Cute and Clean: Chinchilla Dust Baths

The Benefits of Chinchilla Dust Baths

“Chinchilla” dust is a volcanic ash-like dust that can penetrate deep down into your pet’s skin, absorbing excess oil and moisture while removing dirt and loose hair from their coat. This dust is very similar to what you would find in a chinchilla’s natural habitat. You may find similar dust or sand products that look like chinchilla dust. Avoid those like 5-day old sushi. These products can irritate your

chinchilla’s eyes and skin while damaging their fur.   

Besides pseudo-chinchilla dust, another thing to steer clear of is giving your pet a bath with water. A chinchilla’s coat is thick, like 80-hairs-per-skin-follicle thick. Since their coats are so dense, it can take forever for their skin to dry. Furthermore, a wet coat can cause their body temperature to dip quickly, leading to a possible respiratory infection. And all that trapped moisture could lead to fungal infections and other skin issues.

If you see a sticky spot on your chinchilla’s fur, go ahead and spot-clean it with a damp cloth—but only wipe off the surface of their coat.    

How to Give a Chinchilla a Dust Bath

For their bathtub, get a heavy, tip-resistant bowl, a small fishbowl or plastic chinchilla bath house. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s slightly larger than your pet so they have enough room to roll around in the dust. As for how much to use, the chinchilla dust should be about 2-inches deep. Once you have everything set up, place your pet in the tub. They’ll know what to do, so just sit back and enjoy the show.  

After 10 to 15 minutes, remove your chinchilla from the container. Yes, the dust will fly during bath time. Plus, they’ll shake off excess dust after they’re done, so expect some light cleanup duty.

When to Give Chinchilla a Dust Bath

Unless you want your pet’s skin to dry out, limit your chinchilla dust baths to 2 to 3 times a week. You should also give them a bath when their fur looks clumpy. In addition, you can reuse the chinchilla dust if you remove any waste matter.

At Pet Supplies Plus, we’re all for spoiling pets. Nevertheless, we don’t recommend leaving your chinchilla’s bathtub in their enclosure. If you do, they’ll probably end up taking dust baths all the time and dry out their skin.  
 

Conclusion

A clean chinchilla is a healthy chinchilla, so give your furry buddy 2 or 3 dust baths every week. Bath time should only be 10 to 15 minutes long. Plus, always use chinchilla dust but never bathe them in water. Follow these simple rules and you’ll have chinchillas that think you’re the greatest thing since dust baths.