Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: Molochop on December 31, 2015, 12:55:29 PM
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Hello
I have three chinchillas and the other day there was blood one of the chins side. It's now scabbed up and there is a lump on the side and a patch of fur missing. I phoned up the vet and they told me if it doesn't need gluing nor stitching it's fine just keep it clean and dry and it'll heal on its own. A few days after that I noticed another scab with a patch of fur missing. I decided to put him in a separate cage since I think that the other chins are nibbling him too hard on him. Just worried about him whether it is just an injury or is he getting abscesses on his fur. Not sure how you can tell a chin not to bite too hard. He does warn the other one nibbling but he just continues. How can I get him to stop? I'm pretty new at looking after chinchillas. Thanks
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You cant make them stop. They will need to be kept apart forever now. Its not uncommon for chins to decide to not want cagemates. Im glad you were able to catch it in time before one of them got seriously hurt
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I'm glad you separated your chins before any irreversible damage was done. I had to permanently separate two brothers at around nine months of age. The warning signs were lots of chasing and fur pulling which didn't settle down. They are now fourteen months old, the ebony has been successfully paired with a violet kit and his tan brother is housed alone, and prefers it that way :)
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Yes they are certainly not compatible as cage mates and these are classic symptoms of getting bit.
If that lump gets noticeably larger or becomes red around the scab call your vet to make sure it does not turn into an abscess. If your chinchilla begins to wound itself definitely see a vet as an underlying infection could be the cause.
If you do need to take your chinchilla to a vet where oral antibiotics are administered please obtain instructions and supplies from your vet for hand feeding and express a concern about GI-stasis to your vet as chinchillas are prone to this with antibiotics. It is a condition where the stomach and intestines shut down and can result in serious complications.
Also monitor your chinchillas food intake and fecal output carefully during the healing process. Infection and pain can effect its eating as well. I really don't expect there to be any trouble from this point forward but you know what to look for and why.