Hair Rings?

[NiftyKat]

Okay ... I'm gonna sound like an idiot, but .... what is a hair ring?! I kind of get the gist of it ... but I don't really know what it is ... Also, I will be getting two male chinchillas as I've read they make better pets than females because they don't spray as much and are a bit cuddlier. However ... do male cage mates end up humping each other? I do not plan on breeding them at all, so do people ever get them fixed? Is that a bad idea? I just remember having a male bunny when I was younger that pretty much humped every thing, and I REALLY don't want to have to deal with that when it comes to the chinchillas ... is it bad? I sound like a 10-yr-old! / Also on that note, which sex chins do make better pets? I already put a down payment on a male so I'm already kinda stuck .... but opinions?

 

[Riven]

I personally don't think males or females make better pets. I think a lot of people say males do because they would rather sell males than females.

Yes males will hump each other.

Some people get them fixed, the biggest issue is finding a competent vet, Lynn and the Chins on here has her's neutered and it has the same affect as neutering a dog, kind of chills them out, but it's not necessary.

Chins "usually" don't just run around humping everything, but... some are pretty "active".

Are the two chins already bonded? Remember that sometimes chins can just decide they don't like each other, at anytime. They may have been living fine together for years then decide they're sick of each other. Not saying it will happen, but it's always nice to be ready for it in case it does.

 

[Lirana]

A hair ring is literally a ring of hair around the penis. Here's an image of what I assume is a bad one. I have a girl chin, so I'm not entirely sure if this is normal or bad, but that looks like a lot of hair to me.

Yes, males will hump. They will also often "pleasure themselves" when the moment strikes as well. From what I've read, it often starts as cleaning which can lead to more entertaining (for them) activities.

Some people do get them fixed, but unless you have a super-chin-expert-vet, it's not worth the risk. Chins are fairly sensitive to anesthesia, and a lot of chins have problems after the surgery. ArmyWife's chin developed an abscess after being neutered.

As far as females, I've not had any problems with Mochi spraying. Just cause a female can spray, doesn't mean she will. I don't remember who it was, but someone owned 30-40 female chins and only ever had one sprayer. Also, some males will attempt to spray, but only manage a dribble which can lead to a terrible mess.

 

[ArmyWife]

I have a male and female chin and they both have very different personalities. My male is much more laid back and keeps to himself and my female is very rambocus. My male will let you hold him and pet him but if he's in the cage and you try to pet him, he barks at you, he loves scritches though! My female will let you pet her all day long in her cage but it is impossible to hold her or to even grab her! It's not a male vs female thing, it's just their personalities.

I ended up getting my male neutered so him and my female could live together without the chance of kits. My exotic vet is very experienced in neutering but we still had to hand feed my male for a few days and he got a pretty bad abscess that took about a month to heal. It was a lot of anxiety and guilt and if I could go back, I wouldn't do it again. It just isn't worth the risk of complications. With that being said, my male and female are now very happy living together.

 

[Riven]

I think in the end it really depends on the chin's personalities. I've had nutter males. All of my females are laid back with the exception of one who's a bit nutty, she loves to jump out of the cage every chance she gets but she's not mean or anything. As far as spraying, even when I had 200 chins here, I had only one female who I ever worried about spraying me. I think some people make it seem like every female will spray at whatever for any reason.

I truly believe that it's all in how you treat them, and their personality (which is hereditary).

 

[becky12883]

Definitely depends on the chins. My Rufus was caged with his dad for 3 years and they rarely humped each other and never got hair rings. They randomly started fighting and now Rufus is with another male chin and they hump each other a lot. I think it may just be establishing dominance, but it happens about once every other day.

 

[NiftyKat]

Now I wish I would of kept to my idea of getting two females instead of two males. I didn't want to deal with the humping from the get-go! However, after what I read, I decided to go with males, annnnnd ... I already put a holding deposit down on a male. Therefore, I gotta stick with the males. :no:

 

[ticklechin]

Here is my video of the hair ring check

http://s31.beta.photobucket.com/user/meegusmaster/media/hairring_0002.mp4.html

 

[Narcissus]

Dawn's video helped me so much! once you do it a couple times you'll get the hang of it. I have my husband help hold my boys when I need to do a hair ring check.

 

[ArmyWife]

Now I wish I would of kept to my idea of getting two females instead of two males. I didn't want to deal with the humping from the get-go! However, after what I read, I decided to go with males, annnnnd ... I already put a holding deposit down on a male. Therefore, I gotta stick with the males. :no:

It really all depends on that specific chins personality. If humping is the worst you have to deal with... then no worries! Worst comes to worst, you can separate them if they can't live together safely.

 

[ArmyWife]

Now I wish I would of kept to my idea of getting two females instead of two males. I didn't want to deal with the humping from the get-go! However, after what I read, I decided to go with males, annnnnd ... I already put a holding deposit down on a male. Therefore, I gotta stick with the males. :no:

It really all depends on that specific chins personality. If humping is the worst you have to deal with then I wouldn't stress too much about it. Worst comes to worst, you can separate them if they can't live together safely.