Health
Nothing beats prevention.
It is better to prevent or reduce the chances of a chinchilla falling sick than to cure a sick one. However, sometimes we may not have been that careful or observant enough to spot an existing signs. For a chinchilla to remain healthy, be sure to keep the cage clean, clean and fresh food and water, and keep food free from fungus and insects.
In general, chinchilla is naturally robust and hardy, except it has an extremely sensitive and effective digestive system which is designed to extract the most out of the bare minimum food in its natural habitat. Unlike dogs and cats, chinchillas do not have a vomit mechanism. It is not able to expel bad food out of its system, which means illness(es). Keep in mind, if you observe a trend of weight loss, see a vet immediately. First sign of a sick chinchilla is weight loss.
Their is a great website that has alot on chinchillas health www.chincare.com
To have a HEALTHYchinchilla:
*Let it rest during the daytime.
*Ensure food and hay are fresh.
*Change water - boiled for at least 20 min. or purified.
*Give hay (Timothy, Alfalfa, etc.) so the animal to provide sufficient roughage .
*Check that the poops are dark, smooth, opaque, odorless and hard but not as hard as a rock.
*Avoid food rich in fats, sugar, oil, starch.
*Give treats in SMALL quantity.
*Avoid frequent change of food.
*Avoid frequent change of environment.
*Clean food dish and water bottle regularly.
*Cage is cleaned regularly.
Listed below are some health problems:
Diarrhea
*Runny and soft poops that stick to shelf and floor like a grape.
*Possibly cause by mouldy hay, algae in water or ingestion of harmful substance or too much rich food.
*Check hay for mould and freshness. Change water daily.
*You need to check to see if diarrhea is a change in environment or feed or by internal parasite (as in some serious cases of diarrhea).
*Try a small piece of dark toast and hay.
*If it does not improve the situation, see a vet immediately.
Constipation
*Poops are small, dry, malformed with pointed edge and smelly.
*Possibly cause by too much treats, improper feed, overfeeding or insufficient exercise.
*Give more water, hay or alfalfa cube or 1-2 raisins.
*If situation did not improve, see a vet immediately.
Note: Hairball can obstruct intestines, causing constipation. If this is the case, feed papaya enzyme, or fresh papaya juice or pineapple juice. I have never had a problem with hair balls but that doesn't mean they can't get hair balls.
Intestinal Prolapse
*In serious cases of constipation, the chinchilla will push the poops out together with its intestines.
*See a vet immediately. This is a life-threatening situation.
Bumblefoot
*This is a infection on the bottom of the chinchillas feet.
*This mostly happens on wire bottom cages but can happen to any chinchilla
*I have wire bottom cages and have always given my chins somthing hard to stand on and I apply Vit. E on their feet every couple months. I havent had a problem with this but Im always checking their feet
*If you have a chinchilla with bumblefoot take it to the vet. this can be painful
Bloating
*The animal balloons up. Poops have mucous, holes and are sticky.
*Let the animal exercise longer and introduce food culture (acidophilus).
*If situation did not improve, see a vet immediately.
Hair Ring
* This is a hair ring around the shaft of the penis in male chinchillas.
*Usually happens when a young male starts breeding but have also seen in older males
*Check your male monthly if you just put the male in breeding I check weekly
*You have to pull out the penis and work the hair ring off the chinchilla. Usually it takes 2 people to do this, one person to hold the chinchilla and the other person to get the hair ring off the chinchilla
*If you do not catch the hair ring in time your chinchilla can die
Seizures & Cramps
*Trembling, contortion and/or lack of movement
*Lack of calcium, Vitamin B, stress, head injuries, genetic influence
*Incisors and teeth turn white if the animal is lacking in calcium
*Frequent among pregnant or lactating female
*Prevent the animal from hurting itself. Keep the animal warm, not hot
*See a vet immediately
Teeth & Incisors
*Stop eating, chewed pellet fall from mouth, slobbering, bad breath
*Possibly cause by long incisors, broken incisors, genetic influence, tongue irritated by sharp molar
*Provide more chew blocks to wear out incisors
*Provide calcium if teeth are white
*Visit a vet dentist to nip off or file down long/sharp teeth.
Liver Problem
*Hunchback becomes more obvious and there is a trend of continuous weight loss. This is a sign of
chronic illness with liver damage or intestinal inflammation.
*Possibly cause by improper feed, especially too much fats & sugar, etc.
*Re-examine the treats and nutritional value of food given to the animal.
*See a vet immediately.
Fungus
*Balding fur, scabs on ears & nose, patches of hair fall off revealing the skin beneath, etc.
*Possibly cause by being in contact with an infected animal.
*See the vet for medication.
*You could also use some diluted disinfectant on the infected area or try
a teaspoon of athlete foot powder to a cup of dust. If you try this only put the dust bath in for 10 minutes once a day,
its not good if the foot powder gets on their food and toys. Remove them when you give them the dust w/foot powder.
*Clean the cage thoroughly, disinfect with chlorine or other commercial disinfectants. Rinse well,
then sun and dry thoroughly before introducing animal back into the cage.
*Check the other animals in your household for possible infection.
*Clean your hand well before handling any animals to prevent spreading.
Heat Strokes
*From bad air ventilation, high temperature, exposure to direct sunlight, did not drink enough water, etc.
*I do not recommend the big balls for them to roll around in, in the summer it is to hot.
*Cool the animal immediately and/or remove from heat source immediately.
*Turn on fan or aircon, or place a tray of ice near/in the cage. Give some water.
*NEVER soak the animal in cold water. Doing so will induce seizure.
Note: Temperature plus humidity can be deadly for chinchilla and induces heat stroke. Chinchillas do not sweat.
Fur Biting
*Stress-related behaviour where the animal chews its own fur. You observe balding in
the sides (hind legs area) with varying length of hair
*Numerous causes - bored, starved, crowded living condition, disturbance during the day
*Provide more food, chew toys, change to a bigger cage
*If you want let the animal runs around the room, make sure it is chin-proof
*It can take awhile for the chinchilla to grow the fur back so the sooner you take step to prevent this the better off you are
For any of the following injuries, see a vet immediately:
Swallow poisonous substance(s) or indigestible item(s)
Shock or seizure or cramp from sudden fright, infection or bleeding.
Pneumonia (water in lung) causing insufficient breathing, loss of appetite, eye & nose discharge.
Broken bones, limbs, rib cage, tail, etc. from accident or you observe difficulty in movement.
Eye injury from sharp object or infection - watery or lots of eye slugs and swelling eye(s).
Acute diarrhea or constipation.