chin dust baths

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rutherford

rutherford

i peer into your soul
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Messages
130
Location
Maple Shade, NJ
hi there,
i'm wondering if anyone has a solution for me. i have asthma, and originally, only his hay started to bother me. i take claritin and puffs my inhaler before i touch the hay. recently, the his dust baths have started to exacerbate my attacks as well. my girlfriend has also become affected by the dust particles flung all over the place whenever he takes a bath.

right now, he uses a mixing bowl to take baths. he dives in and just flings all the dust out of the bowl; it gets everywhere and makes my room really dusty. dusty room i can deal with... asthma attacks, i can't.

what do you use to keep the dust contained? litter boxes? i need help!

also, is your chinchilla afraid of the hammock? i got rutherford one not too long ago, and he's still very hesitant about getting into one. when he does, he freaks out and runs like crazy around his cage. i've tried luring him to the hammock to help him get used to it, but so far, he avoids it like the plague. is there any way to help him feel safe in one? or should i just take it out?
 
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For dusting, try using a covered cat litter box. Also if possible, put it into a DRY shower when he bathes and afterwards you can rinse all of the dust residue away. keep the fan on in the bathroom while he dusts. Wearing gloves while handling the hay will help as well.
 
rutherford said:
hi there,
i'm wondering if anyone has a solution for me. i have asthma, and originally, only his hay started to bother me. i take claritin and puffs my inhaler before i touch the hay. recently, the his dust baths have started to exacerbate my attacks as well. my girlfriend has also become affected by the dust particles flung all over the place whenever he takes a bath.

right now, he uses a mixing bowl to take baths. he dives in and just flings all the dust out of the bowl; it gets everywhere and makes my room really dusty. dusty room i can deal with... asthma attacks, i can't.

what do you use to keep the dust contained? litter boxes? i need help!

also, is your chinchilla afraid of the hammock? i got rutherford one not too long ago, and he's still very hesitant about getting into one. when he does, he freaks out and runs like crazy around his cage. i've tried luring him to the hammock to help him get used to it, but so far, he avoids it like the plague. is there any way to help him feel safe in one? or should i just take it out?
Click to expand...

If you can't find a solution for the dust some members dust their chins with Sweet PDZ. I've never used it, and I can't remember who sells it, but if you did a search in the housing/supplies section I bet you'd find something.

I have 1 chin who won't touch her hammock either. I'm taking it out when I re-do cages, there are plenty of other things she does like.
 
Unfortunately I do not own a cat so can't tell you but I know there are several types on the market. Just go to a petstore website and search for litter boxes, there should be several.

I do not have allergies myself but I have sold to clients that do and this is their solution.
 
You can also use cornstarch as an alternative dust for chinchillas. It works really well.
 
My chinchilla never used his corner hammock...until I put a lava ledge over it. Now he uses it to facilitate the destruction of said lava ledge, and then he rolls in the hammock in the residual lava dust. If you put something of interest (a hanging toy, perch, etc.) above the hammock, it may convince him to use it more. Otherwise, you can always take it out.
 
Rutherford, I recommend a mask when you dust your chin. I do have allergies and the dust bothers me. There are also threads in the forum on asthma with some suggestions and ways others deal with it. Do a search for asthma and check out those threads. Some have had to find other homes for their chins. I hope you don't have to.

I've never heard of Sweet PDZ but will be looking it up myself today.

I just got a jar recently (the thread is in "housing & supplies" under "dust jar") that does the same job as the plastic dust house. It contains the dust so it doesn't fly all over and it minimizes the amount that goes into the air. If I aim the opening away from me I can sit by it and watch Chipper use it but have to leave the area for a bit once he's done. I really should follow my own advice and still use the mask. There were several jar suggestions for an alternate to mine listed in that thread that would work just as well and are cheaper than the plastic dust house offered in pet stores. You might want to get a jar temporarily while you research the cat litter boxes. The ones that are covered and filtered are pricey.

Perhaps an air filter near the cage might also help collect the dust so there's less in the air. Your chin will continue to put it into the air as it grooms after it uses the bath.

Good luck with this issue and please keep us informed. There are many other members with your problem and we all benefit from whatever info you can offer. I hope they also answer this post. I know it was a benefit to me.
 
I have a small but tall(if that makes any sense) rubbermaid covered container that I cut a hole in a few inches up from the bottom on. Then I sewed two pieced of fleece together to make a little flapper door for the hole.Works great and I can add/change dust by unlocking lid on top!
 
I would think cat litter boxes are unnecessarily large to dust in, the plastic super pet dusters or a large jar are more adequately sized and are better covered than a mixing bowl. Dusting in the shower sounds like a good idea though, especially if you do play time in the bathroom. Just remember that the chin will continue to spew dust everywhere after bathing, though not as much, as a lot of dust collects in its coat.

Sweet PDZ is marketed as an odor controller for horse stalls, you will find it in the horse supply area of feed stores. It comes in 40lb bags. It does not work as well as Blue Cloud, but it does okay and is cheaper.
 
wow..do you have a picture of this dust bath?Sounds like a great plan!
Im am starting to stress over all the dust in my chin room.
 
I just went back to useing a round flower bowl. It took me a while to find one that I liked (think glass fish bowl thats all round - not with the flat sides). my boys love it and since the opening is at the top very little dust comes out.

I have also heard of people building wood boxes to house dust baths - having the entrance to the bath opisite the entrance to the box - so any dust that comes out stays in the wood box.

No matter what the chins are going to be dusty. You might have to try different brands of dust until you find one that's the best for you. I've never heard of using just cornstarch, but I have heard of mixing it with chin dust. Maybe a mix would mean less dust?
 
here's a photo of the first glass dusting bowl I had - the twins were still babies so they fit in it together. Now only one chin at a time fits - but I may go buy a larger one
DSCN1561.jpg
 
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