Grooming and health are a very important part of any pet owners responsibilities. Many pets require an awful lot of specialized attention including exotic pets such as chinchillas. For instance, it is important to have a large chinchilla cage. Before purchasing a chinchilla as a pet, it is best to study up on their preferences and any special requirements that they may have. Chins do have a few peculiarities that more common pets do not have, and that is why you would be wise to learn about them before purchasing. You will need some unique chinchilla supplies that most animals will not need. A good example of this is the need to provide a chinchilla dust bath.
Just like any other pet, they require the proper type of shelter, food and love, but they also like their dust baths to make them healthy and comfortable! The beautiful soft thick fur that they are so well known for comes with a price; a little chinchilla dust bath keeps their fur looking beautiful and healthy. In their natural habitat of the Andes Mountains, their regular cleaning routine was a good rolling in volcanic ash. Grooming in animals, and people as well, is a part of everyday cleanliness. Chinchillas just take on a little bit more of an exotic form when it comes to bathing.

When you keep chins in chinchilla cages as a pet you need to provide the best care possible; these are intelligent thoughtful creatures and they have their needs too. The fur of chinchillas is rather unique in comparison to other types of animals; when the thick luxurious fur is soaked down with water it retains so much of the moisture that it can result in fungus. Never soak down a chinchilla with water; it is not natural and it is dangerous to their health and it removes some of their natural body oils that they are so dependent on.

Basic Guidelines For a Chinchilla Dust Bath

A few basic guidelines need to be followed for giving a dust bath. You can purchase the dust needed for their bath from a local pet store or buy it off the internet. Blue Cloud chinchilla dust is considered one of the top of the line.A chinchilla dust bath house is also needed.

Chinchillas are the most active at night and that is the best time for a dust bath. There may be some wastes inadvertently introduced into the dust bath pan; you should scoop these out to maintain a cleaner bath facility. So long as you make a strict rule of cleaning out the waste from a chinchilla dust bath you can reuse the dust several times saving you a few dollars.

Another guideline to keep in mind when bathing your little buddy is not to just place the bath in his large chinchilla cage and walk off. You need to monitor the activity of play and bathing to make sure everything is going okay. They only require about 15 minutes of bathing which is enough to remove excess oils and dirt from their fur. Generally, most of these pets will need bathing about twice a week depending upon how dirty they get and how high the humidity in your location is. Make a point of giving your chinchilla at least a weekly dust bath and keep the chinchilla cage sparkling clean and you will have a great little companion.

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