Chinchilla looks 'bedraggled'

[dionysos]

Hi there,
I noticed this morning that my 7-month-old chin (Remy) looks a little 'bedraggled'- her fur looks a bit darker at the ends than it was yesterday. She is eating okay, and I've seen her having a drink this afternoon. All last night she was very active on her wheel, and I haven't really noticed a difference in her personality. It is kinda difficult for me to tell though, as she's usually pretty tired in the day as it is!
I've just put an extra fan in my room (pointed away from the chin cages) in case she's just a little warm, and given her a very basic health check. Apart from the darker, slightly scruffier fur, and a tiny wet patch on her back where she was sitting under the water bottle (daft little thing she is), she looks okay.
There's no patches of fur missing as far as I can see.

Should I be concerned?

Thanks,

Emily

 

[ticklechin]

Picture?

 

[dionysos]

Sorry, I'm an idiot. Thought I'd attached them already.
The first picture is what Remy looks like usually. The second is what she looks like today.

 

[tunes]

She looks wet to me, especially around her ears. I think she has had more than her back under the water bottle. You might want to consider putting it somewhere where she can't get under it so easily. The other thing would be - how humid is it where you are? When it gets really humid here, my chins will get that wettish look around their ears. A dust bath clears it up nicely.

 

[Cass C]

Does she live alone? I only ask because occasionally that can be a sign of chinchillas fighting. Otherwise I would give her a few extra dust baths to see if it gets better. If it doesn't you may want to check for fungal infections as fur loss can be a sign of infections due to getting wet especially if sitting under the water bottle is a common issue with her.