Question:
Poor Pepper just got over his bladder infection, and now this has to happen! I decided to have our three adult males share a cage again as they have in the past. Introductions went fairly well, and I had them sharing a fairly small cage for a few days. There was a bit of sniping and male dominance, but nothing serious, certainly no biting. Then I put the three of them in a much larger cage which they all seemed to be enjoying. The next day Pepper leaped into my arms when I opened the cage door at feeding time. That was not typical Pepper behaviour. He is always cuddly once you catch him, but never volunteers to be held. He had bite marks all down his back, one of which is fairly deep. When one of the other two males came near he was fine, but then the other male came over and Pepper practically dug into my neck and shoulder to hide. The culprit was clear!

I've trimmed off some of the fur around the bites so I could clean them and then put on some Polysporin. Needless to say, Pepper is now in a cage by himself. Any other suggestions for helping his healing along? I've checked the other two males and neither has bite marks, so obviously Pepper, the smallest of the three became the target of "chinchilla testosterone."

Once he heals up, my current plan is to put my two male kits in with Pepper. He will be the bigger guy for a change, and practice sniffs through the cage bars have shown he likes the babies and they like him. Heavy sigh. I really do feel like I have an insane chinchilla posse around here lately! I think I'll have to have t-shirts made up.


Answer:
Here are the bite marks as best as I could grab a quick picture.


Answer:
my goodness Poor pepper is right! Do you think he may need some baytril as well to help ward off any infections? Those bite marks look pretty bad


Answer:
Poor Pepper.. I hope his wounds heal quickly..


Answer:
wow! keep the wound keep and i hope it heals safely!


Answer:
I hope he heals well. what a rough life, the poor guy.


Answer:
Ouchie..hope your little boy heals


Answer:
you can mix some hibitane soap and water and use it as a disinfectant on the wound. just squirt a tiny bit on the wound and towel it off, then follow with your polysporin. It'll help clean deep into the wound.


Answer:
wow, those are some bad wounds...poor little fellow. Just make sure they stay as clean as possible. I know when Kelley got bit, her wound turned into an abcess and that was even worse to deal with.
Good luck!


Answer:
Oh the poor boy! I hope you're able to treat them and he heals fast.
Carleen