blood in the cage - Paw Talk

princesskira · #1 02-26-2007, 03:30 PM

i have 2 female chinchillas in a cage together, they have never been with a male so i know they are not pregnant. i came downstairs this morning to find that their standing board had a significant amount of blood on it. i checked both chinchillas carefully and did not see any signs of injury, they are both beige so if there was blood on the fur it would have been pretty esay to spot but i couldn't find any anywere. does anyone have any thoughts on where the blood could have come from and if it is something to be worried about? i didn't think that chinchillas had "periods" like humans do but could that be it?

***Jade*** · #2 02-26-2007, 05:24 PM

No, they don't bleed when in heat. Check the pads of their back feet for wounds - often times, especially in the winter, these will dry and crack, causing bleeding.

If that isn't it, I'd pull each of them out individually and very methodically check for other wounds. You may have to blow into the fur to separate it.

tarita2004 · #3 02-26-2007, 05:32 PM

yes

look deep into their fur, in their ears, every little toe crack, and mouth if you can...could be anywhere . keep us posted

Kendalle · #4 02-26-2007, 06:19 PM

maybe there is blood in the stool? or urine? it could be a sign of urinary tract infection or something...

princesskira · #5 02-26-2007, 07:11 PM

i really don't think it has anything to do with the droppings or urine, there is no sign of blood in any of the shavings below the cage and i clean on sundays so they're pretty fresh.

angel_baby · #6 02-26-2007, 08:45 PM

That sounds odd. I would definitely check very carefully and see if there are any wounds of some sort.

Skyye · #7 03-22-2008, 06:02 AM

In regards to the chins bleeding in heat....

I have had chinss for 2 years .. My grade 7 class and I visited a ranch and rescued 2 from the fur trade ...they gave birth during class time

We housed them together for 6 months with no problems or pregnancies as the kids wanted to see them live as a family ( I teach in an inner city school and this seemd very important to them)

I brought them home for the summer- seperated kits and parents- and never took them back to school.
I thought my female was pregnantand put a pink mini blanket in cage for her to play with , tug on , lay on .. whatever...on which I found a stain...watery blood ... first thought her water had broken ... ?????? but with the happenings later on that evening realized she was in heat. The male woke me in the night crying like a baby, barking, chirping, clucking and just in a frenzy chasing the female. I then realized she was indeed in heat...over 2 years and that is the first it was as evident.
Over the next 2 days I found 2 mating plugs... so hoping all goes as smoothly as first time and babies in a few months.

She is otherwiseas healthy friendly, happy and frisky as ever....so could that stain not have been because of heat?