Hanging Chin

[Ronda]

Today I found a chin hanging from her top teeth. She had stood up with her back to the back of the cage, pushed her nose outside the cage and hooked her top teeth on the outside top wire.

I've had this happen one other time and found that chin dead. This girl is still alive but very traumatized. She is walking better now but when I first cut her out and set her down her back was bowed and she was listing to one side.

Does anybody know why they do this or have you ever had it happen?

Any ideas on how to prevent it? I was thinking of using a piece of corner tin to run along the back side of all the cages, but that's a lot of tin!

Ronda

 

[Laurie]

Ronda, I've seen my chins stretch up on their hind legs to try to chew at the tops of their cage, but I've never had one hang like this before. I had a coconut on top of Mick and Wesley's cage and it took me awhile to realize they were stretching up to chew on the coconut.
I don't know why they would do this--I'm glad you're girl is alive though and hope she continues to improve and not ever do it again!

 

[Jenn]

Wow, what an incredible story...! Do you think your chin had reached up to chew on the cage and then got her teeth stuck? Poor girl, I wonder how long she was like that before you found her? It seems as if the same situation could happen anywhere in the cage...that's a lot of preventative measure! I don't know what you could do except cover the outer cage with a finer mesh type wire so she couldn't poke her nose through so far?

 

[Leowyldemi]

i had this happen not with a chin but with a hamster, we had to not only cut her out of the cage but the vet had to trim her teeth back,we ended up getting her a mouse cage with a solid top, maybe you could find a chin cage with a solid top and small mesh sides?, maybe use bitter apple or some like on the bars? we used bitter apple for the aforementioned hamster,it seemed to work well

 

[Parkerspetchins]

I have never heard of this before, do you keep anything on the top of the cage that the chin/s might have been after such as a treat (as impossible as it might seem to us...)?

 

[Chinniechantel]

Chins seem to like the bitter apple stuff, maybe try something else, I can't think of anything though. Sorry to hear about this girl, I can totally picture it happening now too, because I have a few girls that do that constantly at the top of the cage. The few bar chewers I have always chew the lower bars, so that is good. Maybe put a hammock or something in her cage that kind of blocks the bars or a shelf so she would not be hanging, but then you would need a shelf around the whole cage! Lol, the metal would be better I suppose.

I think the only real way to prevent it is to have very small spaced wire.

 

[Rickman]

I doubt a full grown chin could get their snout through the verticle bars on a baby-safe cage, [1/2 inch] to be able to "hook" their teeth that way. Maybe give that a shot.
Unless they've got something attracting them, I can't, for the life of me, understand that positioning! Wierd way to do "chin-ups!" :laughitup:
Did it happened in the exact same location? Maybe it's a scent on the bar itself and a good wipe down with vinegar would remove it!

 

[Cuddlebug]

I've had a bunny do that several years ago. He broke his neck trying to free himself. I hope the chin continues to get better.

 

[Ronda]

Well she’s still alive today. Nearest I can figure she could have been hanging UP TO 15 hours but I doubt it because she didn’t even want to get a drink when I offered it to her.

She must have been going after a piece of hay that got under the cage tray above and hooked her teeth that way. I don’t know why she would want that hay when she has it all over her cage and in the hay rack as well.

Curing the problem by using smaller wire or a corner piece of metal on the top would be a monumental job for me. I have over 450 cages with animals in them and then a whole slew of spare cages I use when I remove and clean whole racks of cages.

In any case, she appears to be doing well and I’ll just have to keep a closer eye on those younger kids.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Ronda

 

[Rickman]

Didn't realize you had that many cages - are they all built the same way? Maybe have some pans built that you could invert to cover those corners 3-4-5 inches down!

 

[Ronda]

Yes, they are all the same cages. I purchased them from an old rancher. The pans are 4" deep. Where she actually caught her teeth was at the at the back on the top of the cage. So she had her back pressed against the back of the cage and her nose outside the cage with her upper teeth wrapped around the top corner where the 2 cages meet. The easiest cure would be to use angle iron, or a v and run it all along the backside of the top of the cages. That way there would be say 1" x 1" covered on the top back side and an 1" covered on the top side of the back cage. LOL - if that makes any sense!

Ronda

 

[addictedtochins]

I guess you should fix her cage though so it won't happen again.

 

[Ronda]

I guess you should fix her cage though so it won't happen again.

LOL - you funny girl - of course I fixed it - I had to cut her out so couldn't leave a hole in the cage for her to escape!!!!

Ronda

 

[Carol~Anne]

I have read one other similar incident where a chinchilla was found hanging from her cage by her teeth and unfortunately she did not survive.

If I remember right, the chin was reaching for something that the owner placed at the top of the cage such as a bag of hay, pellets or some other type of product a chinchilla might find tasty or interesting.

Both my cages have wooden tops so I put all kinds of stuff up there but for those who have metal cages, it's a good lesson to not leave anything up on top to tempt their curious critters.

I am glad your girl is going to be okay. Poor thing must be so traumatized from her ordeal.

 

[Ronda]

Yes, I have cages stacked upon cages. It would be nice to have a solid top on each one of them though. That would have been possible when the cages were made but I guess they didn't think about doing that.

I've been keeping an eye on her and she appears to be doing alright. From her attitude I don't think she was there very long or if she was then she didn't get very upset about it and thrash around or anything.

Ronda

 

[oxchincerelyxo]

I'm sorry that this happened, but at least the girl is doing well. Strange situation though...if you really think about it. I couldn't imagine being hung by my teeth :swoon:

 

[Classic Chinchillas]

Hope she is doing well. I have read about this in old ranching literature and this is one reason they make the cages short so that if it happens the chins feet can touch the ground and they won't suffocate by hanging. It mentions not putting anything on top the cage as chinchillas are curious and will try to find out what it is. Since you said there is a cage above, I'd bet it was the hay like you said.

 

[Rickman]

What I meant with the pans would achieve the angle iron thing much easier - order them so the lips would point down, over the 2-3-4 inches at the top edges ![inverted or upside-down]

 

[Ronda]

I have read about this in old ranching literature and this is one reason they make the cages short so that if it happens the chins feet can touch the ground and they won't suffocate by hanging. It mentions not putting anything on top the cage as chinchillas are curious and will try to find out what it is. Since you said there is a cage above, I'd bet it was the hay like you said.

Yea, I figure it's got to be a piece of hay she was after. Where did you read this article? This is an old pelter/grower cage that is 12" tall. She is 4 months old and I just a bit short to really 'touch down' with her feet.

What I meant with the pans would achieve the angle iron thing much easier - order them so the lips would point down, over the 2-3-4 inches at the top edges ![inverted or upside-down]

She hung herself at the back of the cage. Hard to bend the pans at the back and still be able to pull them out.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Ronda

 

[Rickman]

Ronda - I think you're missing my point - put them on top, with the edges down, to cover the offending corners, you could have them made with only 3 sides if it would interfere with a front door opening! Good Luck!