Self Mutilation or Bite Wound?

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chezzy17

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Jul 22, 2016
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I have two chinchillas, a male and a female. They have been bonded for nearly a year now and have not had any problems up until this point.

Bea is my female, she is about 3 years old. Poro is my male, and he is 2.5 years old. Bea is the dominant of the two, they live in a double critter nation.

I had a friend stay with me for about 2 weeks, and she interacted with Poro a lot, not so much Bea because she does not like new things or new people. Bea has been a fur chewer ever since I got her. She does it over weird noises, when you turn off the fan, when you move the cage an inch to the left... So, I would not be surprised if she chewed her fur because of my friend's presence. However, this is significantly different. She has a large scab/wound on her hip, where she usually would chew at her fur.

It is not swollen, red, pussing, or anything of that nature. I have been cleaning it with saline and applying Lamisil just to be safe, but I do not think it's fungal since her fur is intact around her eyes, ears, and nose/mouth. She had a stand off with Poro this morning for the first time ever, over some hay. They stood on their hind legs and chased each other, but there was not any biting. Just some barking.
I have since separated them, but this has made Bea very restless and Poro very depressed (or so he looks). She is completely active, eating, drinking, pooping, peeing.

I would just like to have some opinions on if her wound looks like a fighting wound, or her just fur chewing/ripping/over grooming.

This is her wound: https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.ne...=62f01fa7cc9cfd49124d644a99eaecdd&oe=59930AC8
 
It's hard to say if it was self inflicted or if the male did that to her. However the fact that they were arguing could mean they were fighting. Was all that fur pulled out before? or did you do that to clean up the wound? Fur chewing does not look like bald areas, it looks like someone took just cut it short. If she is normally ripping the fur out herself that is a more serious situation then fur chewing. Looking at the angle of the bite, she likely could have done it herself, but I would it checked out with a vet to make sure it's not infected and possibly get some antibiotics if it is. I also know there are some meds and herbal treatments (like this) that can help with easily stressed chins.

Another thing you didn't mention was is one or both fixed? If not they really should be separated. Even if they are both from good genetic lines the female clearly has mental issues and you shouldn't be breeding that kind of chin. Also if they are not fixed the male can end up frustrated with the female when she goes into heat if she doesn't want to mate when he wants to, which will cause fighting. More common areas for bite wounds during a fight are on the neck or face, but if the fur on her hip was already thin from her chewing, a bite there, which would normally just cause a fur slip and a mouth full of fur, could easily cause much more damage. Personally I would assume he is guilty until proven innocent. Once a fight gets to the point of blood being drawn that shows intent to kill, and they can never truly be trusted again.

One common thing that can cause chins to fight is resources, and you say they had an argument over hay. Do you have two of everything in the cage? Two water bottles, two food bowls, two areas with hay, two houses, etc? You should have as many things in the cage as you have chins, ideally in different areas of the cage to prevent one from physically being able to hog it. For example, I have mine set up for my two boys with food, water, and hay on the top and bottom areas of their double Ferret Nation cage.
 
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