3rd Mass Surrender This Year (17)

[Whimsy]

I received word last week about a wildlife rehab that had taken in chinchillas over the years. Apparently they had a broad, but limited understanding of the animals in their care. They asked us to take the chins and brought them to us in two large groups of inbred families, and what they thought were separate males. One group actually contained a male, so all the females there are on maternity watch. There are already two kits of different ages among them. :banghead:

I was rather surprised to find that this organization fed them "plenty of fresh fruits and veggies". Actually, it was after they had a couple of deaths that they contacted us. How is it an animal welfare group could be so....wrong?

 

[Stellaluna]

Wow, You would think that when you took in an animal you had no idea about you would do some research...

 

[Whimsy]

No kidding.
We found peanuts among the cat litter under the wire floor bottoms, and seeded honey treats in the cages.
At least the pellets they were fed was Zupreem, chinchilla specific feed.

 

[Stellaluna]

Oh, well at least they knew they were chinchillas... I am glad you are there to save the day! No more inbreeding, no more fruits and veggies and no more wire floors. Did they know to dust them at all? I hope you can get them happy and healthy

 

[Whimsy]

Yes, the chins had dust and dusters, but the dusters were covered in yuck. Several of them had loads of matts. I actually enjoyed combing them out. I love before and after stories.
Speaking of which, I'll see if I can get some pictures uploaded...

 

[Stellaluna]

Pictures are always good! I liked grooming out Kali's matts when I got her she definetly appreciated me for it afterwards

 

[Essentia]

I'm curious to see what others think of the kit you showed a picture of on the other forum.

 

[Pikaia]

Wow Whimsy! You are gonna have your hands full! I'm glad you were there to help! You are a chinchilla angel!

 

[Whimsy]

Ok, I have pictures now.
Attached are pictures of the big girl with an odd bald patch at her throat area, two pictures of the strange looking kit with very thin fur, and one of the groups of girls.

 

[Things for Wings]

Oh those poor things.
The second one breaks my heart

 

[Amy555]

Oh wow, what are your current theories to the thin furred kit? Do you feel it could be due to inbreeding or brought on by the substandard conditions?

 

[mishalaa]

The bald patch on the big girl is not that unusual, I used to have a girl here that had it, though not quite that pronounced. It's literally a double chin. The first attached pic is the only one I have that shows a bit of her "dunlap," the second I am including just to show how massive a neck she actually had.

As for the kit, there's a couple things that could be from, but I'd wait to see if it grows in before getting alarmed.

 

[AZChins]

Mish is right...the bald patch isn't a big deal at all. Fat lumps have the fur wear off in a funny way.

As for the kit, it looks like he may have had a momma groom him a bit too much when he was younger. In a few weeks you will probably see his fur fill out quite a bit. It could have been his mother was under stress or she just does that to her kits. It doesn't happen much but some mother chins will do that.

Also, I have seen babies born with very short fur for some reason and it always grows out by the time they are about three months old. I don't know why, but it happens every now and then.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

It looks like the kit could have been seriously overgroomed...interesting.

And just an FYI (not to be nit-picky), what those girls have are called dewlaps, not dunlaps.

 

[mishalaa]

But it dun lapped over her collar. =p

Overgrooming on the kit was my first guess as well, though that is a pretty thorough job of it.

 

[StevieP]

How much does that big girl weigh? She's huge.

 

[AZChins]

She's got the dun-lap disease. hehe

I think they're just called Dewlaps with rabbits, but I don't know...do they use that term with overly chubbed-out neck chinchillas?

 

[Amy555]

huh, Wiki says: While pregnant, the female rabbit will pluck fur from the dewlap to line a nest for her babies.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

But it dun lapped over her collar. =p

:rofl:

Dewlaps are in all kinds of animals: cows, lizards, rabbits, it's even a term used in people.

 

[AZChins]

I would feel really bad if I went to the doctor and he told me I had a dewlap. I'll have to remember this for the fat fatty girls that get that extra blub chub in their neck areas.