A Health, Happy Chinchilla

Chinchillas are usually pretty healthy animals as long as they have the right environment and diet, however there are a few things that we have delt with that we can offer some advice about. There are some areas, such as tooth problems, that are addressed much better on other sites. The CA Chins site has excellant information on tooth problems and is on our Favorite Links page.

In choosing a place for your chinchilla's home, remember that they are social, and like to be near people. You will want to consider traffic patterns, think about whether small children will be around, or if other pets can get to the cage. Do not put the cage where hot, direct sun will shine on it. Chinchillas do not mind cool temperatures, but in warm months you will need to be sure to watch the heat index in your home. If the temperature and humidity reach over 80 degrees, it is too warm. Many people keep tiles, clay flower pots, a two liter bottle with frozen water, or other such items in their freezer in case power goes out and you loose your AC. Putting these in the cage, or even a bag of frozen vegetables, will help your chinchilla to stay cool. Relocating temporararily to a cooler basement is another option.

Fur fungus, or ringworm, is fairly common, especially in humid weather. You will see bald spots of dry skin on your chinchilla. We have had good luck using Lortimin powder spray once or twice a day. If the spots are close to the face, you can use Lotrimin cream-just be careful not to get any in their eyes. If we have a case that is proving difficult, I will also spray the bedding and shelves. For very bad cases it may be necessary to see your vet. They can prescribe an oral medication called Griesafluvin. When we used this, it was mixed as a liquid compound, and they put apple flavoring in it. We had no problem getting the chins to take it. when you see new fur starting to grow in, you can stop using the Lotrimin.

If you notice your chinchilla has soft stools but otherwise seems healthy, you can give them BeneBac. This can be ordered from your vet, or can be found in some pet stores. Put about an inch sized ribbon on your finger and usually the chin will lick it off. Give it for three days and things should return to normal. If the stools look wet, with a gooy coating, or your chinchilla shows other symptoms of being ill, a trip to the vet is advised. They will want to check for parasites such as ghiardia.

Chinchillas can develop respiratory problems. If you hear a wheezing sound when your chinchilla breathes, or you hear them sneezing, you should have your vet check them out. There are antibiotics that can be given, but you need to catch the problem quickly. If you have a cold or another respiratory illness, make sure you wash your hands before handling or feeding your chinchilla. Germs and viruses can be passed on.

We have seen a condition in chinchillas that seems to be a type of stress shock. The chinchilla will not move much or seems to fall to the side. If your chinchilla is lethargic and acting odd, we advise a trip to the vet for a shot of Dexemethesone. This is a steroid that gets their metabolism going and should ease the symptoms of shock. It is sometimes necessary to administer a second shot, which your vet can send home with you. We have lost chins do to this condition, so do not wait long before acting. We recently sold a 4 month old chin to a family in another city. After they got her home, she was falling to the side when she walked. Their vet told them that young chins can suffer a drop in blood sugar when stressed, and had them to give her pancake syrup from a dropper. She was fine within 3-5 minutes. This is our first experience with this treatment, and we caution that if you try it and your chinchilla does not respond quickly, a trip to the vet is in order.

Usually the first sign of tooth problems will be drooling. If you notice that you chinchilla's chin is constantly wet, try to check their mouth. Sometimes there is just a piece of hay caught in back teeth, and sometimes you can see or feel a spur that will need to be taken off by your vet. If the chinchilla has watery eyes, a root could be growing into the eye socket. This is a serious problem and requires the vet. If you vet cannot find anything wrong with your chin's teeth, they may want to check farther down the throat. We had a female the was drooling but had no evident tooth problems. The vet scoped her throat, and found a sore that had developed an infection. We were able to treat her with antibiotics, but if it hadn't been caught we could have lost her.