Lots of Hair Rings

[Rebecca1122]

I have had Oliver since he was 3 months and have been doing hair ring checks since he was 6 months old. He will now be 1 year old in a few days.

For some reason, Oliver seems to get many hair rings. They might be more accurately called hair clumps because he gets more clumps of hair than really ring-shaped hair rings.

For example, two days ago, I gave him a hair ring check and he had a somewhat large clump of hair stuck to his penis. Today, I gave him a quick check just to make sure and he had another small hair clump. His penis also comes out of its sheath a little too easily also.

Why does he get them so often and how can I solve this problem? If you have additional advice, please offer it.

Thanks!

 

[Rebecca1122]

He also keeps checking down there. I don't really know how to describe it.

He folds his head in to what I assume is his penis and then lifts his head back up. He does this pretty often and it lasts for a second or two, but I don't know what he is trying to accomplish by doing this.

 

[Essentia]

Is there anything in the cage he is "humping"? We had a chin come in the rescue that had a stuffed animal in the cage with him, and I was told by his previous owner that he liked his toy a little too much. This chin had a huge problem with hair rings (one every few days) before he was surrendered. I took the stuffed animal out of the cage since it wasn't chin safe (had poly fill and wasn't made of fleece) and he never had another hair ring while he was in our care.

 

[Rebecca1122]

He does have a chin buddy that he likes to play around with and "hump". But it is made of fleece and is chin safe, so I don't think he would be getting hair rings from that. But I will take it out and see if that helps because he also seems to get hair rings every few days like the chin you mentioned.

 

[Essentia]

He most likely is getting hair rings from that. It being chin safe is just in case he decided to chew on it, not having anything to do with him humping it. In the act of humping his penis is extended from the sheath and is rubbing against his fur and causing hair to get stuck to it. When he returns it in the sheath after the dead is done, the hair just remains stuck to it, and that is where you usually find the clump during a check.

 

[Rebecca1122]

Okay, yeah, that makes sense. His chin buddy is out, so I am really hoping it will help so he will not get as many hair rings or any at all. Because I do see and hear him at night jumping around with the chin buddy, so it makes sense how it happens and that it is the cause of his hair clumps.
Thanks!

 

[Rebecca1122]

Update:
I took out Oliver's chin buddy, but he is still getting hair clumps quite frequently.
I spoke to the vet who said that some chins just need to be checked more often and because they are only small clumps and not actual hair rings, it should not be a major problem to check that often. He also said that neutering Oliver may help. Does anyone agree with this or know if neutering might help Oliver's hair clump/ring problem?

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

I doubt neutering would help with hair rings. Plus there is the risk of death or complications with any surgery.

I agree with not needing to check him as often as you do since he doesn't get hair rings.

He also keeps checking down there. I don't really know how to describe it.

He folds his head in to what I assume is his penis and then lifts his head back up. He does this pretty often and it lasts for a second or two, but I don't know what he is trying to accomplish by doing this.

This is normal behavior for male chins. They are self pleasuring and cleaning hair clumps or hair rings.