This is a rather long post, heads up. I took my chinchillas to two different vets and they both say they’re fine. I’ll try to attach pictures after this but they’re on my phone and I’m on desktop.
TL;DR: I hate to say that I was not taking care of my chinchillas over the first six years I had them due to ignorance. They didn’t live neglected or bad lives by any means, but they ate Kaytee Fiesta Chow and had paper bedding. They have a two tier Ferret Nation cage. A few months ago I tried to switch my girls from Kaytee Fiesta Chow to Owbow Garden Variety when I learned about how bad Kaytee was for them. TWO MONTHS after making the full switch my white mosaic chinchilla, Tina, suddenly had an enormous patch of fur missing between her shoulder blades and a strip of fur on her tail. My grey chinchilla, Aretha, was also missing a strip of fur on her tail. I was very worried and took them immediately to the vet. They said they were bartering for treats and to switch back. I didn’t want to, but decided to do 50/50 of Kaytee and Oxbow. A month and a half ago, I moved out of my parents house and switched from paper bedding to fleece. I also adopted a very docile cat. I thought Aretha was acting weird a few weeks in. She started barking some nights for almost an hour or more. She’d stay sitting on top of her wooden hut and just stay there. I took her to a vet here in the new city I moved to and the vet here said they both looked beautiful. Both vets have said it’s anxiety related. Aretha is 1.1lb and Tina is 1.25lb. Today I found clumps of her fur in the cage Aretha’s missing a nickel sized patch near the base of her tail. There’s been no change in their environment. She’s anxious and I don’t know what to do.
Now for those that want/need the detailed version, here it is. Please use the TL;DR for reference in some areas. I'm sorry for the length.
I purchased Aretha and Tina from Petland for my 16th birthday. I know, boo Petland. I’ve learned quite a lot over the past few years. They were a bonded pair and they had been in the pet store for months… They needed a home. Thankfully they stopped selling chinchillas after these two. Originally they lived in my room but they were too loud at night (Tina does some hardcore crossfit on her wheel) so we moved them to the den. My house was pretty quiet so it wasn’t a problem. They also lived with my dog, a yellow Labrador. Tina actually put Riley in her place when I was introducing him – this full grown Labrador dropped to the ground and showed her his belly after sniffing her. He knew the pecking order when getting treats and always got his last. On the rare occasion he’d sniff the cage and they’d sniff back. They also never cared when my neighbor’s Great Danes gave their cage a curious sniffover. So they’re good with other animals. I used paper bedding, timothy hay, and Kaytee pellets the entire time. They were happy and healthy.
I joined some chinchilla groups on Facebook in late 2018 and found out I was doing some things wrong. I was upset and decided to try to make things right. I got them treatless food and tried to adjust their diets. Tina was the problem child during this time. She’d look at the bowl, then me, then back at the bowl, then back at me, then she’d throw a violent tantrum consisting of kicking up bedding and throwing around toys. After two months she finally stopped her bull**** and I thought I finally beat her (metaphorically) into submission. Shortly after that is when I noticed Tina had an ENORMOUS patch of fur missing on her back. It was so large that I could see her skin without blowing on it and noticed a gap whenever she leaned over for food. I freaked out and with the miniscule chance it might be ring worm (and because wtf was going on) I rushed her to the vet. To make matters worse it was finals week and I was moving in a week. The vet they’ve been seeing since I got them said they’re both healthy and were bartering with me to get their old food. So I started doing 50/50 or 25/75 mixes to try to get them to cut the **** while still getting something healthy in them.
Shortly after that I moved. I moved to a city an hour away to go to university. They came with me before I brought the adopted cat over. When we moved I kept their cage, of course, but changed their bedding from having paper bedding to fleece bedding I bought. So much easier, I wish I was allowed to do it years ago. I noticed Aretha staying in one place for most of the day on top of her wooden hut and she’d start barking a lot at night for no apparent reason. Fresh food, fresh hay, fresh water, fleece was reasonably clean (I vacuum every day but there’s no keeping up with all the poo). I thought maybe she was used to more noise in the house with people going about their business so before I’d leave for the day I’d use Alexa to turn on a quiet gently spoken podcase to play through the day.
