With their charming and perky personalities, chinchillas can be fantastic pets. Their most outstanding characteristic, however, is their lush, soft, silky fur, a thick coat that is specially adapted for their native home in the Andes Mountains of South America. Unfortunately, when these unique critters are pets, they can be susceptible to several conditions that can damage their luxurious coats. If you understand their proper grooming needs and fur care, however, you can keep your chinchilla happy and healthy with an amazing coat.
Chinchillas are naturally neat animals that self-groom regularly, which means very little supplemental grooming is ever necessary for a healthy pet. Dust baths are their preferred method of grooming, and it is essential to use very fine, powdery sand formulated for pet chinchillas — see your local pet store or veterinarian for appropriate recommendations. In the summer when heat and humidity is highest, they may need frequent dust baths, while in the cooler, drier winter the bathing frequency can be decreased.
These fungal spores can persist in dry environments for up to several years. Infected chinchillas have small patches of dry, scaly skin, commonly on the nose, ears, and legs. However, severely affected animals can have these patches anywhere on their bodies, and the affected skin may appear red, inflamed, and scabbed.
A veterinarian can diagnose ringworm by culturing the affected skin in special fungus culture media, or by having a veterinary laboratory run DNA tests on the hair to see whether fungus is present. Treatment for ringworm involves a thorough clean-up of all areas in which the chinchilla has been in contact to ensure that no infectious hair is left behind that could re-infect the animal patient, other animals, or people.
Mildly affected animals can be treated with topical prescription medications applied to the areas of infected skin. More severely affected animals may require long term treatment with oral prescription medications, as well. Hair that grows back into the chewed regions may be shorter and darker than the original fur. Chewing occurs most often over the back area down to the tail but can occur anywhere on the body.
Theories about why chinchillas chew on their hair include stress, hormone imbalances, dietary deficiencies, underlying dental problems, boredom, the presence of other parasitic or fungal skin infections, and a genetic predisposition.
The most widely accepted explanation is that fur chewing is a displacement behavior in response to stress in the environment, such as from an overcrowded cage, the presence of aggressive cage mates or other predatory pets such as cats and dogs , too frequent handling, or other anxiety-inducing circumstances.
A veterinarian can diagnose fur chewing by performing a thorough physical examination, including an oral exam, to rule-out dental disease, as well as a series of skin tests to eliminate the presence of skin infections such as ringworm. Proper diet must be assured, too, to rule-out dietary deficiencies. The cause of fur chewing may be difficult to pinpoint. Treatment may simply involve elimination of possible stressors by providing a larger cage, handling the pet less often, removing other pets or aggressive cage mates, and ensuring a proper diet.
Offering other, more appropriate things to chew on, such as hay and wooden toys, also may help. Chinchillas can begin losing fur if they are extremely stressed or frightened. You might notice small or large patches of fur missing from your pet.
This fur loss can occur over a matter of days or even hours. This includes loud noises near their cage. If you put their cage in an area of your home where people frequently go, this is a possibility. The best way to take these animals out of their cage is by firmly holding onto their lower bank area. Improper handling can cause your chinchilla discomfort and stress, so you want to keep this in mind.
If this is the case, you should notice that the fur loss is limited to the area you are grabbing when taking them out of their cage. A bacterial or fungal infection can also cause chinchillas to lose fur.
If a wound that your pet sustained gets infected, you might notice that there is a bald patch of fur around it. These infections can be very serious and even life threatening, so you need to get them treatment right away. Look for redness, swelling, and discharge around the affected areas.
Your veterinarian should be able to give your pet a medication to eliminate the infection. Fur loss can also be caused by a parasitic infection. Ringworm is fairly common among these animals, and it can be transmitted from other pets or even humans. It could also be fleas, which are equally as troublesome.
Your veterinarian can treat the parasites with a topical medication, which is usually very effective. The sooner you get treatment for your pet, the sooner their discomfort will end. There are lots of different things that you can do to prevent hair loss with your chinchilla, and it is important that you know what they are. It is crucial that you give your furry friend a dust bath at least once or twice each week.
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