bath & brush (comb?), or...

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danilinn

danilinn

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 23, 2011
Messages
195
Location
Downers Grove/Aurora, IL
i thought we could give Jonesy her first bath at home on Tuesday when my husband is there to see it. i got a small, soft cat brush after i read that a regular on here brushes three of hers and they like it. Jones is only 3 months, but she sort of looks like she could use for some of her fur to be out of her coat. (she left a fair amount of fur on my shirt yesterday after using me as furniture.)
so is she old enough to be brushed? and if so, should it be before or after her bath?
is it okay to go backwards on her fur when she's so little? i know she'll put up with it, but i think she'd put up with it if i carried her around by her tail all night, as long as she wasn't trying to sleep!
 
We use an ultra soft baby's brush on tiny chins.
It helps them get used to being stroked and handled. The soft bristles don't poke and so won't turn off a chin new to grooming. It's a nice way to bond with them too. :)
 
First I just want to make sure we're on the same page with terminology. Chinchillas only get dust baths not water baths. :)

Unless you are showing chins they really don't need to be brushed. I've owned chins for several years, and haven't brushed any of them. I keep their coats looking nice with regular dust baths, exact frequency depends on humidity, and how much I've been handling them. You can if you want to, but it is not necessary. Chins do lose fur, and slip when they're nervous. Having fur on your clothes is just part of owning chins, and brushing won't completely do away with that :)

I don't think there's a specific age to start brushing at. However, with a newly purchased 3-month-old. I would be handling them as little as possible to give them time to adjust to their environment.

danilinn said:
i thought we could give Jonesy her first bath at home on Tuesday when my husband is there to see it. i got a small, soft cat brush after i read that a regular on here brushes three of hers and they like it. Jones is only 3 months, but she sort of looks like she could use for some of her fur to be out of her coat. (she left a fair amount of fur on my shirt yesterday after using me as furniture.)
so is she old enough to be brushed? and if so, should it be before or after her bath?
is it okay to go backwards on her fur when she's so little? i know she'll put up with it, but i think she'd put up with it if i carried her around by her tail all night, as long as she wasn't trying to sleep!
Click to expand...
 
i know, she's weird. she hides inside things and under things, but she's really docile with me. she barks at my husband if he opens her cage door, but she lets me pick her up. (i would have panicked and thought she was sick if she didn't bark at him!) all i can figure it that a female voice reminds her of Kristy (breeder), so she's not spooked.
and she has blue cloud for her bath--not water!
 
i think we'll wait on the brushing, then, if she doesn't need it. she's already so tame to being touched that it freaks me out a little; i don't want to foist an unnecessary indignity on her!
thanks, guys!
 
so, apparently bathing is not entirely instinctual. Jonesy calmly hopped into her bath house, then sat there and did nothing for ten minutes. I tried putting a little of the dust on her back fur and gently rubbing, to see if she'd take a hint. Nope. Next, she got some dust on her nose, got really annoyed and rubbed her nose for a while. A few minutes later, she halfheartedly rolled in one direction, then in the other.
When I opened up her cage to put her back in, she jumped in like she'd just been released from prison.
I don't know whether it's the bath house she doesn't like or the bath itself. My degus were adoptions, so they were already a year old when I got them, and they were crazy about baths.
Is it a baby thing?
 
She's not too interested in the bath. She knows what it is, she's just not used to you yet and she's not so trusting yet. Its another "give it time" kinda thing with her being so new to you. Its always good to try, but just know that she's still evaluating you if you can be trusted. You can always leave it in with her and leave the room. She might do it then.
 
thanks, java. i'll give it another try tomorrow night--maybe take everything out of the bathroom and put her and the bath in?
i think she needs one; she's scratching herself more than when she first got home.
 
Try putting the bath in her cage. She needs time to get used to you. Sit next to her cage and talk to her. Try placing your hand in there and let her approach you. She is hiding in things because she is scared. Personally, I would not let her out of her cage. Let her get used to her surroundings and calm down.
 
If you search for chinchilla combing videos you will find some. Chin combs are not soft, they basically look like large needles on a piece of wood. This allows you to get into the fur. Many pet people comb their chins, it's no different than saying I bath my dog so I don't need to brush it. It helps remove dead fur and allow for the dust to penetrate the fur better especially for chins with very thick fur.
 
Those do more harm to a chins coat than good. Before I bought a real chinchilla comb, I used to use a comb made for either cats or dogs. It was metal and had one row of teeth, similar to the chin combs but the tines were bigger around and spaced a bit farther apart. It worked ok. I got it at Petsmart.
 
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