Fur thinning on haunches of chin?

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Little Rae

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Joined
Feb 16, 2021
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7
My chinchilla's fur has been noticeably thinning on his backside. At first I thought it might be normal shedding, or he got startled and lost some fur, but I'm getting concerned. I checked his fur to see if it was irritated at all (in case of a fungal infection) but his skin looks perfectly healthy. My other chins aren't experiencing any fur thinning. Has anyone experienced something similar? Should I be concerned? Please help!
 

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Is the fur actually thinned out of does it look more like it's been clipped short? If it looks more like it's been clipped it could be fur chewing or "barbering". Chins do that for various reasons, most commonly boredom, stress, or pain. If housed with another chin(s) they can also do it to each other.
 
It looks thinned out. The chin that's had the fur thinning problems (Chimi) is housed with another chin (Jazz). Chimi is more dominant than Jazz, and Jazz is much more mellow. I haven't witnessed Jazz chewing on his fur. They haven't had any problems being housed together before, and they get along quite well (sleeping with each other, cuddling, not fighting).
 
Since Chimi is more dominant I wonder if it's a situation of Jazz over grooming him. Not in a mean way but just not paying attention and trying to be a good cage mate kind of way. Another possibility would be poor/lack or nutrition, depending on what you are feeding it could be the food or could be something medical going on. Since your other chins seem ok you might want to keep an eye on it, if it gets worse a vet visit is a good idea.
 
All my chins have a diet of Timothy hay, oxbow pellets, and the occasional healthy snack (plain shredded wheat, rose hops, plain cheerios, etc.) I'll keep an eye on them tomorrow and see if Jazz does any excessive grooming.
 
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