Chinchilla feet?

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M

Molly

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Hi all...I'm hoping some of the Chin experts out there can help me! I was playing with Gus, my chinchilla, tonight and noticed his feet looked red/a little raw. However, I gotta admit, I don't really pay that much attention to chinchilla feet on a routine basis.

Do his feet look abnormal to you? I'm happy to take him to the vet, but he's my first Chin and I'm still learning what's normal and what's a concern. I added a picture of him eating just for fun!

P.S. He's acting completely normal, but I've read that exotics tend to hide their illnesses. Educate me, please! :)
 

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:( Poor guy. I guess he must be allergic to pine shavings? If so, anybody know any good shavings to use? I usually keep him on fleeces with towels underneath, but put pine in when we go on vacation so the pet sitter doesn't have to clean his home. I was using Carefresh for awhile, but read that those can cause a blockage if ingested.

Brandon, thanks for your suggestion. I don't have any Vitamin E at home tonight -- does anybody know if Bag Balm would work? I put it on my dog's paw pads when they get dry in the winter. I'll go to Target tomorrow. I feel bad that I didn't notice before tonight. :(
 
Okay, apparently I took too long to write out my reply...I was searching Google for other pics of Chinchilla feet! Thank you all for your suggestions -- I'm going to go attempt to Bag Balm his feet.
 
If all he has to sit on is his bedding, that could be the problem. Soiled bedding. He needs different materials to rest on. Wooden shelves, maybe a fleece hammock or tube, a chinchiller or marble slab...
 
Bag Balm adminstered. That was suprisingly easy with the help of another person, whoo hoo! I think it was probably from bedding...we just got back from vacation about a week ago, so he was using pine fairly recently. I'll try Aspen next time.

Just FYI, he has tons of wood shelves, 2 ceramic tiles, a Chin Spin, and these really cool round fleece tubes that I bought off someone at Chins & Quills awhile ago. (If anybody wants the name I'll go search it out...super cheap and very awesome!) He also has two nifty bridges, but those kinda fall into the wooden shelves category. I'd love to get him a friend, but b/c he was a humane society rescue and I have no experience, I'm afraid of introducing another male chin...so he has a couple stuffies and will have to make do with me as his only living friend for the time being.

THANK YOU for your help! I'll keep the ointment on his feet and hopefully that will clear this up...if not, I now know where to go. :)
 
Keep an eye on them, to me they look red and inflammed. His left one especially. Perhaps he likes to sit in his soiled bedding? I've seen dry feet, but those look more inflammed than dry.

Either way, he's cute! :)
 
I use the Carefresh bedding...it's soft for their feet and doesn't have any dust or odor coming off it...
 
Just wanted to mention that Carefresh is safe for chinnies - several members on here have used it for years without any problems. It's not very likely that they would ingest enough to cause a blockage, and what little they may ingest just gets digested and pushed through like anything else.
 
Huh, thanks for the info about the Carefresh bedding. A few websites I visited say things like
"Carefresh is not easily broken down in the digestive track and it can cause blockages." http://www.sinfulchins.com/chinhousingaccessories.htm​

which is why I switched,but I tend to be easily paranoid. :rolleyes: I'll post a pic in a week or so if I remember -- Gus's feet are already looking a little better, the poor guy! Again, thanks for the Bag Balm recommendation -- it seems to be doing the trick.
 
I agree with the sitting in the soiled bedding thing. Does he sleep in the same area all the time? Also, what type flake pine are you using. If it is too roughly chipped it could be sharp.

Pine that is softer - shaved vs. chipped might help. Shaved pine is usually a little curly, thin, and square shaped whereas chipped pine is like little sticks almost, mixed with rectangular thicker flakes. They used to make bedding for the horses where I worked and they would change up the flake depending on the use.

Another thing it could be is dirty dust or dirty ledges/tiles/marble/etc. Keeping things clean is important. You can sand down pine shelves to clean them. I clean tiles, marbles and dishes in the dishwasher with an extra rinse cycle. :thumbs:
 
I am also in this situation, I cant find bag balm for a reasonable price in the UK. What are your thoughts upon using lanolin ?
 
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