Chinchillas being wet?

[RylanWebster]

Hello all,

Sorry I am posting so much, I have a lot of questions! So I know chinchillas can't get wet, but what exactly does that mean? Should I completely freaked out if their water bottle drips on their heads? What happens if the granite slabs I freeze in the refrigerator for them to sit on in the summer get wet because of condensation? Is that a problem? I recently just moved them into the same cage, and I can't seem figure out how to attach the water bottle low enough for them to drink. I have a ferret Nation cage. I will attach pictures of the water bottles. How do I know if both of the chinchillas are drinking? When they were in separate cages I marked their water level with marker on the bottle, and then I could see how much they were drinking. But now I'm concerned that the smaller one can't reach the water bottle and isn't drinking. I'm not sure what to do!

 

[Amethyst]

The problem with them getting wet is their fur is too dense to dry on their own, so it can end up getting moldy or get a fungal infection. So if they get wet you have to make sure you fully dry them off. If they get dripped on by the water bottle just wipe off the fur with a towel, if it leaks on them to the point of actual soaking an area you can use a hair dryer on low or no heat and a comb to fluff the fur to dry them off. I haven't had problem with condensation just putting the tiles in the fridge (not the freezer), but if you do you can leave it out for a few minutes and then wipe it off before putting it in the cage.

I would put the bottle down one horizontal bar, you want the bottle to be low enough that they can reach it without stretching to get to it, but high enough that they aren't bending down weird to drink, roughly 2-4 inches up from the floor. Also it's better to put the bottle on the outside so they don't accidentally knock it off. Here is one of mine on the side of my FN cage.