Dust question

[5melrose5]

As of now, I leave the dust bath in the cage. Rigsby heads straight for it after every trip out of the cage. I have read that they should only have it a few times a week? He seems to really like it after his daily run around out of the cage, so do I have to remove it? I scoop the poo out everyday while he is out,he never pees in there and I only put a little dust in at a time,like a film canister size amount.

 

[Rickman]

More than 2-3 times a week can dry out their skin!

 

[Stackie]

Unless you are in an extremely humid area, dust baths should only be given a few times a week. My chins only get them 2x a week during the winter, and 3x during the summer. Any more than that can dry out their skin, as mentioned before.

 

[5melrose5]

Yeah everyone says that, but his previous owner left it in the cage,so he has used it everyday for over a year now and his skin is fine? Is it more an older chin issue?I think he likes it to cool down after a run. We are very hot/humid here,but he is in an air conditioned room. In the wild they would bathe as often as needed? What does dry skin look like in a chin? You cannot really see their skin through all the fur. My guy looks great so far, but Iwould like to know what to watch for. Thanks.

 

[Claire D]

If it's the bath in your photo then I'd be tempted to suggest removing the dust except for a couple of times a week - that way he gets the best of both worlds - he gets to keep his "house" and also does not have his skin too dry.
He may just like using it because the porcelain/ceramic is cool - one of my friend's chins does the same and loves his little house - he still rolls, sleeps or sits in it even if there's no dust in there.

 

[jmdebb]

Yah leaving the dust in the cage at all times isn't good. I think you should try claires idea, I think it sounds great.

I know with my chin chin, I say he as OCD with his dust baths :laughitup:. When it's his bathtime he just won't come out of the bathhouse and just keeps rolling in it.. And when he finally comes out, he runs around and then goes right back in... But I don't let them dust everyday.

Jean

 

[5melrose5]

Leave dust bath in

If it's the bath in your photo then I'd be tempted to suggest removing the dust except for a couple of times a week - that way he gets the best of both worlds - he gets to keep his "house" and also does not have his skin too dry.
He may just like using it because the porcelain/ceramic is cool - one of my friend's chins does the same and loves his little house - he still rolls, sleeps or sits in it even if there's no dust in there.

Thanks! That is a great idea! He does sleep in there,and watches TV from there. I just never thought about him liking the coolness of the ceramic because we have the A/C on for him. It makes sense though.Such a simple idea and I could not come up with it!, LOL!:wacko:

 

[Riven]

There is bacteria and such in poo as well as urine, which then gets onto the dust. Think of it this way, if you had a tub full of water with a dog turd in it, would you want to just scoop the dog poo out and then take a bath? Most people wouldn't, lol.

 

[mishellyshel]

claire nailed it!

i do let my one chin with malo who is handfed to bathe every day, actually several times a day. mostly because well he is gonna die soon and he loves it so i want to give him one pleasure in his short life but also because i have to wipe his fur of the excess food with a damp cloth and as soon as i do he heads straight for the bath, which i now keep in the bathroom.

 

[5melrose5]

Actually the bacteria in their poo is already in their gut,It does not hurt them.They walk and role in it all through their cage after all. Plus they eat it too. You cannot keep a cage poop free,LOL! Another chins poo might make them sick. My guy is alone and he never pees in the dust bath. He pees in only one spot in a corner of the cage.I just scoop the poop out every day,and clean it once or twice a week when his cage gets cleaned. There would be no limits on dust bathing in the wild anyhow.

 

[iayla]

Why does everyone insist with this "in the wild" stuff? Our chins arent wild bred, they are captive bred and have adjusted to domestic life. Do you have a dog? Do you NEVER bathe him, and never feed him, and make him hunt & scrounge for his dinner? Because "in the wild" a dog wouldnt get a bath, and would sometimes go a week or more without food.

You dont have a wild chinchilla, you have a domestic one, and the dust bath every day is going to cause dry skin, eye infections, and all sorts of problems if he keeps it up. Just because it isnt hurting him now, doesnt mean that it never will. You can eat McDonalds every day for 10 years and try to tell me "well its healthy, because i'm not dead yet" but I still wouldnt believe you.

Sorry if that comes across sounding rude, I dont intend it in that "tone of voice" so to say. Just hoping to explain why its not such a great idea to do things a certain way.
~Barb~

 

[sublime5981]

It's always better to be proactive than reactive. Why wait until a problem occurs to do something about it when you could be doing things to prevent it from ever happening?
Before I joined CNQ and got educated on chin care, I used regular tap water for my chin. He never got sick (11 yrs) but, I still switched to filtered water because, why risk it?