Crusty Spot on Chinchilla's Nose

[mollysinead]

Hi all! This is my first post on this forum as my boyfriend just surprised me with the chinchilla of my dreams on Friday. We adopted a little chinchilla from someone who could no longer take care of him. Around a day after we got little Feeny home, we noticed that he had some crusty bits on his nose.

It's almost as if it's dirt or poop, but we aren't completely sure and we thought we would post here to seek advice. I will attach two pictures but unfortunately we aren't sure if they will be helpful.

** Also she gave us her cage, we will be replacing the plastic shelving with wooden ones just as soon as we can get to Menards. Thanks in advance!!

 

[ChinnyMom]

i would take him to the vet to get checked out. crusty nose could indicate fungus or it could be dried mucous from a URI (upper respiratory infection). either way, treatment is needed and a vet visit is in order asap.

 

[mollysinead]

Just heard from previous owner

So we contacted his previous owner to ask about the spot... She said that she noticed his nose was dirty and she put some alcohol on his nose to kill the germs (because she saw it was dirty?) and she noticed his nose has never looked the same since. (She did give him regular dust baths... but for some reason she did this to his nose... We aren't really sure... We didn't know her previous to this)

Now I know not to get a chinchilla wet or moist so I know that she has messed this up... Is there any course of action to fix this? We feel so bad for poor little Feeny.

 

[Sandi]

I agree with Chinnymom, please take him to a vet. If its fungus it can spread quickly and if it's a URI it can be seriously detrimental to your chin.