Fur Chewing Problems Among Chinchillas

"This is Lauren on behalf of Expert Village and we are talking about fur issues in chinchillas. Fur chewing is a behavior trait that can be inherited or sometimes it just starts and stops on its own. There's not a whole lot that's known about this problem. Fur chewers though should not be allowed to be bred just in case that it is something that they're going to pass off to their offspring. Sometimes they chew on each other's furs; sometimes they go after their own. It's a lot like a bird that'll pluck its feathers under stressful conditions. It can be a sign of stress or unhappiness. What it looks like is fur that's been bitten really close to the skin. The skin's actually not punctured in any way, but the fur is definitely chewed down really low. If you do have a fur chewer, try moving it away from any other chinchillas to see if there's another one that's causing it to stress out. Sometimes the location change can be all that it takes to get the chinchilla to feel better. Make sure that they're on a really quality diet to make sure that it's not some sort of deficiency in the food that you're feeding them. There's times when fur chewing can start and stop just unexpectedly without any rhyme or reason. So a lot of times it's just a cosmetic issue that you can't do a whole lot about. Although, if you do try to move them or change the situation somehow, there's always the possibility that that could do the trick. Stay with us for part two of "Fur Issues"."