Bathing Chinchillas with water

[clover]

Most experts I know, both here and overseas, object to bathing chins in water. However, I've heard of a few owners doing that regularly, either to wash away pee stains, or to keep their coat very clean. This is my personal opinion, based on what I've read and heard. Bathing chinchillas is stressful and can be dangerous if the handler is inexperienced.

In the first place, chinchillas hate water. Like cats. They don't like water on their bodies. Any one who accidentally sprinkles water on a chin will know. Your chin will 'kek' offendingly and scold you, chittering and wiping the wet part with his paws. Also, chinchillas have very thick fur, and bathing and drying 1 of them will prob take abt an hour or more. And precautions have to be taken, not to overheat the chin during blow dry, and the chin must also be kept warm enough, so it doesn't catch a cold.

Many things have to be taken into consideration, but from what I've read and heard, it wld be much better not to bathe chins in water.

[ghost]

Then how do u bath your Chins? Care to share a little?

[clover]

I don't bathe my chins at all. However I shall try my best to relate how some pp do it. This is based on the emails I've read, so am not sure how accurate it is.

Put the chin in between 2 corianders, and slowly submerge into a pail of water, alwiz keeping the chinchilla's entire head above water. Try to keep the chin from panicking. Then hold the chin up and use shampoo over the body (pls note that all this time, don't wash the chin's face or head, cos they might get even more scared). Must be gentle, then submerge again using the corianders. (Some owners just bathe the chin direct with a shower spray, but it can be very frightening to the chin) I read that blow-drying a chin can take 1 hour, cos of the extreme thickness of the coat.

Then, all the while, you have to monitor and observe the chin carefully, to check if the blow-dryer is too hot (causing heat stroke) or the chin is too cold (catches pneumonia). As I have said, bathing is not something a beginner chin owner shld do or consider. But of course, the final choice is still up to you. Just try to be very cautious.

[ghost]

Hmmm....what abt sand bathing a chin...don't u think that's a better choice than water bathing a chin?

[clover]

Umm, ghost, that's exactly what I mean. It's ok for chinchillas to dust bath, in fact, it's a necessity. But water baths are a no no. That's the point I was trying to make.

[ghost]

Not jus that...i think most furry animals don't like to have their fur wet....sand bath is still the most appropriate ways....& unless the fur is really in bad shape....

[clover]

Most small furry animals yes. But I think that cats and dogs do need to be bathed.

[ghost]

clover said:

Most small furry animals yes. But I think that cats and dogs do need to be bathed.

Dogs perhaps....but definitely not cats.....can't imagine how much stress it'd bring to a cat to water bath him....

[clover]

lol ghost, cats can and shd be bathed as well! I bathe my 2 cats once every 2 weeks! It's necessary, seriously, else their fur will be quite oily, and they'll smell of kitty litter. They don't like being bathed, but once you get the hang of it and bathe them quickly, dry them well, they don't mind so much. The trick is not to let them panic. Furthermore, I know that show cats are bathed, to maintain their fur condition and beauty. After a bath, my 2 cats' fur alwiz becomes very smooth and silky. Chloe especially, with her longer fur, smells very nice. I spend alot of time rubbing her tummy and kissing her after a bath, and she is quite happy. lol I think that you have to bathe your cat the correct way of course.

My 2 cats don't panic in the bath, so they don't scratch or struggle. But they do watch the door, and once it's open, they try to dash out, where one of us will be ready with a towel.

[bubblesbiscuit]

i guess the reason why some chin owners will water bathe their chins is cos got bad stains? in such cases,will sand bathing remove the stains? or is there a better alternative like using a wet cloth maybe?

[ghost]

clover said:

lol ghost, cats can and shd be bathed as well! I bathe my 2 cats once every 2 weeks! It's necessary, seriously, else their fur will be quite oily, and they'll smell of kitty litter. They don't like being bathed, but once you get the hang of it and bathe them quickly, dry them well, they don't mind so much. The trick is not to let them panic. Furthermore, I know that show cats are bathed, to maintain their fur condition and beauty. After a bath, my 2 cats' fur alwiz becomes very smooth and silky. Chloe especially, with her longer fur, smells very nice. I spend alot of time rubbing her tummy and kissing her after a bath, and she is quite happy. lol I think that you have to bathe your cat the correct way of course.

My 2 cats don't panic in the bath, so they don't scratch or struggle. But they do watch the door, and once it's open, they try to dash out, where one of us will be ready with a towel.

Oh...that's something new to me...i seriously didn't know cats can be bathe tho....guess it needs some techniques tho....hmmm....will go ask my neighbour abt this...hehehe....

[clover]

Some chin owners wash the dirty part of the chin to remove stains yes. But in those cases, they don't bathe the entire chin you see. But there are pp, who bathe their chins totally, on a regular basis.

Sand bathing will remove the stain, but only after sometime. It's not immediate. So far, I haven't heard of anyone using a wet cloth for chins.

[Jezebel]

Hi

I used to bath my chin once or twice a mth with special shampoo which i got it from the chin shop