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[Premedattack]

Hi there everyone, i have a minor concern that i just wanted to get some opinions on.

I have had Chewbacca (male chinchilla) for 5 months now and he has been slowly and steadily getting more tame week by week, over the last 2 weeks he has increasingly let me put my whole hand in his cage and give him lots of fuss. Whilst doing this i noticed a few 'bumps' on the base of one of his ears (top of head area) and so got my brother to hold him for me to get a closer look. On inspection i noted that the bumps were what looks like dry skin, or a scab that has dried but not fully come off. i put Chewy back in his cage as he is not a fan of being held and sat and stroked him for a while and then tried to work the scab away from his fur, it came of very easily and he seemed to be encouraging me to go for the area the scab was in as i assume the tightness of something like that would cause discomfort and he liked the relief. I assumed he had over-groomed at some point causing the scab to form or it was a healed old injury.

I thought that it was sorted but then a few days ago i noticed slightly further down his head there were several more rough patches, so i got him out again and looked through his fur and sure enough there are a couple more of these scabs, they are all the same as the first, just what appear to be healed scabs, they look like dry skin and again he lets me touch them and shows no discomfort. The skin around the area is completely normal, no inflammation or discolouration and he seems a happy and healthy little chap. The only area that seems different s the base of his ear where the first scab is which has a tiny bald patch no bigger than 2mmx2mm.

He is having normal behaviour, normal poop, normal urination and is eating and drinking well, he is also very active.

I was wondering if these are a symptom anyone recognises of anything serious or just a case of over scratching an area. I feel there is also a possibility that it is due to rubbing his head on his cage, as he often sleeps on his side with his head up against his cage bars.

I want to say that i am fully prepared to go to the vet for this even if just for a check up as i care greatly for my Lil man. But after ludicrous amounts of research i haven't yet gotten the indication of it being anything serious. 

I will attach some pictures of the area so you guys can take a look. Thank you in advance for any help/advice you can give!

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/7163/image1oka.jpg
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9008/image1rz.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/1340/image2iv.jpg
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8567/image2cg.jpg
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8817/image3hjk.jpg
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/9637/image3jve.jpg

[GrayRodent]

Those are some good pictures. I hate to say this but I think it's ringworm and I have seen this scenario play out on this board a few times. The photographs look like others I've seen although I have not experienced this personally with a chinchilla. The good news is it is not serious as long as it treated and as long as your chin doesn't cause itself damage licking the spots. The bad news is it is not going to be easy to treat it and it may take a couple of weeks to fix. You should see improvement in a week. If you do not then it is necessary to go to a vet.

There should be no problem talking to the vet and asking questions or going in for a checkup to get a positive diagnosis. He might prescribe an oral anti fungal treatment. If I were in this situation I would go with treating with Desenex and only go that route if there is no improvement in a week.

Others on this board have been successful using Desenex powder and mixing it with the dust bath 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of volcanic ash. Some say this is bad for their respiratory system so if you see any signs of respiratory irritation stop doing it and go a different route.

Bathe your chin once a day in this. Understand that after a week of daily bathing this can cause dry skin and minor eye irritation but it may be a necessary evil. You can treat watery eyes with eye drops like natural tears saline solution. If you have any other chins you will want to treat them the same way because it is highly contagious and they probably have it too. Make sure to wash your hands before and after handling your chin to protect both you and your pet.

The Desenex will not kill the ringworm but suppresses its ability to spread. Your chin's immune system has to kick in to fight it. This can take some days. Before that happens it will get worse and then it will get better and the hair will start to grow in the middle of those bald patches. Until this happens you must clean the cage, toys, dust bath - everything once a day to stop it from spreading or re-introducing the infection back to the chin.

The infection itself will cause some stress to your chin so watch it carefully for food and water intake and for problems with its feces. Just make sure it doesn't go off its food or you will need to take extra measures.

I am not a chin expert or owner and this advice is no substitute for research. This is what I think you can expect and it is what I would do in this situation.