Chinchillas & Dust Baths

Chinchillas in the wild bathe in volcanic ash. These dust baths help the animals to maintain their fur and to ensure 'skin respiration'.

Since chinchillas are nocturnal, they do all their running and playing at night. That makes the early morning the best time for chinchillas to bathe in order to remove the sweat produced from the previous night's activities.

If you have more than one chin, it is a good idea to have a separate bath for each animal. This will help keep down the transfer of disease or illness. It is best to allow each chinchilla only 15-20 minutes for their bath.

What dust should be used for Chinchillas?

If fine-grained and clean sand is used; be sure to add some talcum powder (unscented only). Other types of sand such as, coarse quartz sand, river sand, construction sand (often used for cement and mortar), or sand from open pits must not be used as they are not fine enough to yield any benefits for your chin.

Use only very fine sands and dust or purchase one of the commercially available chinchilla dust products. Using sand or dust with any sort of odor will increase the likelihood of your chin urinating in the dust before bathing in it which can lead to severe health problems for your pet.

Buy Chinchilla Dust From That Pet Place

Chinchilla Dust - 2.5 lb. Kaytee Chinchilla Dust Bath is a high quality, all natural dusting powder. It protects the chinchilla's coat by eliminating extra oils and moisture, leaving it healthy and clean. Fill up your pet's dust bath container and watch him gleefully roll and spin through the dust. Size: Net wt. 2.5lb. (1.13 kg.)

 

Chinchilla Bath Sand - 5 pk Maintain your chinchilla's soft, thick, lush fur by giving him a sand bath The sand conditions your pet's coat while removing excess oils that would weigh it down. Size: 5 EZ pour packs

The dust your chinchilla(s) uses to bathe in must be kept clean. Regularly scoop out any feces and be sure to remove any areas that may have been contaminated with urine. If kept clean, new dust can be added as needed rather than fully replacing the entire batch each time it is used.

Chinchilla Dust Bath Houses

We recommend the two chinchilla dust bath houses available from That Pet Place.

Ceramic Chinchilla Bath Regular dust baths are vital to your chin's health and well-being. Provide your chinchilla with a dust bath for 10 minutes each day to promote clean, fluffy and matt-free fur the natural way. This bath will fit inside any cage, made of chew proof ceramic and neatly contains sand or dust. Size: 6 1/4" diameter x 8 1/2" high, opening is 3 1/4" diameter.

 

Chinchilla Bath House Chinchilla Bath House was designed for the interesting and unique sand bathing behaviors of Pet Chinchillas. The Chinchilla Bath House is constructed of a durable translucent plastic so you can watch your favorite Chinchilla flip and spin as it is takes its bath. Each Chinchilla Bath House comes with a free sample of Super Pet's Chinchilla Bath Sand so you and your chinchilla can get right to the fun The enclosed house design prevents messes from scattering sand, and the concave bottom ensures complete contact between the chinchilla and the Chinchilla Bath Sand at all times. Size: 9.25"L x 9"W x 8.5"H

 

Dust Baths & Consistency

Chinchillas are very clean animals, but if you do not consistently make a dust bath available to them; they will often not return to it so easily. Young chinchillas should be introduced to dust baths while they are still being nursed or they will refuse to bathe after weaning.