sight
Well-known member
Just remember reading about whisker trimming the other week, and wondered if someone could explain the reasoning and details of it in some detail?
Whisker Trimming?????
- Thread starter sight
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It helps with aggressive chins. If you have one beating up on another, you can try whisker trimming to see if it settles them down.
amsue0222
chin lover
I Think that it makes them feel a little more insecure and not so aggressive. I have also heard of some one telling me that if you cut them too short it can feel like when you cut your finger nail too short.
Does it hurt when you cut your hair? A whisker is just hair.
Ever see when chins barber each other? They chew those whiskers right down to the fur, and it doesn't bother the other chins even a little bit.
C
Chinniechantel
Guest
I have found whisker trimming works wonders. You can always tell, in my colonies, who is the boss! I have colonies of 5 or 6 girls, waiting to grow, and they have various whisker lenghts, like in picking straws to see who has to do the dishes or something! It really seems to work here, especially on aggressive females. It seems to make them very insecure or something, but it is definitely a great trick worth trying!
amsue0222
chin lover
Does it hurt when you cut your hair? A whisker is just hair.
Ever see when chins barber each other? They chew those whiskers right down to the fur, and it doesn't bother the other chins even a little bit.
YEa that is what I thought too-- I tried it with 2 pairs that I have and it worked-- I just felt bad that someone told me that it is uncomfortable for them.
oxchincerelyxo
PM for pet portraits <3
no it's not uncomfortable at all...just be careful if/when you cut them because they pull their whiskers in sometimes when you're cutting them...
Sasha
Mmm Helicobacter pylori..
The only issue with the whisker trimming is I've heard it can affect their balance and coordination. Good thing is though, those whiskers grow back FAST! I have cut whiskers, and would cut them again when doing intros. I've found that it works well with taming the aggressiveness. If their whiskers are both just two inches long, no one is the "boss" so to speak.
starleomach
Dawnna's Keeper
I have fairly tall cages and trim wiskers never had one have their balance noticably affected. The more dominant animal always chews the lower on the totom's wiskers. So when I am doing intro and someone is being the obvious aggressor I put them into the cage the meekest chinchilla was in before and snip the agressor. Works like a charm.
R
Rickman
Guest
I forgot about that - now I'm gonna try it, as I've two males that're being impossible!
Lynn & The Chins
The Chinchilla WhisKerer
Does it hurt when you cut your hair? A whisker is just hair.
Ever see when chins barber each other? They chew those whiskers right down to the fur, and it doesn't bother the other chins even a little bit.
I beg to differ -- whiskers are NOT just hairs, but a complex sensory organ known as vibrissae, that is important to many animals, including chinchillas:
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Vibrissae
"Some animals - mainly rodents - actively palpate their vibrissae, a process known as whisking, whilst others use them merely as passive sensors".
S
Smiley1
Guest
But it does not hurt the animal to cut them I think is the point they were making. They have no nerves in them or blood supply.
Lynn & The Chins
The Chinchilla WhisKerer
I get the point, BUT, did you read the article???
"Vibrissae consist of inert material and contain no nerves, but do have special sensory cells associated with them. Vibrissae are different from other hairs mainly because they are implanted in a special follicle sealed with a cap of blood called a blood sinus. Touching a vibrissa causes it to bend, and the blood in the sinus is pushed to one side or the other. The blood amplifies the movement and allows the mechanoreceptor at the base of the vibrissa to detect extremely small deflections."
That's MY point and I AM The Chinchilla WhisKerer!!!
I am obsessed with whiskers and all knowlege concerning them!!!
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S
Smiley1
Guest
Yeah I read it...but The title of the Thread is Whisker Trimming, Not Whisker Plucking LOL I trimmed Coles Whiskers....and it has not changed him a bit. He was a bit miffed at being held down to do it, but within 30 minutes he was back to his old self.
6Dusters
Well-known member
I've used it once and it did help with an introduction. Having said that, the chin I trimmed was not a real aggressor. She seemed to be over curious and was making the other chin uncomfortable.
S
Smiley1
Guest
Yeah it didn't work for me with Cole. But after watching them interact last night....I am thinking Snickers is more afraid of him that Cole actually chasing him. I even tried vanilla last night and nope didn't work. I guess it doesn't work 100%.
I had two girls that were giving me fits during intros, and I trimmed both of their whiskers to help with the process... they are BEST friends now! It didn't seem to affect their balance, just their self-esteem. We're introing another girl to our pair, so we're going to be trying the same technique later today. Just be ready for squirming and be VERY careful with the scissors!
Lynn - I understand what they are FOR, but it does not hurt them even a little bit to trim them. I did not say "yank the whiskers out at the base causing them to bleed profusely." I said trim them, and in that way, yes, it is just like a hair and it doesn't hurt them. Have you ever done it? When I have, my chins don't even bat an eye. The only part they get irritated with is me waking them up to trim them, because I do it during their sleepy time so that they aren't as active and it doesn't get dangerous using the scissors.
Nothing works 100% of the time. I wish I had a magic formula to make all chins get along - I'd be rich! Some chins just aren't meant to have cagemates, and boy, do they let you know it.
Nothing works 100% of the time. I wish I had a magic formula to make all chins get along - I'd be rich! Some chins just aren't meant to have cagemates, and boy, do they let you know it.
Leowyldemi
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2009
- Messages
- 183
this thread is actually very interesting! i never knew that trimming whiskers affected a chin, that explains why when i got Kishi a few of her whiskers looked like they had been chewed,if an agressive chin like her cagemate was chewwing whiskers to assert dominance by chewing the whiskers to "tame" them.
Lynn & The Chins
The Chinchilla WhisKerer
Peggy -- of course not!!!
I adore, worship and collect their whiskers -- how do you think I ended up with a chinchilla named Mr. Whiskers??? When I saw him for the first time and he started whiskering me with those amazing whiskers, I blurted out "Oh, my God, you are the cutest thing I've ever seen!!! If I could take you back to Denver with me, I'd name you Mr. Whiskers and love you forever!!!"
I know that whisker trimming is used to help with dominance issues. I wanted only to correct your statement that "A whisker is just a hair."
Since I am so obsessed with whiskers, I enjoy learning anything I can about them. And I agree with you, the act of cutting the whiskers doesn't cause them any pain, the exception being to their pride. :winkers:
I would never argue with you -- I love your signature!!!
