Matted fur from wheel but not aggravated by it

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suelee

New member
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
1
Location
new jersey
Hi there! I have had my chinchilla for about 5 years and this is the first I'm noticing his matted fur along both sides of his body. He has never had a problem like this before but I've recently noticed that it's becoming extremely matted (about the size of 2 quarters on 1 side) from his wheel. I use the standard plastic wheel but just purchased the chin spin in the hopes that it will help.

Others have stated that you should try to remove the matt but it doesn't seem to phase my chin. He is very fidgety so it has been difficult to even attempt to get some of it out. What do i do?? If it doesn't bother him do I just let it run its course???
 
You can try to gently tug at the fur, the fur should come out with a little pulling. Chinchillas don't have fur like most animals, theirs is designed to come out when pulled with little to no pain, as a natural defense. Or use a fine tooth comb to work little bits of the mat out at a time. Give the chin a dust bath after working on the mats to get dust in between the fur to help work some of the fur out. Mats generally need to be removed or more fur will just get matted into it and it will get worse.

A proper chin size wheel should help, the plastic wheels sold at pet stores are all around way too small, too narrow and too small diameter, for chinchillas. Also the plastic wheels are going to cause static, which will attract fur and cause it to mat as the chin runs and rubs against it. The metal wheels (or in the case of a chin spin, metal and wood) don't have that problem.
 
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