As with guinea pigs, routine vaccinations are not required for chinchillas, yet a routine annual visit to your veterinarian is highly recommended. Always pay attention to your pet’s behavior, eating habits, elimination habits, and physical characteristics. Notify your veterinar- ian immediately of any changes. Obesity can be a problem in pet chinchillas, so monitor your pet’s weight frequently.
As a rule, chinchillas are hardy creatures and rarely suffer health problems. Most unthriftiness and ill health seen are direct results of poor diet and poor housing conditions. Taking special care to ensure that these two husbandry factors are optimized is the best defense against illness or injury in chinchillas.
The chinchilla’s soft, velvety hair coat requires little maintenance aside from its dust baths during the week. Weekly brushing using a soft cloth is also recommended to help remove any obvious dirt and shed hair from the coat. Your chinchilla will enjoy it as well!
Chinchillas enjoy exploring their environments with their mouths and will chew to maintain their long incisor teeth at proper length. As a result, don’t allow your pet to roam the house unsupervised, as one encounter with an electrical cord or similar hazard could spell disaster. As mentioned previously, chinchillas that don’t receive adequate amounts of fiber in their diets are highly predisposed to serious digestive disturbances. Any abrupt changes in diet can also cause enteritis. If introducing a new food to your chinchilla, always do so gradually over several days. If diarrhea develops, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Hot, humid conditions can pose a definite health threat to chinchillas. The ideal environmental temperature for them is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures exceeding 85 degrees Fahrenheit can quickly lead to heat stroke.
As a rule, chinchillas are hardy creatures and rarely suffer health problems. Most unthriftiness and ill health seen are direct results of poor diet and poor housing conditions. Taking special care to ensure that these two husbandry factors are optimized is the best defense against illness or injury in chinchillas.
The chinchilla’s soft, velvety hair coat requires little maintenance aside from its dust baths during the week. Weekly brushing using a soft cloth is also recommended to help remove any obvious dirt and shed hair from the coat. Your chinchilla will enjoy it as well!
Chinchillas enjoy exploring their environments with their mouths and will chew to maintain their long incisor teeth at proper length. As a result, don’t allow your pet to roam the house unsupervised, as one encounter with an electrical cord or similar hazard could spell disaster. As mentioned previously, chinchillas that don’t receive adequate amounts of fiber in their diets are highly predisposed to serious digestive disturbances. Any abrupt changes in diet can also cause enteritis. If introducing a new food to your chinchilla, always do so gradually over several days. If diarrhea develops, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Hot, humid conditions can pose a definite health threat to chinchillas. The ideal environmental temperature for them is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures exceeding 85 degrees Fahrenheit can quickly lead to heat stroke.
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