Thinking about adopting a special needs chinchilla....

[blondeangel]

...an adult fur chewer. I have read a bit about this habit, besides the physical looks of the habit, is there any other special needs of possibly taking in this type of chinchilla? Any advice/suggestions w ould be welcome. Still in the deciding phase, I wanted originally to get a young baby chin but I have read how iffy it can be with keeping a male trio. So I was looking at a local breeders rescues for adoption and this thought came to mind.

 

[addictedtochins]

It may chew the fur off of it's cagemates. My first chin chewed all her fur off from the neck down starting the day I got her. I put her in a quiet empty bedroom for about 2-3 weeks which she liked, then she lived out in the living room and was fine..no more chewing,

 

[blondeangel]

I do not plan on keeping the chin with my others. same room yes, but not together in the same cage. For many reasons, but the largest one being the one I was looking into adopting is a female, and I only have males currently. Babies are cute and adorable, but do not want any. Just give her a nice comfy stress free home with lots of TLC, toys, chews, etc.

 

[AZChins]

A fur chewer can be a great pet. Keep her by herself and spoil her. I have a few fur chewers here that are just going to be with me forever...they are sweet and good and really aren't any more trouble than anyone else. They're just fur artists...and that's okay. I wish they wouldn't chew on themselves, but after awhile their little personalities shine through and that's all that matters. There isn't anything wrong with them except that they chew.

I found a home for one of my little chewers and, I think, the people who have him love him just as much as they would have loved any other chin. (Ro, if you read this, you'll have to confirm or deny the truth of that statement.)

I say, GO FOR IT! You have a chance to make one little chin very very happy. It's hard to find homes for fur chewers....finding a great home is even more difficult. Give that chin a chance...you won't be let down...well, unless you are expecting a perfect furred chin. You'll make a tremendous difference in her life! (Just keep her away from the males...not shared playtime!)

 

[GahhItsLee]

How i see it fir chewers are just like any other chin just they have a little less fur. So basically its the most unique chin ever

 

[Jenn]

kind of off track, but why do chins become fur chewers in the first place? Boredom?

 

[GahhItsLee]

From what ive gathered they chew for different reasons like boredom, stress, loneliness (ive heard they can start after being seperated so ill call it that) and some are just genetically predisposed to fur chew

 

[CJR]

Wait, isn't keeping a female chin in the same area as multiple male chins bad?

 

[ticklechin]

They also can chew for no apparent reason and yes, in some cases adding a female to male only house can cause issues with bonded males.

 

[Ash]

I honestly wouldn't consider a fur chewer a "special needs" chin, but that's just me. They don't need any sort of special care requirements over a regular chin. They don't need more toys or a nearly silent environment with music playing 24/7 to keep them happy because they're going to chew no matter what if they want to. They also don't need to be kept alone and isolated. Just because they chew doesn't mean they can't be housed with other chinchillas. (I mean this for same-sex pairs, not your male/female). They may or may not chew on their cagemate, and if they do, the cagemate usually just sits there and lets them. It doesn't hurt them, just makes them look weird.


As far as bringing a female into a house with two bonded males, yes it can start problems. It's been my experience that males will continue to get along when there are so many chins it doesn't matter, or the females outnumber the males by a good bit. I have two males housed together, and when I only had 3 females, they would have issues when one would go into heat. I'd trim whiskers on the dominant one and that would work (though it doesn't in every case). However, when I upped to 4 females, the hasseling stopped, and now that I've got 6, my males are fine. So, if you're going to bring a female into a house with two males, be prepared for issues that may arise.

 

[Carol~Anne]

If you already have any males in pairs then I'd say definitely don't get a female. I was strongly advised not to bring in and foster a female chin a while back b/c I was told that it could very possibly upset the two pairs of boys that I have so I opted to take on two more males instead. Even bringing new males into my chin room has really caused a lot of chaos and it's taken me months to settle everyone down again b/c they could hear and smell the new ones and both my male pairs were being overly aggressive with each other and I had my fingers crossed that I didn't have to separate yet again. I even resorted to clipping whiskers to settle one pair down which I'm not sure if it worked or they settled down on their own.

Fur chewing can come and go and often when they are in a more stable, quiet and less stressful situation they stop chewing and sometimes they don't.