Using A Chinchilla Dust Bath

Chinchillas need dust baths. Frolicking in volcanic ash might seem like fun but they do it to clean their bodies. As a way for chinchillas to maintain its lavish coat soft, and neat, it's a necessity to bathe regularly in dust. This is why they are so accustomed to doing it. 

If you are an owner of a Chinchilla make sure to make it available for your little guy to take a dust bath. Unlike most creatures the chinchillas do not benefit from taking baths with water, so don't let them get wet. Water eliminates a chinchillas natural oils. Unlike humans these  natural oils helps the skin guard the chinchilla from harm. If you are wondering where you can buy dust baths, check Petco or your local pet store. Chinchilla dust is made SPECIFICALLY for chinchillas, yes you can try using sand or other debris but it won't have the same effect. The chinchilla dust is the manufactured specially specifically so that it pierce through the thick fur and arrive at the skin. When the oil is absorbed the fur will clean itself of dirt. 

Like other animals you're going to have to buy a heavy duty dish to hold your Chinchilla dust. Get one depending on the size of your pet, big enough so it can sit comfortably in it. Do not overfill your dishpan full of dust, you do not want it to go everywhere when your pet rolls in it. The dust can be reused if you sift the dirt out from time to time. Of course this doesn't mean you NEVER have to change it, if it looks funky change the old for new dust. Allow them to bathe but you don't want to leave the dust in there for days. Just enough for it to clean and then remove the dish.

Best to let them take a bath two times a week atleast. You do not want your chinchilla to get overly dry skin from over bathing. If you live in an area where it is more dry than humid then you are lucky and you won't need to bathe them as frequent. Like us, you don't want to bath too long so 10-15 minutes would suffice. Take it a sign that you are over bathing if your chinchilla is flaking and dried up.

I love watching my pet bathe it is cute seeing them roll around like little dumbos. Please let us know how your chinchilla pets are, leave us a comment or email us. We would love to hear about other chinchilla families as happy as us.