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Chinchilla Dust Bath

1tandrews4 | Jun 25, 2010 |

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Having a chinchilla for a pet is great. They are small, furry, and fun to have around. They do require a bit more work than some other animals, like a cat for instance. One example is the chinchilla dust bath. There is special product available on the market that chins use to bath themselves.

Chinchillas are from the AndesMountains. It is important to keep their surroundings, especially the chinchilla cage, close to their natural habitat. There, they bath in dust and ash to keep their coat clean. This helps keep away moisture and oils that build up in their thick fur. A chin that is not provided with the right bath can actually form mold in their coat, and this is not good. It is not good to give your pet a water bath like other animals. Chinchillas have the densest fur in the animal kingdom, with some 160 hairs per root.

Once or twice a week is usually good enough to keep your chin healthy and clean. 10 to 20 minute sessions will generally do the trick. It is not good to just leave the dust bath house open in the cage. Your pet will spend too much time in their and they can dry themselves out. Considering they can't take showers, you can not use dandruff shampoo to get rid of the dry flaky skin that comes with too much dust bathing.

One option is to keep the bath house out of the cage completely and only put it in the cage when needed. One good thing about this setup is that it leaves more room in the cage for your pets to play. The other option is using a bath house with a closeable lid. If you decide to go this route, remember to use safe wood, as chins will chew it up. The advantage to this setup is that it can be another chew 'toy', and give your chin another place to perch. This is very important for pet owners that use metal cages that do not have many solid floors for the chinchilla to stand.

A great tip that I learned is using the bath as a way to lure my chins back into their cage after letting them out to play. Anyone that has owned a chinchilla knows that this can be difficult at times. Raisins work well, too.

Luckily, chinchilla dust is not a rare exotic pet supply. It can be found at your local pet store or one of the big chain pet stores. Another good option is to buy in bulk online. The bath house does not need to be cleaned every time, but it does not take long for it to be filled with dropping.

Chinchilla dust baths are a blast to watch. It is hilarious watching them spin around in them. It is important to their health. Take good care of your pet, and keep safe supplies in their chinchilla cage, and you will have a happy, healthy pet to play with for years.