Chin Not Dusting!

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Itsbwelch92

New member
Joined
Jan 21, 2019
Messages
4
Hello,

About a month and a half ago we adopted a chinchilla. This is our 3rd chin but the only one we currently have. She came from a pet store original, was purchased by a couple and they were forced to rehome her after only a week. They estimate her age to have been about 4 months but she is fully grown so we aren't exactly sure how old she is (and truthfully the prior owners didn't seem to know very much about chinchillas so I'm not even sure how accurate that age is).

Now for the problem... to my knowledge she has never dusted. Not while we have had her and not while the previous owner did.
She is not greasy AT ALL... which is strange since she hasn't had a bath in well over a month.
I have tried 4 different baths and 4 different dust products. She will go into them willingly and digs around a little but then just hops out and goes back to her wheel and toys.
I have tried to put dust on her and she jumps and squeeks/barks at me a little.

Its almost like she doesn't understand how to dust. Maybe because she's from a pet store?
I can't imagine she would be too young to want to dust... I've read they start dusting almost instantly.

And yes, I will probably take her to the vet in the near future but she is perky as a peach, eats like a piggy, drinks regularly and shows no signs of stress or discomfort at all.
Any recommendations? Ideas? Similar experiences?
 
If she is full grown then she is at least 6 months to a year. If she grows at all then she is likely under a year, if not, more likely over a year. Unfortunately getting them from the pet store it's almost impossible to know the actual age. They tend to say what they think you want to hear to make a sale and since most people tend to want young animals they say "it's a few months old".

The dust you want to be using is blue cloud/blue beauty dust, not the bath powder (too fine) or the sand (too coarse). Some companies that sell it are Oxbow, Lixit, and All Living things, it's all the same product just different brand labels.

If you live in a fairly dry climate, and/or keep the room at good low humidity it would explain why she isn't greasy. That doesn't mean she isn't getting dirty though, so you do need to teach her to use the bath. It is entirely possible she was never taught, it's something they learn from their mother when they are about a week or two old. If for some reason the mother never showed her she might not know what a dust bath is or how to bath. Try putting her in the bath and just sprinkling a little on her and rub/pat it into her fur, she will likely shake it off at first and be like "what the heck!?". Since she isn't greasy I wouldn't worry about it too much, just work with her, ever few days just put her in the dust bath and sprinkle dust on her, she should get it eventually. Once they realize how good the bath feels they generally get the idea.
 
She is larger than the other 2 we've had, so I do thing she is fully grown.
I have tried the All Living Things and now am trying Oxbow (along with others).
Strangely enough, I live in Florida where there is no shortage of humidity. (lol) However, that is where she was born so maybe she has adjusted.
I will keep helping her bathe. The last time I did it she did seem to enjoy it a little more than the first time.
I'll keep you posted!
Thanks for the assistance!
 
Dusting

Hi.
My one Chin used to bath in a wooden bowl. Then I got fancy and bought some bath houses - made specifically for Chins. He immediately stopped dusting. I tried everything, even picking him up and putting him in the bath house. He would sniff around a bit and then hop out.
Eventually I put the wooden bowl back in and he started to dust again.
Not sure what you are using, but try an open container like the bowl that is not too deep or shallow. Mine is around 10cm. Yes - the dust goes all over the place, but worth a try.

ps. my other Chin loves the enclosed bath house. In fact he baths wherever he sees sand. Even though they have been with me for a year and have been living in exactly the same circumstances, it shows you how different they can actually be from each other.
bowl.jpg
 
Hi, I had the same issue when I first got my little guy. After he started getting used to me, he was comfortable enough to take a dust bath. Since you’ve only had him a few months, I’m assuming it’s the same problem. I just use a cardboard box and my two chins seem to be fine with it!


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