Tail Biting

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qtpie61282

qtpie61282

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
271
Location
Rochester, NY
Ok...I have to start with the beginning. A few years ago I purchased a gorgeous young sapphire male from Ryersons when I was there for a show.

He got 1st in a show the following year...I had planned on breeding him with my standard sc female a few years ago. When I put them in cages next to one another he started chewing the tip of his tail, to the point where there was blood EVERYWHERE.
I never ended up putting them together, and had to put him in a larger cage away from her. He chewed his tail for almost a year until I got pregnant and moved the chins to another room.
He has been in a FN cage for almost a year now, and hasn't chewed his tail since we moved them. Its healed over, started growing some hair back and he has just been a dream. He and I have really bonded, he loves having his belly, ear and chin scratched and when I come in the room he runs to the door for his scratching.

Stupid me...I thought I could try and breed him again. I moved the other FN cage that has another female I want to breed him with, so that she was next to him. I hadn't moved him at all, he is still in the same spot, same cage, all I did was wheel her cage over next to him.
Before that, I had another FN cage with a pair in it, he seemed fine being neighbors with them this entire time.
But this morning.... His new female neighbor was just chilling in the bottom corner of her cage, sleeping....and he was in the bottom corner of his cage, chasing his tail, making barking noises at her and seemed very very antsy.
I bent down to talk to him and give him a scratch and he started barking at me!
He has never treated me like this and Im wondering if its bc he is just dying to get into her cage???

Why would he be ok with a female / male (neutered) pair for so long and so bothered by this female that is there now???
And, he has started chewing his tail while he is chasing it again!! whats this all about?

I thought I had gotten passed it, but I guess I just cant breed him.
 
should I stick it out and see if he is just eager to be put with the female? or is there other reasons as to why he could be doing this?
 
He almost seems like he wants to attack her through the bars. should I give up on the idea of breeding him and move the females cage?
why is he reacting to this female and not the one who was next to him before?

here is a pic of his tail from this am

IMAG1835.jpg
 
I wish I had an answer for you. Unfortunately I breed using runs, not larger cages.

Regardless I have never had a male that reacted this way. In fact I open the males to the run weeks to months before I open him to the female and I have never seen that type of frustration. If I don't have space, I have put a female as young as 6 months in a run with a male (with the jump hole closed of course). He may act lonely and hover over her cage but I haven't seen any concerning behavior.

Is it possible that the female next to him now is actually in heat and that is why he is so aggravated?

The female he was previously next to - was she ever in heat around him?
 
I usually breed with runs too but before I moved him to my runs I wanted to make the smallest changes as possible because I feared he would start this again, and I was right.

She could be in heat. The other female had to of been through heat at least once in the past year that they were next to each other. She was sharing the cage with her mate though, who is neutered. so i don't know why he would react this way to the one female and not the other.
 
Why does any man react to certain females??? Just kidding! :)

I don't know. I would be hesitant to breed a male that chews but it may just be a sign of aggravation. Have you tried getting them out together in a small room and monitoring their behavior that way?

Hopefully one of the larger breeders will chime in, I am surprised that they haven't yet. Have you tried pm'ing one of them that you trust?
 
lol, no kidding.

I haven't pm'd anyone, was hoping for multiple opinions on here first.

I haven't tried them in a larger area/room. I only just moved her cage next to his this past weekend. A few days later is when I noticed his behavior.
Hes running around chasing his tail, he looks like a little top spinning around.

His tail isn't as bad as it used to be, there used to be a blood bath on the walls...so far, theres nothing. thankfully.

Im worried to put them in a room together if he is trying to attack her.
Its just so Bizarre!
 
I don't know why you haven't gotten many responses - I am sure this has happened to someone before. I stayed out of it simply because I haven't much to add but am interested in other peoples experiences.

Maybe if you post it in breeding and babies section it will get more attention? I don't know?
 
Ill try that....thanks for responding even though you aren't quite sure what the answer is, :)

Anyway I can just forward this to the section? Instead of retyping it all?
 
I am not sure??? I would just try re-posting your original post or asking an Administrator to place it in the different category?
 
Since this is a behavior issue, I've deleted the thread in Breeding and I am leaving this one here.
 
I fostered a male chin who self mutilated the top of his front paws whenever he was in a female chins range-he had the snot beat out of him by his mate and stressed with any females in range.
 
I have never seen anything like this nor heard of another breeder experiencing something like this. Because he is acting aggressively toward the female and started self mutilating after seeing her I would not put him with another chin. He has exibited this behavior in the past with another female so it's not a one time thing. I would not trust him with a female or kits. I have heard of aggressive males who sometimes kill females. It sounds like this male may be one of the aggressive types who are not suitable for breeding.

There is also the chance he is self mutilating because he is afraid of the female. In either case I would not put him with a female.
 
I have 2 beige females that I moved to a different cage within a week she was chewing her tail. I put blu-kote on her tail and it seem that it was healing. She started to do it again so I took her to the vet. The vet didn't know why she was doing it but suggested if she kept doing it to have 1/2 of her tail amputated. Her tail was 1/2 amputated. I ended up putting both chins back in the original cage she never touched her tail again.
 
Thanks everyone. I thought it was strange too.

I had second guessed breeding him for the past few years....now I have this gorgeous large female I want to breed who is a sc.

I guess he will just have to go back to being my expensive handsome pet. The one who loved getting his chin and chest scratched by me every time I walked in the room.

He has not physically been with another chin before, not since he was with his mother at Ryersons....and unfortunately it looks like I may have to keep it that way.

Poor lil guy. What a bizarre behavior. I may try and video tape it for you guys tonight before I move the females cage again.
 
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