Two times in the past, our oldest chinchilla, Bunny (5yrs old), has had injuries to her front legs. One time we thought it was an injury caused by her cagemate, and the next time we thought she had gotten her foot caught in the cage somewhere and tried to chew off her leg. Both times, the areas of the wound were clear of fur and her leg, chest, and shoulder had been chewed. We brought her to the vet both times and she was given oral antibiotics and a topical salve.
Once again we have noticed this same issue occuring, except this time we found out that these wounds are self inflicted. We first noticed a small area on her right shoulder that was missing some fur and had a small scab. We decided to keep an eye on it. We then noticed that she was biting her leg/chest/shoulder. She has cleared all the fur from the area and is continuing to chew on the skin. The area surrounding her leg is now a wound. It seems to scab over quickly and she is not openly bleeding. We have contacted the vet and have an appointment for monday. We still have some of the salve from last time and the vet said to use that and keep an eye on her. When using the salve, it seems to keep her from biting any further (tastes bad?), but we are still worried. The vets in our area do not have much experience with chinchillas. Bunny's usual vet had never even seen one the first time we brought her in. Does anyone have any ideas on why Bunny keeps biting herself? Possibly a severe case of fur biting? Any thoughts suggestions would be helpful.
Here is a little breakdown of her environment. We have a room just for the chinchillas with plenty of things to play on. We have five chinchillas. They each have their own cage. Their cages are spacious (approx 5' x 3' x 3' with 4 ledges), and have plenty of toys and enclosed sleeping/resting areas. The room is not drafty and is kept cool. We have a dehumidifier in the area outside the room for when it gets humid. They are left alone during the daytime. Every night we take the chins out for a run. They get a
dust bath every third day or so.