I adopted Cry Baby from the shelter I volunteered at for a year. I was going to be living alone and frankly the chinchillas just weren’t enough company to keep my depression at bay. I THOROUGHLY screened the cats at the shelter to find one I felt was lazy and failed to adopt their hunter instincts. She’s a bit chunky and rather lazy and while she liked wand toys she never went after a toy moving fast across the floor. She’s a talkative kitty and I’m so happy with her. She’s already helped me a lot with the mental health struggles that come with moving to a new city. There was no issue when I brought her home and she seemed to be adjusted immediately. The first time she approached the cage (my apartment is 1B1B and only has two real rooms, no isolating the girls) Tina lunged at the bars and kacked at her and she went running. That theme seems to have held because she normally just watches them from a distance, though I have caught her once or twice sitting on the TV stand next to their cage. She’s never tried to stick her paws in the bars (not that they would fit) or antagonized them in any way, just watched ChinTube. Most of the time they don’t even notice her. I don’t think Cry would act any differently when I’m gone. Even so, I’m planning on creating a curtain attached by velco to go around the bottom half of the cage for if the ladies wanted privacy.
And for those curious, I always put Cry in another room before I open the cage. Even if it’s just to give them new food.
Aretha doesn’t really bark anymore but had a barking episode last week at around 2AM. Today when giving them some fresh hay I found a big clump of fur at the bottom of the cage. I checked her over and she seemed fine except for a big bald spot above the base of her tail around the size of a nickel when I blew air on her. I can’t get a picture of it because I’m by myself and can’t get a picture of the awkward area alone. They’re currently having play time in my bedroom and happily running around like nothing’s wrong. I’m very worried about Aretha’s change in behavior. She’s always been smaller and more skittish than Tina but this is brand new behavior that started before I even moved. It hurts to watch her suffer anxiety like this and I wonder if it’s because I changed their lifestyle after so long. I’ve considered changing everything back to the way it was, but I want them to live the healthiest lifestyle that I can possibly provide them.
They’re only six, but these issues have made me start wondering what I’m going to do when one of them passes. They’re bonded. I have a feeling it will be Aretha whenever it happens because she’s always been a tiny and weak thing. Tina is visibly and physically much stronger and is also the dominant one of the two. What would I even do? I don’t want to have these thoughts. Two exotic vets have said she’s perfectly healthy and it’s anxiety related.
Please help. How can I make her less anxious? Thank you for your time.
Side note, I found Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Chinchilla Food at the pet store in my new town. I purchased it and am planning to try it because I’m so desperate to get something healthy other than hay into them and it seems they are DEAD SET on Kaytee.
TL;DR: I hate to say that I was not taking care of my chinchillas over the first six years I had them due to ignorance. They didn’t live neglected or bad lives by any means, but they ate Kaytee Fiesta Chow and had paper bedding. They have a two tier Ferret Nation cage. A few months ago I tried to switch my girls from Kaytee Fiesta Chow to Owbow Garden Variety when I learned about how bad Kaytee was for them. TWO MONTHS after making the full switch my white mosaic chinchilla, Tina, suddenly had an enormous patch of fur missing between her shoulder blades and a strip of fur on her tail. My grey chinchilla, Aretha, was also missing a strip of fur on her tail. I was very worried and took them immediately to the vet. They said they were bartering for treats and to switch back. I didn’t want to, but decided to do 50/50 of Kaytee and Oxbow. A month and a half ago, I moved out of my parents house and switched from paper bedding to fleece. I also adopted a very docile cat. I thought Aretha was acting weird a few weeks in. She started barking some nights for almost an hour or more. She’d stay sitting on top of her wooden hut and just stay there. I took her to a vet here in the new city I moved to and the vet here said they both looked beautiful. Both vets have said it’s anxiety related. Aretha is 1.1lb and Tina is 1.25lb. Today I found clumps of her fur in the cage Aretha’s missing a nickel sized patch near the base of her tail. There’s been no change in their environment. She’s anxious and I don’t know what to do.
Now for those that want/need the detailed version, here it is. Please use the TL;DR for reference in some areas. I'm sorry for the length.
I purchased Aretha and Tina from Petland for my 16th birthday. I know, boo Petland. I’ve learned quite a lot over the past few years. They were a bonded pair and they had been in the pet store for months… They needed a home. Thankfully they stopped selling chinchillas after these two. Originally they lived in my room but they were too loud at night (Tina does some hardcore crossfit on her wheel) so we moved them to the den. My house was pretty quiet so it wasn’t a problem. They also lived with my dog, a yellow Labrador. Tina actually put Riley in her place when I was introducing him – this full grown Labrador dropped to the ground and showed her his belly after sniffing her. He knew the pecking order when getting treats and always got his last. On the rare occasion he’d sniff the cage and they’d sniff back. They also never cared when my neighbor’s Great Danes gave their cage a curious sniffover. So they’re good with other animals. I used paper bedding, timothy hay, and Kaytee pellets the entire time. They were happy and healthy.
