Fur problem

[ScarlettSugoi]

My chin Pixel seems to worry me so much, first with his soft poop, then it was when he discovered he loved laying on his side on his cool stone...now it is his fur. I left him alone during the day like normal, and last night he was fine. But just now when I came to see him I noticed something. Im having a hard time so I took a picture. The quality is poor due to lighting in my room and it being taken with my cell phone. But it is on both of his sides, more near his rear on each of his sides?

Did he pull fur out? When I pet him there it does not change, as if fur is just gone...

What can i do?

 

[ScarlettSugoi]

Please help? Im worrying myself

 

[alli713]

I can't really tell anything from the photo as it's so hard to see...

But, is there no fur there at all, is it smooth like his skin? If so, it's probably a fur slip where he slipped some of his fur. Chins do this as a defense mechanism, maybe you grabbed him wrong, or he got scared. It will regrow normally.

Is it short like a buzz cut? If so, he probably chewed it. Chins do this due to stress, boredom, or just because. Some do it always, some do it on and off. It's not harmful or anything.

Is it red and scaly? If so, then it's probably fungus. That would need to be treated as it does spread. You would put tinactin in his dust bath. Or, a good way to get rid of it is to put blu-kote on it which can be bought online or at some horse/farm supply stores.

 

[ScarlettSugoi]

That is the thing, no skin is showing at all that I can see. But of all those fur slip sounds close maybe. As in fur gone, its not buzzes. :[

It is on both of his sides and it was not like that night before.

 

[alli713]

Do you hold him around his stomach? Or could he have gotten caught on something in his cage? Do you see any tufts of fur in his cage?

Some chins slip fur easily, or some only do it if held wrong and struggle to get away.

In either case, it won't harm him and will slowly regrow.

If you blow on the fur, or try to part it, chances are you'd be able to see his skin. That would tell you for sure that it's a fur slip.

ETA: here's a thread where you can see a fur slip. As you can see it wasn't evident until she parted the fur how much had actually come off
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4625

 

[ScarlettSugoi]

No I usually let him climb on me and i lightly rest my hand on his back.

I will have to check him after I eat. Thank you.

 

[ScarlettSugoi]

Oh it looks like that [by just looking at him] just not as large. Still big >.< eek. That link helped thank you. So he is okay though?

 

[alli713]

Yes, he should be fine. It will take a while for the fur to regrow, as it has to start from the root out, but he'll be okay.

Just check and make sure there wasn't something that he could have gotten stuck on or something that pulled the fur out. But otherwise he should be fine.

 

[ScarlettSugoi]

Oh no, I went to check, it looked like fur slip but when I part the hair there is just shorter hair...and I caught him in the act of fur biting :[

Not only that but his penis [well the cone] looks a tad swollen. It is still shaped like a cone, no penis hanging out, it is still flesh colors not red. He is peeing normal...it just looks...bigger

 

[alli713]

Well if he is chewing his fur, it just could be from stress. One of my girls does that when something new happens (like when I move) but she stops after a bit. So just let him settle in (assuming he's new?). And even if he does it from now on, it's not bad. Some chins just do that. He just won't have a perfect coat. I mean, breeders breed to have chins that don't chew their fur, so it can come from bad breeding, but for the health of your chin, he won't suffer.

If he continues to do it, you can try extra playtime or toys and see if it's from boredom.

About his penis, so it looks larger than it used to? Is he messing with it at all? How long have you had him? Some chins get hair rings around their penis so you will need to do monthly checks on him to make sure he doesn't have a hair ring, but if it does look swollen I would suggest doing a hair ring check on him.

 

[ScarlettSugoi]

Thank you. And he is sort of new. I got him in May. He has warmed up to me so much in such a short amount of time. And only recently I have seen him chew rarely at his leg, back, and when I saw him tonight it was where the odd patches were.

I hope he stops, I think he is stressed, my sisters dog is over and so there is more noise downstairs than normal. Plus I had a friend over four nights ago and I dont tend to have people stay the night much.

As for the penis, he isnt messing with it, he is peeing fine. And I did a hair ring check earlier this month, 5th or 6th I think. I tried to get the vet to but he said as long as he was peeing fine and not messing with it too much that he was fine.

But why would it look abit larger than normal?

I tried to get a pic, and I did, but it is a tad fuzzy :/

I love my chin so much, and I already worry alot, but it seems out of all chins I got one that is a handful. [Wouldnt trade him for the world though.]

 

[alli713]

If you think it looks a little swollen, it wouldn't hurt to check again even though you did one earlier this month. Better safe than sorry, you know?

But if you don't see anything, perhaps he was messing around with it, male chins do pleasure themselves, or maybe he hit it on something.

But if you see him messing with it or it gets red or anything, then something definitely is up.