Chinchillas and blacklights?

[rawrrr]

Okay, so this is kind of a weird question, but last night my boyfriend got some blacklights from a neighbor who was moving out, and he wants to put them in our room. We keep the chinchillas in our room, so I told him I had to check on whether that was safe first. (We also got some strobe lights, which due to the fact that they can cause seizures in humans... are staying away from the chins at all times!).

So, blacklights and chinchillas! Can it damage their eyes/fur/etc? Are they safe for use whenever, safe for moderate/occasional use, or just better avoided all around? I've also heard they can be used to find where the chinchillas usually pee (for litterbox training purposes)... if I wanted to use them for this, should the chins be out of the cage?

 

[sheena lee]

Someone else might be able to give to better advice, but I don't think the light can harm their fur. Eyes I'm not sure, but I've had blacklights around both cats and dogs and didn't see any adverse effects.

But like I said, someone else might be able to tell you for sure.

 

[ChinnyMom]

i think the occasional use of black lights would be fine. i know i personally wouldn't want them on all the time if i had them, and i'm sure the chins would feel the same. it is unnatural light, after all.

 

[Stormcrow]

if you would give it a try please show us a picture of a creepy chinchilla in blacklight colors plox

 

[rawrrr]

Hahaha okay, I'll try. I'd like to see some glowing-white bellies! I anticipate Sniffles looking truly evil.

 

[Riven]

I bet it would be interesting to see how much urine is actually in a chin's fur...

I tend to think that if it bothers me, it bothers them. If I'm in a black light for a long time it bothers my eyes. For a short time I don't think it would be an issue.

Strobe lights don't cause random seizures, it usually causes seizures in people who are prone such as epileptics.

Either way, I think that if they have a hidey house they can get out of it if they don't like it things should be fine. Most animals will remove themselves if they can if they are uncomfortable.

 

[rawrrr]

Thanks, Riven! I guess if the issue comes up again (the boyfriend seems to have forgotten about the blacklights for now), I don't need to worry about using them every once in a while. Might use them anyway just to check for chinchilla urine - we want to litterbox train Sniffles, because his cage gets bedding everywhere.