Urine on chinchillas fur

[marsjordan]

Hello everyone!

Pluto has been with me for a little over 3 months and he has been doing amazing! Except for one single bad habit he seems to have picked up in the last couple of weeks.. Lately for play time, he comes out of the cage and within a few minutes will urinate on the hardwood floor, which is fine for now... but then he almost immediately rolls around in the puddle. He does this atleast 70% of the times he pees while outside the cage. He gets a dust bath about 3 or 4 times a week but he still seems to roll around constantly, with or without urine on the floor. Is this a sign of an underlying problem, and does anyone have any advice on drying him off after he gets himself all wet..? Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[Sage12]

I can’t help you with the pee issue. However, when they go back in the cage after a dust bathe they still have dust on them that comes off when they shake. Also, if they get a tiny amount of dust on the floor they will roll in. My chinchilla will chew her lava ledge and then roll in the dust it leaves even if I just gave her a dust bath.

 

[Amethyst]

I would just try to clean up the pee as soon as he pees on the floor so he can't roll in it. For cleaning him off you can use paper towels and unscented organic baby wipes and then a dust bath. If he is pee trained you can also try putting his litter pan out so he has a proper place to pee. I would also look at how long you have him out and when he pees, if it's normally after awhile of being out you may just need to shorten the play times.

As Sage12 mentioned any little bit of dust will cause them to want to roll, even chewed up lava ledge/chews and sometime the sawdust from chewing up wood. So long as he isn't rolling because he is itchy it doesn't mean anything other then they like to roll in dust.

 

[marsjordan]

I would just try to clean up the pee as soon as he pees on the floor so he can't roll in it. For cleaning him off you can use paper towels and unscented organic baby wipes and then a dust bath. If he is pee trained you can also try putting his litter pan out so he has a proper place to pee. I would also look at how long you have him out and when he pees, if it's normally after awhile of being out you may just need to shorten the play times.

As Sage12 mentioned any little bit of dust will cause them to want to roll, even chewed up lava ledge/chews and sometime the sawdust from chewing up wood. So long as he isn't rolling because he is itchy it doesn't mean anything other then they like to roll in dust.

He's actually peeing within a minute or 2 of coming out of the cage! I usually try to clean it as soon as he does but there's quite a few times where he will pee and immediately roll on the spot. I will definitely attempt litter training soon if this keeps up.. thank you both!

 

[WWPH]

Usually chins like to stay dry so I guess you do have a unique problem.

It is not a healthy habit and I not heard about this as well. Consider change the dust bath brand and type. Which are you using now?
I might go as far as putting a dust bath container into his cage. And see if it helps eliminate the situation?
Also 3-4 times bath a week seem a little excessive, I know it contradicts but I will go for 2 or even 1 time a week bath. Chins are not like human and do not need daily baths. Like dogs and cats they don't do daily baths.

My take is they roll because they think it is a kind of 'bathing' process. What is the room temperature? When you hold the chin, is their body warm? If yes you need cool the air temperature.

This is not a common problem, but when you have chance to meet a vet, be sure to mention this bad chinny habit? I wonder what the vet will say about this as well.....

 

[marsjordan]

Usually chins like to stay dry so I guess you do have a unique problem.

It is not a healthy habit and I not heard about this as well. Consider change the dust bath brand and type. Which are you using now?
I might go as far as putting a dust bath container into his cage. And see if it helps eliminate the situation?
Also 3-4 times bath a week seem a little excessive, I know it contradicts but I will go for 2 or even 1 time a week bath. Chins are not like human and do not need daily baths. Like dogs and cats they don't do daily baths.

My take is they roll because they think it is a kind of 'bathing' process. What is the room temperature? When you hold the chin, is their body warm? If yes you need cool the air temperature.

This is not a common problem, but when you have chance to meet a vet, be sure to mention this bad chinny habit? I wonder what the vet will say about this as well.....

I've been bathing him a little more often just because he's had issues with fur matting from the previous owner. I keep the temp in the room at 68-70 and he doesn't feel overly warm. The dust is left over from the previous owner as well and is just the kaytee brand dust. I'll definitely bring it up to the vet next time I see her!

 

[Sage12]

I have heard that some Kaytee dust makes the chinchilla itchy. I am not sure if this is just a rumor though.

 

[marsjordan]

I have heard that some Kaytee dust makes the chinchilla itchy. I am not sure if this is just a rumor though.

I hadn't heard this but I'm not a fan of any of the kaytee products in general.. His previous owner barely bathed him so I got the container mostly full and I'd hate to just toss the whole thing..

 

[Sage12]

That was just what I heard so I stayed away.

 

[slugworthh]

I never thought that dust made a difference myself, but it does. Grab some chill dust, and just visually compare it with the Kaytee side by side, and you will see how much thicker it is. In my opinion, seriously and jokingly Kaytee stuff is for the birds!

 

[Amethyst]

I agree with the kaytee dust being low quality, I've used it in the past when I first got chins, it's gritty and leaves the chin's fur feeling gritty (until they shake it all off) and not as clean since the grains don't seem to penetrate the fur as well.

 

[yspm10]

Try chilldust from Pandamonium pets on Etsy. Great quality dust

 

[marsjordan]

Thank you everyone! I will definitely switch dust and hope that ends up being the solution to the problem!

 

[ChinsForLife]

So I am having the same problem today. Chico rolled in a spot of urine and now his chest is brown from it. I gave him a dust bath but it didn't really help all that much. Should I do something to clean it off? Is this a situation where water is okay and if so, how to I go about it? @Amethyst

 

[Amethyst]

So I am having the same problem today. Chico rolled in a spot of urine and now his chest is brown from it. I gave him a dust bath but it didn't really help all that much. Should I do something to clean it off? Is this a situation where water is okay and if so, how to I go about it? @Amethyst

Just use unscented baby wipes or a lightly damp towel, then dry him off and give a dust bath. If you really want to try to get the stain to go away faster you can add about a table spoon of cornstarch into the dust, but make sure he doesn't eat it. The staining should lessen with each bath.