| A few questions received here at KC about male Chinchillas check on this page also for fur rings etc. >> Sexual maturity of young males and females
Kirby turned a year old in June and I must say for about the last month, he has turned into such a wild little boy. He no longer tolerates cuddling unless he is very tired and he now all of a sudden is chewing on things he shouldn't and never did before, such as his play pen walls and his wooden cage stand which is really a TV stand. He has several toys he use to play with that he doesn't really touch anymore, such as wooden chew sticks, paper towel and toilet paper rings, plain, pine boards and his stuffed dog. He will still jump in my lap and on my shoulder, but not for very long anymore. I still spend three hours every night with him and an hour in the morning. Should I do something different? Is this just a phase? Will my darling little boy return? Could he be, well, let's see...up here if a male deer (buck) is in the season for mating, they are refered to as "in the rut" and do silly things. Is there a rut season for male chins? Could this be why he's acting so To check for fur rings monthly Some males are very lazy and don't clean themselves properly. You have to check for them. Start by getting someone to hold the chinchilla for you, gently ease out the penis using a little petrolium jelly, bath the area with warm salt water or use hibiscrub liquid from the vets shop, to soften the ring, then remove the ring gently by teasing it apart with your nails. If the ring is too tight and it sometime is, then you will have to be very careful with next stage. Cut the fur ring with small nail scissors, this takes a very steady hand, for obvious reasons. Finally once the ring is removed cover the area well with petrolium jelly and encourage the penis back into the sheath. It may be so swollen that it will not fully retract, if this is the case then monitor the male closely and bath with cool water. Memo*Never try to examine and check the penis without petrolium jelly or similar lubrication to pull it out of it's sheath. Further info may be seen in the link to a thread on the forum of C&Q.. Male fur/hair rings How to pull/push sheath back ready for examining for /hair/fur ring Spoiled Chins site which has an excellent video Playing with their bits. Males do this. Some more than others. They both clean and play with their penis this is normal, bit disgusting I know but there you go lol. When a new chinchilla reaches maturity they do have 'mad' turns and seek a mate. This is often the danger age for with two chinchilla males living together. They start to squabble and fight with each other (Have heard of a few who have fought to the death of one of them, as the owner wasn't there to stop it) if there are females pregnant. It may be a phase as you say. Hopefully it will be. In UK we have a product which is used for parrots who bite their feathers. Has a very bitter taste. I should think they will have similar to this in US. Look in the bird section of a pet store. Aileen had one chinnie always whewed the bottom of one of her doors. This product when applied to the door did stop the chewing. About his toys, yes, they do get bored with the usual toys. Aileen always maintains that they need fresh wood every so often to chew on. She replaces her untreated pine wood chew blocks once a month. When she puts the new ones in they all get excited and start chewing quickly on the new wood. It may be an idea to give him a new toy which has a new smell etc. ................ mum Although I have both a male and a female I have noticed that they have different stages of personalities. They went from friendly to not so friendly. I found out later that they didn't like me trying to handle them so much, and when I stopped they started coming out and sitting with me and playing again. I think I was giving them too much attention. Also, they are the same way with chew toys. They got really bored of them and soon switched to all my wooden furniture. I cured this by spraying it with a non-chew spray you can find on the web (it's called Fooey!), it's all natural and non-toxic. I tried it myself, very bitter, won't do it again, don't recommend it, trust what the bottle says, lol! Also, try introducing new toys or chews he hasn't seen before or give him one that he hasn't had in awhile, it might spark his interest again! Hope this helps!! Arlene Thank you for all the replies. I didn't give him as much attention and tried that approach and gave him a new chew stick. Guess who was my best friend again all of a sudden! Little bugger! I think he was getting bored with his toys. I guess if I had the same things every day I would get bored too. I'm guessing this will be a continuing behavior so I will be investing in blocks of wood every month for him. Thank you again for the idea. Will also look into Fooey. On another site, believe it or not, a couple chin owners said their chins licked it right up! lol. Leave it to Kirby to have a taste for bitter things! Hope he doesn't and it works. Thanks again and you all have a great weekend! Sonya
Also check HERE for other advice on male problems email kingdomchinchillas@hotmail.com © Kingdom Chinchillas 2001 telephone Aileen (overseas use 44 country code before dialling) mobile - 7519489574 between 7:30pm - 9:30pm emergency anytime up until 11pm uk time zone | 
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