chinchillas & feas?

lin18lou · Jul 10, 2010

just wondering, gizmo doesn't have fleas or anything, but my mother in law is having us watch her dogs while she is away and yesterday i noticed them scratching and now i'm worried that gizmo might get fleas from the dog. can chinchillas get fleas? and if they can, what can you do to prevent or get rid of them? i've already bathed the dogs and put flea powder on our rugs and vaccuumed, but what else can i do especially if she gets them?

lin18lou · Jul 10, 2010

does anyone have an answer for me?

cindyv3737 · Jul 10, 2010

I don't believe that chins can get fleas. They have very dense fur making it hard for a flea to get to their skin. Chins scratch when they have an itch the same way you or I do. Odds are she is fine.

AZChins · Jul 10, 2010

They can get fleas, but generally they don't because their fur is so dense and they normally aren't in close contact with dogs and cats. I've heard of them getting fleas...it's rare, but it does happen. Generally it will be animals that aren't cared for very well and kept in relatively dirty conditions. But, even in that case they usually get ringworm/fungus before they'd get the fleas.

cindyv3737 · Jul 10, 2010

Thanks Susan. Please disregard my answer. Susan has far more experience than I do.

AZChins · Jul 10, 2010

No...it's okay! It's up in many places on the internet and in several chinchilla books that chins cannot support fleas at all. It is one of those things that people will probably never see! So, it's fairly safe to say that the chins won't get fleas from Gizmo. Humans are at far greater risk of getting the fleas.

ticklechin · Jul 10, 2010

I have seen a group of rescues that came in with them, they were located on the belly and groin area along with under the chin, we just combed them out. I am guessing those ones got them due to the poor thin fur they all had.

lin18lou · Jul 10, 2010

thank you so much! i didn't think since her fur is so thick that she could get them, but i wasn't sure and when i noticed the dogs had them i kind of panicked. i'm so glad to hear that chins can't get them. thanks again guys!