URGENT - Question about mites/bugs

[fatkinglet]

I believe there are mites on my chinchillas, I caught a bug that is in tiny size with red-brownish color. I have seemed my chinchillas using their legs to scratch their bodies, plus I have been bitten by them as well since last week

I need help on what I could get from local store to eradicate them besides seeking a Vet....:hair:

 

[Riven]

Sounds like fleas. Do you have other animals?

I would do a search about fleas using the search function and see if you can find anything, I'm not sure how you would go about treating them on chins actually...

 

[fatkinglet]

I only have two chinchillas at home, no other pets. I adopted the two chins a little more than a month ago

 

[lilchinchilla]

Where do you keep them and how often do you clean their cage(no offense - just a question is all.)?

Mites aren't common in chinchillas.
I got one chinchilla imported some years ago, with ear mites and they quickly went away on their own accord a week or two after he came to live with me.

I was surprised to be honest, but then again the owner had not kept him in a clean environment. I have never seen mites on chinchillas other than that nor fleas either. The ear mites went away on their own with no treatment (as my vet had suggested at the time.).

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Check your bedding, hay, food or anything else you put in their cage. Give them a dust bath. It might encourage them to jump off. I doubt they like dust and know it kills some bugs.

 

[fatkinglet]

I kept the pets in the living room, clean and hot water spray the bottom pan and change the bedding twice a week. I am not exactly sure what they are, as I have only caught one in my bed with tape. I have living here for 8+ years and never had any pest/bugs.......the bug is very small and I couldn't get a good picture of it, I just suspect is a mite or can be fleas....I need help for sure

 

[Tagna]

Could it be a bed bug? I know they have been on the rise in Toronto. Here is a link:

http://www.pestcontroltoronto.ca/Pests/bedbugs.html

 

[Riven]

So you're saying you didn't actually see them on the chins then?

If you don't see them on the chins I wouldn't worry about the chins, but figure out what they are for your sake! Chins rarely have pest problems.

 

[riceball347]

I heard that chins fur is way too dense to support the growth of fleas.

What I do know is that it could be mites living in their ears and sometimes just traveling down to different areas of their fur. I had a chin with mites and I took him to the vet. They treated him for me (not sure with what but I can call) and they went away really quickly. I had to bring him back for a follow up a few weeks later. It was like $20.

I know you don't want to call your vet so I suggest using http://www.amazon.com/Small-Animal-Relief-Spray-7-5oz/dp/B000BH4ZP8 <-- it's a small animal mite and flea spray. I used to work at an exotic pet store and we used it on some of the chins there. We HAD to make sure the chinchillas fur became dry again, otherwise you'll get fungus or other skin issues from the wetness of their fur. You might call an exotic vet to double check if it's chin safe. Advice from a vet is always free

Also, wash your bedding, and spray the cage with some safe mite off spray.

 

[fatkinglet]

So you're saying you didn't actually see them on the chins then?

If you don't see them on the chins I wouldn't worry about the chins, but figure out what they are for your sake! Chins rarely have pest problems.

I will appericate of your commets if it is constructive. My place is clean and never had any bugs for all the years I live in, it is an apartment on 17th floor. I have the two chins for a little more than a month, no other pets, I started getting bitten after holding them.

I would like to know if chins do use their legs to scratch their bodies as a normal act

 

[Tagna]

I see my chins scratch. I can't say how often as it's not something I've kept track of, lol. Have you checked your mattress for the signs of bedbugs. They are getting bad in a lot of Toronto apartments. It doesn't mean you are dirty or your place is dirty they are just on the rise there.

I would also inspect your chins if you think they have bugs. Just by blowing through their fur you should see signs if there are any.

Then I would make sure the bedding and food is fine.

I hope that this turns out to be nothing! Bugs of any kind are a pain to deal with.

 

[kimbt622]

I will appericate of your commets if it is constructive. My place is clean and never had any bugs for all the years I live in, it is an apartment on 17th floor. I have the two chins for a little more than a month, no other pets, I started getting bitten after holding them.

I would like to know if chins do use their legs to scratch their bodies as a normal act

Yes, chins will scratch their bodies normally. They'll usually do this while grooming themselves or just when they're itchy

 

[riceball347]

Just like any pet if their skin is irritated they will use their back feet to scratch at their bodies. At least mine do when they have an itch. It almost looks like what a dog or a cat would do with their back leg.

 

[fatkinglet]

I just sent my gf to a family doctor and hopefully the doctor can help to identify the type of the bugs. The bugs could be coming from outside as I am not 100% sure if is from chins or not, but I will check the chins in the morning.

And, is okay to give chins a warm water bath with soap?

 

[Tagna]

NO, don't give them a bath. I would just wait for what the dr says. Let them dust bathe and see if they have any bugs on them. There is no reason for them to have a bath if they don't have bugs.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

No, it is not necessary (nor recommended) to give them water baths. They have such dense fur that it can take hours with a blow dryer (on cool setting) to dry their fur thoroughly. They can overheat from the drying or catch a chill from being wet. You are not even sure that the bugs are coming from them...it is unlikely.

 

[Spoof]

If it is a mite, it is probably a bird mite and it probably came in your shavings or from a nearby bird's nest. They can crawl around on young chins and chins with not-so-dense coats. The vets around us when a friend got them couldn't ID them for us but did let me look at them through a scope. Took me several nights of internet research to come up with something, but they are killed by a chemical in an over the counter bug spray. Don't remember which one.

However, once we removed the shavings, sprayed the house, and cleaned the cages they disappeared off the chins without having to treat them with anything. In general, dust bathing will kill bugs because it messes up their exoskeleton.

Good luck!

 

[riceball347]

My boyfriend is an ecology major (graduating saturday! yay!) Most of those insects work off of passive respiration system in the form of open holes which connect to every cell of their body. A dust bath can disrupt their respiration and kill them! He said he'd give that a shot before a bath! He said you can leave their dust bath in their cage over night and hopefully they'll hang out in there all night long and suffocate those bugs!

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

Chinchilla fur is, in general, too thick for pests to live in. Wild chinchillas do NOT have fleas, mites, ticks, or other pests living in their fur (their ears are a different story) because the fur is so thick, that the bugs suffocate before reaching the skin of the chinchilla.
This coupled with my own observations of my chinchillas scratching themselves with their paws/legs makes me HIGHLY doubt your chinchillas have bugs. People itch themselves all the time, and they don't always have lice or scabies...sometimes you just have an itchy spot on your leg or something--it's the same with animals

 

[fatkinglet]

It is bed bug as determined by doctor...