats should not have a total mass that exceeds that of two raisins in a day or you risk digestive problems and malnutrition. Your pet may stop eating its pellets at first which is okay. Make sure it doesn't run out of hay.
Considering your history of loose stool you may want to have your vet do a stool culture as well and make sure it is free of parasites.
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Thank you so much for your help. Ill change her diet asap. I just got back from the pet store, but ill head over again soon. So you recommend that I buy the type of food that is just the pellets?Do you know anything about the Charlie Chinchilla brand of food?
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Charlie chinchilla food is not good either from what i have seen people talking about.
Can you order the oxbow pellets online?
Please remember to change the food slowly...over days. Put a little of the new food in at first and then gradually increase until it's all the new food.
Tell your family to stop giving raisins or your chin will not be very healthy.
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I just bought the oxford brand you told me to get. i just geld some in my hand to see if she would eat it ad she did. I mixed the two foods together and we'll just see how this goes and I took away all her treats so people cant get to them and i'll let them know as well. I also bought her a bunch more toys to chew on, thinking maybe she is bored and I'm going to schedule a vet apportionment her shortly just to make sure.
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Cool..chins are natural diabetics and raisins can be very bad for them. Nuts are also very bad.
Apple sticks(the actual wood) are a great treat...rosehips are also good(one a day though)
They will eat anything they can get their mouths on but that doesn't mean that they should be given anything. It sounds boring but they don't need sweet treats ever. They will do best on just hay and pellets and the right woods to chew...
There are healthy treats like rosehips and certain flowers and herbs.
Tell your family if they care about the animals well being than to not freely give treats.
Not many people know that chinchillas require a strict diet. A lot of people just think they are cute and like giant hamsters.
They really do need specific care when it comes to their diet.
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Oxbow and mazuri are pretty much the only acceptable chin specific pellets. Many use plàin high quality rabbit pellets from feed stores but some disagree with that. It is universally agreed on not to use mixes.
Twigs can be given infinitely. Buy prepared safe woods from online chin sites unless you are ready to do much research and work getting your own. Some dried flowers are safe for daily treats. Usually rose hips and petals or carnations. Low to no sugar cereals like a cherrio or sugar free small wheat cearel from the health food section of grocery stores can be fed often. Old fashioned ( not flavored or quick) oatmeal goes over well and the pieces are tiny so a couple can be fed at once. All of that is better than a daily raisin. Grapes and raisins have also been linked to many animal deaths lately from an invisible mold. They are not suggested for any animal.
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As far as chinchillas being naturally diabetic I think that is inaccurate. Diabetes in chinchillas is not unheard of but does not seem to be common. I've seen very few diabetic chinchillas problems on the board. Degus (having very similar physiology) are known for being prone to diabetes and should not have sugar.
Chinchillas do have very sensitive digestive systems and sugar can wreak havoc with their stomach and intestines if you overdo it. It's not that common but when it does happen it can escalate very quickly into a fatal problem.
Dried fruit (which is relatively high in sugar) is okay to give a treat. Personally I tend to stay away from treats and tend to advocate using them only as a training and taming aid. The closer you stay to hay and pellets the less risk there is of unintended consequences. Treats should be considered to have no nutritional value to chinchillas and considered to be for your benefit only IMO.
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Ahh thank you so much. No more raisins ever that's for sure. I'm scared now. She has a vet appointment on the 31st. I had her out for about 4 hours today to play, she seems fine. So cheerios and oatmeal are ok? Like the no flavor oatmeal, any specific brand? or just any non flavored kind?
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Are there specific sites to get these rose hips or safe chinchilla treats? I do know the grocery store for the cheerios and oatmeal.
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Typically chinchillas with serious health problems act depressed, especially those with liver disease. I'm not sure you have that much to worry about. Like I've said most cases of fur chewing that get posted on our board are from harmless or treatable causes. An overall unhealthy appearance is concerning though. The good news is that a number of curable things can explain it too including diet.
As far as your questions Oatmeal should be unsweetened, plain oatmeal. Cheerios are okay. I'd say no more than 4-6 rings in a day.
Rose hips are kind of rare but sometimes you can find them in online stores that cater to exotic pet owners. I recommend not giving any treats until after his diet is straightened out and after you get a vet exam and after he's not been stressed and only if his fecal output is normal. Interaction without treats can go a long way with chinchillas. (Yeah, that's a lot of ANDs.)...
I also recommend weighing your pet once a week routinely. There will be variations as he gets less treats and goes on a better diet. Having a good baseline healthy weight is an handy diagnostic tool. Typically weight loss of 15% or more indicates something needs to get checked out.
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The plain oatmeal usually says Old Fashioned Oatmeal. Rosehips are plenty easy to find across the internet. I generally use http://www.rondaschins.com . There aren't too many good chin supplies in local stores. Goji berries are a smaller healthier substitute for raisins. That's what my husband used to shoulder train his favoruite chin. You should still be careful not to overfeed treats but it's much safer than raisins or most pet store items.
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I have read in the past that chins are natural diabetics and that is why sugary treats really should not be given.
I stand corrected! I still would stay away from that type of stuff.
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I don't think I've heard of a diabetic chin. Maybe as part of a genetic defect. Most seem to succumb to digestive problems or for a longer term bad diet they might get organ failure. I had someone feeding a kaytee mix contact me after losing 5 chins to vague symptoms that seemed like multiple organ failure. The remainder were saved with only grass hay for a week before slowly putting them on a better pellet.