dry skin

[5melrose5]

Can someone post a photo of a chin with dry skin? I have never seen that. How would you see it through the fur? On the feet?

 

[iayla]

Their ears get scaly looking, and the feet can get so dry they crack open, causing bumblefoot. I dont have any pictures to add tho. Luckily nobody here's gotten very dry skin.
~Barb~

 

[5melrose5]

Thanks! My chin looks great, but it never hurts to know what to look for. What would you do for a chin with dry skin?

 

[alli713]

Dry skin tends to happen more in winter when the air is dry. But it can also happen if you give too many dust baths.

My beige tends to get dry ears during winter, but I don't have any pics.. It was better this winter with them being in the basement where the air isn't so dry.

You can put Bag Balm (bought online or at places like Walmart or farm supply stores) or Vitamin E on the pads of their feet and ears to help with the dryness.

 

[AZChins]

I've seen dry skin in chins that are eating an improper diet or a diet of stale pellets. I agree, most of the time you'll see it on the paw pads and ears, but sometimes you can see little dry skin flakes in the fur. At that point the chin is probably suffering from a dietary deficiency, maybe too little vitamin E in the diet.

I've used Jojoba oil on the feet and ears. With the ears it seems to sort of help dissolve the icky stuff that can accumulate there.

 

[EnslavedByNinjas]

I had been giving dust baths once a day through winter, as it became my only way of getting Nibbler back in his cage. This was for 4-5 months - and recently I noticed his ears have gotten scaly looking. I've cut them back to around twice a week, and limit them to about 1-2 minutes of dust bath time. It hasn't gotten any worse, but it hasn't really gotten any better. :\

Would aloe vera lotion or just dry skin lotion be permissible? I've never even heard of bag balm or jojoba oil.

ETA - the diet is PANR and L & M timothy hay currently.

 

[AZChins]

His ears could just be caked with dust and greasy stuff. One thing you could try is take a little bit of cooking oil (canola, corn oil, stay away from olive oil) put a few drops on a cotton ball and rub the ears a bit. See if you get any dirt and grime off of them. 90% of the time the ears look moisturized just from doing that because it breaks up and removes all the icky build up on the ears from dustings and everything else that the chin has come into contact with. If you do this, wipe off all the excess you can so that it doesn't end up making the chin extra greasy. After that, wait about an hour and give the chin a dust bath. That will give the oil a chance soak in and not just make the dust stick right to the ears.

I would stay away from lotion because of the ingredients. I wouldn't want the chin to eat any of it...things like lotion make me nervous.

 

[EnslavedByNinjas]

You know, I hadn't heard anyone talk about that sort of an issue. That sounds probable! I'll look with a fresh set of eyes and see if that looks like the problem and try it out if so. Thanks!