Chinchilla hair loss, wired floor shelves...

[Dakota]

My roomates chinchilla, Cheech (if you're wondering, Chong is living with a friend, they were separted to prevent mating), has been losing fur on his back end, and I was wondering if it could be caused by the wired floor shelves?  He spends a alot of time on his shelves.  Is there anything else I should be worried about that might cause hair loss?

[KellyNZoo]

I dont know a lot about Chins, but I've heard they're social... maybe it's stress? Caused by losing his friend?

Is it possible just to get him neutered, and re-intro them?

[Lmbswimmer]

Neutering chins is not highly recommended, they do NOT do as well as rats or other animals.  You can ask on chin-n-quills and see what people have to say.  Is it from being rubbed or from him chewing it off? 
What food is he on?  Hay?  Type of bedding? 
Same sex buddies when intro'd right may help depending on the situation.  If he's fur chewing from stress, it could be environmental or genetic, or a combination.  If he's rubbing fur off - no clue. 
More information posted on CnQ would be a good place to start.  Just weed through the responses VERY carefully there.

[Dakota]

Thanks guys!  I will check out that site.  I think its from rubbing up against the cage wall while sitting on the shelves.

Cheech and Chong were originally part a trio, they were rescued by the SPCA after being starved and mistreated.  They were reabilitated but the third one died.  He's doing really well now but his growth was stunted and he's pretty small compared to other adult chinnies.  My roomate worked for the SPCA at the time.