Allergic to my chins after seven years?!??!

[shieldmaidenjen]

Hi all,

I'm very concerned. I've had chinchillas for the past seven years and have not had an allergy problem. Recently I have been getting itchy and red after holding my chins. No sneezing or runny eyes... yet. However I know that sometimes allergies can actually take YEARS to build up. This actually happened to me when I had rabbits - I had them for years and then became allergic to their fur.

These chins are my kids. I hope that I have not developed an allergy to **them** as opposed to their dust bath or hay etc. but I am not sure how to tell.

So the question is "what do I do now?"

My chins need their dust bath and hay, and I'm not going to deprive them of those things. But I want to be able to hold them without getting itchy or a rash and to be around them comfortably.

Any tips on how I can keep some of the allergens from the dust bath and hay under control? And do you think I might actually be allergic to the chins themselves? I know most people aren't but I guess it could happen.

Help!!!

 

[becky12883]

It's more likely that you're allergic to the hay and dust than the chins themselves. You can try using less loose hay and more hay cubes. For dusting I've seen people suggest dusting them in the bathtub with the fan on and curtain closed, then when they are done rinse all the dust down the drain. That keeps it from spreading throughout the house. Vacuum as often as possible, even inside the cage. I believe Whimsy's menagerie sells a hypo-allergenic dust too. If you are using wood shavings for bedding that can be the cause too. That's an easy switch to fleece with only a small litter pan. I guess that's all I can think of for now. There's a lot of threads on this topic, I'd suggest using the search at the top in the blue bar to see if you can get some other tips. I hope you can control the allergy and keep your fur-babies!

 

[Godofgods]

They do have a chinchilla allergy test now. Only some labs do it tho. It's a blood draw test. If you can find one, you could consider getting that test done to know for sure.

 

[shieldmaidenjen]

Thank you for the suggestions, Becky!! I am going to try the dust bath IN the bath so to speak (hehe).

Luckily for me the chins have their own room across the house from my bedroom so it isn't like I am miserable with allergies 24/7, mainly just in the chin room. I aired it out yesterday and cleaned the air purifier so I hope that helps, but I am definitely going to look into Whimsy's hypo-allergenic dust because I honestly think the dust is the main culprit.

I don't know what I would do without my little "chindren" so I am hoping I can get a handle on this. I think it is the dust.

 

[mknoblich1]

I hope that works for you. Let us know if it helps you please.