Chinchilla Grooming

[morpheus83uk]

All,


I have currently got three chinchilla's and they are all happy and healthy and love dust baths and they get regularly groomed. However I have some brushes which I was given by a breeder to use to groom them. I have since found out that they are not chin safe so I have binned them and apologised profusely to my lovely little chins! I think they have forgiven me since they all give me kisses shortly after

I am on the lookout for some Chinchilla Combs and I am in the UK and they are like gold dust! I am unable to find any. I have researched this and I believe that I need a Number 2 and a number 4. The number 4 initially for the rough comb and then the number 2 afterwards for the more fine comb. I have found some rosewood combs but I am not sure if they are chin safe so I am wondering if they are suitable and if not does anyone know where I can get some from and rough costs?

Here are the combs I have found:

http://www.viovet.co.uk/Rosewood_Gr..._find=114393&gclid=CMPY1_-JgcACFSsTwwodPLMAnw

Many Thanks

James

 

[Lovelywhiskers]

It's not very necessary to brush a chinchilla. It often gives them stress/fur slip. I've had only 1 chinchilla whom liked to be brushed, but just under her chin. My 4 I currently have do not like to be brushed what so ever and maybe it's best to leave them alone if they don't like to be brushed.

 

[becky12883]

Yeah, unless you're showing your chins, brushing or combing them isn't really necessary. Even show chins usually only get groomed for a few weeks before the show, not all the time.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Thanks for the replies.

They have quite a lot of fur which seems to be coming out and lots of what look like gaps in their fur when they stand up. I have seen around that its to do with their fur and such so I wanted to comb out the knots and things to help them when they have a sand bath. After some further reading we have quartz sand and I believe Sepiolite is the best for them and this will help with their fur and health.

Do you guys have any opinions on this? I am obviously wanting to take care of my chins the best I can so any tips on keeping their fur and over all selves healthy are greatly appreciated.

James

 

[Lovelywhiskers]

Okay so I did more searching about chinchillas with the need to be groomed. No one here is wrong nor completely right.

The primary reason for grooming your chinchilla is to remove dead fur and matted areas from the coat. Often a chinchilla is not able to easily shed all the dead fur, and some fur becomes trapped close to the skin.If the fur is not removed, the chinchilla will not have as clean a coat (because the dust does not penetrate all the way down the hair shaft) nor will the chinchilla be able to regulate temperature as easily. The dead fur does not allow air flow or ventilation.

Chinchillas typically replenish their coats every three or four months and may exhibit mild to heavy degrees of shedding. They tend to shed more during seasonal changes such as fall to winter and spring to summer. By removing dead fur, you are doing your chinchilla a favor. Many times chinchillas ingest large amounts of dead fur during self-grooming, which can lead to intestinal blockages. Keeping your chinchilla well groomed helps avoid that.

Chinchillas that shed heavily should be removed from the cage regularly so the cage interior can be vacuumed. This removes loose fur from the cage that might otherwise be accidentally ingested.

Chinchillas with thick, cottony coats tend to have more dead fur trapped within the coat and require more frequent grooming than chinchillas with thinner, coarser or straighter fur. Breeders typically use fine metal combs with sharp, pointed teeth to comb out chinchillas. Most have a set of four combs that they use to gradually work through the coat from its roughest phase to its finest one. These combs are very sharp and if used improperly can hurt either the owner or the chinchilla. Many pet owners find they can use a good slicker brush made for rabbits and sturdy metal comb to remove the dead fur from their chinchilla's coat.

Often, dead fur tends to collect near the base of the tail, on the back and near the back legs. Depending upon how good a "personal housekeeper" your chinchilla is, mats may form around the genital area, and these should be gently removed. You will be amazed at how much dead fur can come out of one coat. Sometimes the pile of dead fur is as big as your chinchilla.

http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/critter-experts/chinchilla/how-to-groom-a-chinchilla-1112.aspx - Link to where I found this info.

I personally would avoid grooming a chinchilla unless necessary. The grooming process can be very stressful for the chinchilla. If your chinchilla does happen to have knots/dead fur and a lot of it that doesn't seem to be getting off their fur then as above look for a comb that will help with this situation and even scissors if necessary (but of course be really careful and get assistance). Out of the 4 chinchillas I currently have the 1 with the more thick kinda cottony hair needs more attention then the rest. She does have some knots and often I try to get them out, but I don't do it all at once. Just one bit at a time so it won't stress her out. The 3 others have no signs of knots or dead fur that needs to be removed.

You can also take a picture and post it of your chinchilla fur if you have any other questions or you need opinions about his/her fur.

But from what you said on last post it's either lose fur, which can be easily removed from any brush/comb. I sometimes see lose fur sticking up on my chinchillas. Or it might be some sort of mat/knot. If you follow the fur to the chinchilla skin you can find out that way.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Thank you for all that info its very good! I will check out the link and I will get some pic's of them currently and you can let me know if they need grooming or not.