A visitor to Chinchilla Planet wrote:
Hi, my name is Chloe. About a year ago my chinchilla (Teddi) died. She was only 8. I took her to the vet once because I saw that she was gnawing at her sides and pulling out her fur. My vet said everything was okay but she was probably chewing because we just brought a new puppy home. However, Teddi had been molting about 2 years prior and she never grew the fur back. Did i do something wrong? Was she deathly ill and I didn't see it and neither did my vet? Was there something wrong with her health? Can stress kill chinchillas?
Sorry about the number of questions but I want to be sure I don't make the same mistake the second time around if I happen to get another chinchilla.
Our answer to Chloe:
Hi Chloe. We're sorry to hear about the death of your chinchilla. We're not vets, but it does sound like something was wrong with your chinchilla. As far as we know, chinchillas don't molt. They release patches of fur as an escape mechanism and they are also continuously shedding. Large patches of missing fur are not normal.
As for stress, chinchillas are certainly prone to it. However, a typical reaction to new noises and smells in the house would be hiding, not fur chewing.
It sounds to us like your vet may have missed something. Does your vet have experience with chinchillas? We've found that many vets don't know how to care for anything other than dogs and cats.
Entries (RSS)
April 27th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Hi Chloe,
First, I am so sorry for your loss. I do not want to think about anything happening to Liam.
As for vets, I do not know where you are from but PLEASE research and find a vet that specializes in exotics. I live on Long Island NY but maybe my vet could refer you to a vet in your state. http://WWW.VMCLI.com. Also you may want to look into local chinchilla rescues for your next little angel. They have much more knowledge about chins and unlike pet stores actually care.
Stacie
October 16th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
"Fur chewing" is a common behavior in highly-stressed chinchillas. The stress could be caused by the dog or other animals, or it could be caused by sudden loud noises or a noisy environment, temperture or humidity that is too far out of a comfortable range for chin, too small cage size, boredom, sickness or a combination of these things. Make sure that you have a sizeable pen with plenty of ledges and a solid chinchilla wheel or saucer (not a mesh or barred wheel) for exercise, a good temperture, a lot of safe wood chewing objects and a home to hide in where the chin can feel secure. Sickness can be caused by a wide variety of unsafe substances, especially anything plastic. There is a lot to know about chinchillas. I would sugguest extensive research to anyone considering a chinchilla for a pet, and not to trust that a pet store to provide you with the proper information, my experiences have shown that many pet store lack knowledge of chinchillas and misinform buyers.
And MOST DEFINITELY your vet should have informed your that your animal was VERY stressed out (and extreme stress can kill a chinchilla) and should not be treating animals that he or she is not familiar enough with to even recognize a very common warning sign of high stress levels. I am very sorry for your loss (and very angry at your vet).
October 31st, 2007 at 9:27 am
Hey Chloe… i'm also sorry to hear about your loss. I have a Chinchilla calles Busta. I have had him now for about 6 months and he was six months old when i got him. When i went into the store to buy him i asked if someone could tell me about Chinchilla's as i had no knowledge. They told me that they can get stressed from a number of things which lead to hair falling out. Maybe Teddi didn't have enough time in small doses to get used to a new dog which could have stressed it. Or maybe he was ust ill. Its hard to keep track of a Chunchilla's health sometimes. I think what Stacie said is a good point. If your going to take a more exotic animal to the vets you should check that your vet knows enough about that particular animal. If not sure then go to a specialist. Well i may not have been much help but i hope i have helped a bit. Danny