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[kstump]

So I have a question about the Dust Baths...I gave my chinchilla a dust bath on Sunday and again on Tuesday....Am I giving them to close to each other or is this acceptable because if I stay on this same schedule I will need to give him one tonight. I just want to make sure I am doing this correctly Thanks!!

[gasaraki03]

Good number is 2-3 times a week so that sounds like a good schedule to me.

[kstump]

Okay! Awesome! I just didn't want to over or under do it. Thank You!

[GrayRodent]

I usually give mine one every other day but sometimes he does not stay in the dust very long. He is very easily distracted and sometimes I'll give him an extra day in between so he'll dust more vigorously and stay longer. Also sometimes when I've handled my chinchilla a lot in a day his coat looks kind of oily so I'll dust my hands before I handle him and it cleans off the fur a bit on days when he's not supposed to be in the bath. This prevents skin dryness problems you would get if you dust every day.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Grayrodent, that is such a good idea! My chinchilla gets oily very easily because we love to pet him so much!

[GrayRodent]

It was Jamie's suggestion to me when I asked her about my first chin. He got so bad I was afraid he would get annoyed and start fur chewing. She advised against dusting every day which is what I was considering.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Can fur chewing result from extra oils? If yes, I'll bathe Snix  more often.

[GrayRodent]

I know it can be caused by other things that feel irritating to them including fungus, skin irritants, and persistent high humidity. I don't think it's unreasonable than if the fur is heavy with oils to the point of clumping like mine was that it could have some ill effects considering the fur looked and felt very different when it was clean. One of the problems we had was that we lived in an RV so the humidity inside was high and compounded the problem. It pretty much went away once we moved into a house and improved as the temperatures lowered.

My first chin had very dry flaky skin so there were times I'd dust him every two days instead of every other day to help with that but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. My second chin has very healthy looking skin and his fur doesn't seem to slick down with oil near as easily.