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Post by littlewomann on Apr 25, 2015 0:43:58 GMT
Hi guys, i'm a new Chinchilla owner and i really need some advice
I have two chinchillas, both males (brothers) and i got them at the same time, they're roughly 4 months old and one is a standard and the other is a mosaic.
I've had them for about two weeks now and for around a week the Mosaic keeps pulling on the Standards fur which is resulting in him having gaps in his fur and really thin parts around his back legs and tail.
I've tried blowing on his face lightly or tapping his nose or side of the cage to make him stop, which he does, but then he just continues again.
Also they both keep mounting each other, is this normal?
I'm not sure what to do, and it's keeping me up at night with worry, watching them, making sure they're not fighting, they cuddle up to each other and both eat and drink fine.
Any advice ?
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Post by natnat899 on Apr 25, 2015 6:53:46 GMT
The mounting is dominance behaviour, are trying to establish who is boss. It might be because they are in a new environment. When they stand in a boxing stance, that is when they are fighting, there will be quite a bit of noice and they may let off a funny smell. However if one chinchilla is backing down and both chins are getting food and water, there should be no problem. If they arnt getting enough food and water, then put 2 food dishes and 2 water bottles in their cage.
The loss of fur sounds like fur slip, it's a natural defence mechanism that chinchillas have to escape from predators in the wild. They can get fur slip when they are stressed or if they knock into something / are roughly handled / they get startled.
Can I ask how large the cage is? As a small cage can make it difficult for the chinchillas to have their own space, which may increase dominant behaviour. Putting tunnels and places for the less dominant chinchilla to hide can also help.
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Post by littlewomann on Apr 25, 2015 8:28:49 GMT
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Post by natnat899 on Apr 25, 2015 13:34:07 GMT
I would still keep an eye on it, but unless there has been any injuries, I would expect it to sort itself out when they become used their environment. It may help if/when they are allowed out for playtime, as it will release any excess energy they may have built up - you should only do it when you are ready though, it can be difficult to get a chinchilla back into the cage, lol I've been looking at another forum to see if there is anything else you could do, I have posted a link below: www.chinformative.com/topic/4186-chinchillas-fighting/
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Post by littlewomann on Apr 25, 2015 13:56:02 GMT
Thanks a lot, I have been watching them and i let them out everyday at 7/7:30pm for about 30-45 minutes, and they love bouncing around and climbing on me.
They can be such lovely brothers together. Last night they kept chasing each other around the cage, and sometimes mounting (again) but there didn't seem to be any fighting and i check them all the time to make sure they haven't hurt each other. They also don't make any aggressive noises or anything, only like they're communicating. The only problem is the constant mounting and the Mosaic pulling fur out of the Standard.
I have watched videos and google relentless about chinchilla fighting but mine don't do any of that.
I've heard that because it's only been two weeks, they're basically still getting used to their playroom (my bed room) and the cage and living together and this might be why it's happening.
I'll just have to keep my eye on them!
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Post by natnat899 on Apr 25, 2015 23:09:01 GMT
See what the next few weeks brings, they havnt hurt eachother, so it doesn't seem to be aggressive behaviour. Just watch out about the fur pulling, because it's no doubt pretty stressful for the standard.
If it doesn't stop, then I would recommend posting on chinformative for advise.
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Post by natnat899 on May 6, 2015 11:36:49 GMT
Hi Littlewomann - how is everything going with your chinchilla's now?
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Post by littlewomann on May 13, 2015 15:43:26 GMT
Hey! Well i haven't seen anymore fur pulling. But they are still trying to mount each other and they hold each other by the fur around the back of the neck, but i'm constantly picking them up, giving them sand baths and making sure they have no injuries or anything that they might have done to each other.
Apart from this, they always cuddle and sleep together and they eat together, whatever one does, the other has to do too! They do seem to like each other a lot, i'm just still not quite sure about the mounting as it hasn't stopped yet!
Cheeko (standard) still has a little bald patch at his back, but hopefully Peppei and fully stopped pulling his fur out, and it'll grow back!
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Post by natnat899 on May 13, 2015 17:27:45 GMT
That's a step in the right direction then - mounting is normal, my chinchillas still mount eachother even though Peanut has already established dominance. The fur will grow back I have never seen mine hold the fur at the back of the others neck though, so just watch out about that. What cute names! It's great you are able to pick your chinchillas up and handle them
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