My chinchillas get dirty from time to time, but I have to restrain myself. How to clean chinchilla fur involves some tricky work that steers you away from traditional washing methods.
Keep in mind why this animal cannot and should not be getting wet. Find out what you should do instead to clean chinchilla fur in this article below.
How to Clean Chinchilla Fur
Cleaning a dirty chinchilla is usually done with dust baths. This is a rodent that comes from a dry and arid location where they are not used to getting wet.
Their fur is so dense that it is virtually impossible to dry them completely if they are soaked in water.
This is why we use spot cleaning techniques to gently dab or pat down an area that is stained or dirty. Then, the spot is dried thoroughly with a towel or low setting on a hair dryer.
Can You Wash a Chinchilla?
No. Chinchillas should not be submerged in water as this can lead to a variety of health problems including fungal infections.
They are often able to clean themselves and they don’t require a great deal of assistance to continue to smell clean. Just providing a dust bath for around ten minutes a few times each week should be sufficient.
How Do You Clean a Dirty Chinchilla?
You may use a moist towel, but you should just massage it in the dirty spot or stain on your chinchilla’s dense fur. This is because you do not want the skin of your chinchilla to come into contact with water.
You should make an effort to refrain from doing this as much as you possibly can and you should always wash your hands before touching your chinchilla.
Dry the area by patting it down with an absorbent towel or decide to use a gentle hair dryer on a low setting.
What Happens if Chinchilla Fur Gets Wet?
Since chinchilla hair is so dense, even when the animal becomes wet, it performs an outstanding job of retaining the moisture it has absorbed. As great as this sounds, it’s actually detrimental to their health.
Because of this, drying the fur takes a very long time. If the moisture is allowed to remain in the fur for a sufficient amount of time, fungus can start to develop and create an infection of the skin.
What Cleaners Are Safe for Chinchillas?
I try not to use any chemicals, but if I have to apply a little soap, I go for Dawn Dish Soap because it has much fewer suds or bubbles.
Otherwise I put some vinegar and water in a spray bottle and shake it up to get a 50/50 solution. This will be your secret weapon for cleaning the chinchilla enclosure.
It may be sprayed anyplace with new paper towels or a cleaning cloth that has not been previously used. In order to clean all of their food and water bowls, you are going to need dish soap as well as a clean sponge.
Safely cleaning a chinchilla with soap requires a damp cloth and gentle patting of one spot. Spot cleaning is not to be overused and only performed when absolutely necessary while making sure their fur is completely dry afterwards.
Do Chinchillas Smell?
No. The chinchillas themselves normally do not have a very pungent odor, but the cleanliness of their enclosure is something that must be attended to on a regular basis.
Even if you can’t use typical cleansers and air fresheners, there are a lot of other ways to make sure that the space where your chinchilla lives is always spotless and smells wonderful.
I use vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Although vinegar doesn’t smell great, the strong odor dissipates and takes any other nasty smells along with it.
How to Clean Urine off a Chinchilla
Incontinence, unsanitary living conditions in the cage and pee spraying are the three main causes of these stains. It is possible for it to induce infections.
The stains on their body caused by urine most commonly affects their groin and the bottom, although it can also occasionally spread to the back and the belly.
It is possible to get rid of it by using dust baths, a cloth that has been dampened, or in the worst situations, soap and water in that particular spot where the urine stain exists.
Do Chinchillas Clean Themselves?
Yes. Washing your chinchilla with water is one of the things you really must not do. The rodent’s lack of waterproofing oil causes the hair to take in water after becoming damp.
Chinchillas could struggle to dry up and experience health problems like:
- pneumonia
- fungus infections
- mold development
Chinchillas tidy up after themselves. They regularly bathe in fine sand dust that absorbs moisture from the fur to clean and degrease their hair. This keeps the hair apart and stops knots from forming.
How to Brush Chinchilla Hair
It is advised to brush your chinchilla to preserve their lustrous and silky fur. For eliminating debris and any dead hair, combs or carding brushes work well.
The chinchilla’s hair has to be brushed with care.
- Check the hair for knots
- Separate it
- Use the comb to get rid of any debris
- Brush the hair in the direction of its natural development.
The short, soft-bristled brushes work softly on the coat without making contact with the skin. A double-bristle brush on the other hand, smooths and shines the coat while removing knots from one side of the coat.
Chinchilla Dust Baths
In the wild, chinchillas maintain their cleanliness using a dust bath. They utilize dust to maintain their dense fur to keep it healthy, smooth, and not excessively greasy since it can’t get wet where it doesn’t rain very often in their native habitat.
Chinchillas adore rolling around in the dust. It relieves their tension and brings them delight. Simply check for “chinchilla dust” on the label of the product you wish to buy for their next dry bath.
Conclusion
The fact that chinchillas have more than 80 hairs in each follicle is a formula for disaster when it comes to water.
If they are exposed to water, they will not be able to dry off properly and have an increased risk of developing a variety of ailments, including respiratory infections and others. This is why spot cleaning and dust baths are much better options.
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