Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Q & A => Topic started by: Snickerdoodlesmom on February 08, 2014, 07:56:38 PM
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My chinchilla Snickerdoodle has dry ears and feet. We've had this problem for quite awhile, but I haven't yet found a solution. I was wondering if I could make my own chinchilla salve out of ingredients like coconut oil, mango butter, peppermint essential oil, (for cooling feelings-- I'd use very little), neem oil, and beeswax. Are these ingredients safe? I would make sure he wouldn't be eating it.
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Here are my thoughts.
Coconut oil is well known for having a laxative effect. It also breaks my mom out in a rash so it may be irritating.
Mango butter seems to be non toxic (based on an MSDS) but should not be ingested because it is pure vegetable fat and may cause diarrhea.
Peppermint oil, although it does have a cooling feeling, is an irritant (which is why it makes a sensation) and should be avoided for skin problems. For people too.
Neem oil is something I've never encountered before but typically tree resins are considered to be a respiratory irritant to animals so I think there may be a risk there.
Beeswax is safe though and might have a sealant effect if left on the skin.
Aloe vera is a good choice if you can get it in a pure form. I have good experience with that in other animals. Others report that vitamin-e can help.
I certainly don't claim to be an expert on those products so any additional input is greatly encouraged.
If you are using paper based bedding I strongly recommend using switching to kiln dried white pine chips. Others with problems have reported improvement with dry skin after switching since paper removes the naturally occurring oils from the skin.
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Neem oil is often used is cold-process lye soaps for dogs which is why I listed it :)
Do you think I can melt some beeswax with some aloe vera and make a salve? The beeswax would seal in the moisture, right? :)
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I don't see why not.