I joined some chinchilla groups on Facebook in late 2018 and found out I was doing some things wrong. I was upset and decided to try to make things right. I got them treatless food and tried to adjust their diets. Tina was the problem child during this time. She’d look at the bowl, then me, then back at the bowl, then back at me, then she’d throw a violent tantrum consisting of kicking up bedding and throwing around toys. After two months she finally stopped her bull**** and I thought I finally beat her (metaphorically) into submission. Shortly after that is when I noticed Tina had an ENORMOUS patch of fur missing on her back. It was so large that I could see her skin without blowing on it and noticed a gap whenever she leaned over for food. I freaked out and with the miniscule chance it might be ring worm (and because wtf was going on) I rushed her to the vet. To make matters worse it was finals week and I was moving in a week. The vet they’ve been seeing since I got them said they’re both healthy and were bartering with me to get their old food. So I started doing 50/50 or 25/75 mixes to try to get them to cut the **** while still getting something healthy in them.
Shortly after that I moved. I moved to a city an hour away to go to university. They came with me before I brought the adopted cat over. When we moved I kept their cage, of course, but changed their bedding from having paper bedding to fleece bedding I bought. So much easier, I wish I was allowed to do it years ago. I noticed Aretha staying in one place for most of the day on top of her wooden hut and she’d start barking a lot at night for no apparent reason. Fresh food, fresh hay, fresh water, fleece was reasonably clean (I vacuum every day but there’s no keeping up with all the poo). I thought maybe she was used to more noise in the house with people going about their business so before I’d leave for the day I’d use Alexa to turn on a quiet gently spoken podcase to play through the day.
I adopted Cry Baby from the shelter I volunteered at for a year. I was going to be living alone and frankly the chinchillas just weren’t enough company to keep my depression at bay. I THOROUGHLY screened the cats at the shelter to find one I felt was lazy and failed to adopt their hunter instincts. She’s a bit chunky and rather lazy and while she liked wand toys she never went after a toy moving fast across the floor. She’s a talkative kitty and I’m so happy with her. She’s already helped me a lot with the mental health struggles that come with moving to a new city. There was no issue when I brought her home and she seemed to be adjusted immediately. The first time she approached the cage (my apartment is 1B1B and only has two real rooms, no isolating the girls) Tina lunged at the bars and kacked at her and she went running. That theme seems to have held because she normally just watches them from a distance, though I have caught her once or twice sitting on the TV stand next to their cage. She’s never tried to stick her paws in the bars (not that they would fit) or antagonized them in any way, just watched ChinTube. Most of the time they don’t even notice her. I don’t think Cry would act any differently when I’m gone. Even so, I’m planning on creating a curtain attached by velco to go around the bottom half of the cage for if the ladies wanted privacy.
And for those curious, I always put Cry in another room before I open the cage. Even if it’s just to give them new food.
Aretha doesn’t really bark anymore but had a barking episode last week at around 2AM. Today when giving them some fresh hay I found a big clump of fur at the bottom of the cage. I checked her over and she seemed fine except for a big bald spot above the base of her tail around the size of a nickel when I blew air on her. I can’t get a picture of it because I’m by myself and can’t get a picture of the awkward area alone. They’re currently having play time in my bedroom and happily running around like nothing’s wrong. I’m very worried about Aretha’s change in behavior. She’s always been smaller and more skittish than Tina but this is brand new behavior that started before I even moved. It hurts to watch her suffer anxiety like this and I wonder if it’s because I changed their lifestyle after so long. I’ve considered changing everything back to the way it was, but I want them to live the healthiest lifestyle that I can possibly provide them.
They’re only six, but these issues have made me start wondering what I’m going to do when one of them passes. They’re bonded. I have a feeling it will be Aretha whenever it happens because she’s always been a tiny and weak thing. Tina is visibly and physically much stronger and is also the dominant one of the two. What would I even do? I don’t want to have these thoughts. Two exotic vets have said she’s perfectly healthy and it’s anxiety related.
Please help. How can I make her less anxious? Thank you for your time.
Side note, I found Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Chinchilla Food at the pet store in my new town. I purchased it and am planning to try it because I’m so desperate to get something healthy other than hay into them and it seems they are DEAD SET on Kaytee.
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