Chinchilla Common Sickness

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For the most part chins are pretty healthy, most of the health issues they get are do to either genetics or improper care. A lot of what they can get is also similar to guinea pigs.

Aside from dental disease, they can also be genetically prone to, urinary tract stones, diabetes, seizures, kidney problems, and fur chewing (not really a serious problem but can cause hairballs if they swallow it and chins can't puke).

Improper food can lead to issues like, obesity, fatty liver disease, liver and kidney failure, seizures, diabetes, urinary tract stones, tooth decay, blindness, diarrhea, gas, and bloat. Tap water can have contaminates in it, as well as things like the giardia parasite which causes smelly diarrhea, filtered/purified water is best. You can use tap water but make sure you filter it with a filter that removes micro organisms. This is the one I have PUR-Advanced but you can also just buy jugs of purified water, I think they less then $1 a gallon at places like Walmart. Great Value Drinking Water, 1 Gallon - Walmart.com

If you don't keep the temp in the right range ideally between 50-70F they can over heat and suffer the effects of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, even if they survive overheating they can still be left with brain and organ damage from their body overheating, similar to someone with a high fever (which can end up shortening their life). Too cold and they can get hypothermia, as well as upper respiratory issues. They can also get sick if there is a draft in the room, so fans blowing on the cage are not a good idea, not only are they useless (chins can't sweat) but they create a draft.

They have very sensitive lungs, so any scented candles, oils, or sprays are not safe to use around them, it's best to think of them like birds, if it's not safe for use around birds it's not safe for around chinchillas either.

Things I've dealt with with chins in the past have been, I had one chin with seizures, she die at only a couple years old and at the time there was no treatment so there was nothing we could have done. They now have seizure treatment for chins. I dealt with a few chins that had dental issues. I had one (same one that had seizures) that was put in an old repainted rabbit cage, she ate the paint and got sick. The only safe way to repaint a cage for chins is powder coating, I know that now but didn't back then. I think I've also dealt with at least one that got diarrhea, we fed treats we now know are bad for them (like seeds and dried fruit). Over all they have been healthy though.
 
For the most part chins are pretty healthy, most of the health issues they get are do to either genetics or improper care. A lot of what they can get is also similar to guinea pigs.

Aside from dental disease, they can also be genetically prone to, urinary tract stones, diabetes, seizures, kidney problems, and fur chewing (not really a serious problem but can cause hairballs if they swallow it and chins can't puke).
Ok, so nothing can prevent it if it's genetic? Or can it be prevented?
Improper food can lead to issues like, obesity, fatty liver disease, liver and kidney failure, seizures, diabetes, urinary tract stones, tooth decay, blindness, diarrhea, gas, and bloat. Tap water can have contaminates in it, as well as things like the giardia parasite which causes smelly diarrhea, filtered/purified water is best. You can use tap water but make sure you filter it with a filter that removes micro organisms. This is the one I have PUR-Advanced but you can also just buy jugs of purified water, I think they less then $1 a gallon at places like Walmart. Great Value Drinking Water, 1 Gallon - Walmart.com
I am feeding Mazuri so I shouldn't have any issues like that, right?
I saw in another thread that you said not to do tap. That shouldn't be a problem...
If you don't keep the temp in the right range ideally between 50-70F they can over heat and suffer the effects of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, even if they survive overheating they can still be left with brain and organ damage from their body overheating, similar to someone with a high fever (which can end up shortening their life). Too cold and they can get hypothermia, as well as upper respiratory issues. They can also get sick if there is a draft in the room, so fans blowing on the cage are not a good idea, not only are they useless (chins can't sweat) but they create a draft.
My room stays about 68°- 70° all the time. Even in summer! (It ,ight actually be a little cooler in summer) Our house never gets too cold so hypothermia shouldn't be an issue at all. It was 0° this morning and our house was still 68°😊 I have a fan in my room but I have a walk in closet next to my room that's fairly big and it stays about 2 degrees colder so I plan to put her in there...if I ran my fan, it wouldn't blow on the cage because my fan is in the middle of my room and my closet is all the way to the right. It's an average size room so if I ran my fan then would it make a difference that way? Also, I heard somewhere that they can sweat from their ears...is that false information? They said that's why their ears turn red if they are overheating...
They have very sensitive lungs, so any scented candles, oils, or sprays are not safe to use around them, it's best to think of them like birds, if it's not safe for use around birds it's not safe for around chinchillas either.
We don't light candles at our house so that shouldn't be a problem. My younger siblings are terrorists! 😂They might burn the house down!! Lol. We have a parakeet so that helps to know that. And my mom used to have a green conure so she knows alot about what's safe for birds and whats not so that will help me to explain what's safe for chins.
Things I've dealt with with chins in the past have been, I had one chin with seizures, she die at only a couple years old and at the time there was no treatment so there was nothing we could have done. They now have seizure treatment for chins. I dealt with a few chins that had dental issues. I had one (same one that had seizures) that was put in an old repainted rabbit cage, she ate the paint and got sick. The only safe way to repaint a cage for chins is powder coating, I know that now but didn't back then. I think I've also dealt with at least one that got diarrhea, we fed treats we now know are bad for them (like seeds and dried fruit). Over all they have been healthy though.
Oh no! I'm so sorry!! Thank you for this info! You have been soo helpful!
 
I had one (same one that had seizures) that was put in an old repainted rabbit cage, she ate the paint and got sick. The only safe way to repaint a cage for chins is powder coating, I know that now but didn't back then.
This lady apparently painted the stuff in her cage, where do you get powder coating? I thought about doing this myself!😊 Or do you get different paint for wood?
 

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Ok, so nothing can prevent it if it's genetic? Or can it be prevented?

I am feeding Mazuri so I shouldn't have any issues like that, right?
I saw in another thread that you said not to do tap. That shouldn't be a problem...

My room stays about 68°- 70° all the time. Even in summer! (It ,ight actually be a little cooler in summer) Our house never gets too cold so hypothermia shouldn't be an issue at all. It was 0° this morning and our house was still 68°😊 I have a fan in my room but I have a walk in closet next to my room that's fairly big and it stays about 2 degrees colder so I plan to put her in there...if I ran my fan, it wouldn't blow on the cage because my fan is in the middle of my room and my closet is all the way to the right. It's an average size room so if I ran my fan then would it make a difference that way? Also, I heard somewhere that they can sweat from their ears...is that false information? They said that's why their ears turn red if they are overheating...

We don't light candles at our house so that shouldn't be a problem. My younger siblings are terrorists! 😂They might burn the house down!! Lol. We have a parakeet so that helps to know that. And my mom used to have a green conure so she knows alot about what's safe for birds and whats not so that will help me to explain what's safe for chins.

Oh no! I'm so sorry!! Thank you for this info! You have been soo helpful!
The only way to prevent genetic issues is with good breeding and not breeding any chins with genetic issues. Mazuri is a good brand and since that is what the breeder feeds you shouldn't have any issues. I use to feed that before I moved to Canada, now Oxbow Essentials is easier for me to get so that is what my guys are fed.

So long as the fan is not blowing on the cage you should be fine, just make sure the walk in closest has enough air flow, you can't want it getting stuffy in there. I just meant some people thing that when it's hot the fan cools them down so they decide to blow it on the chin with the idea it would do the same for them. They can not sweat through any part of their body, they don't have sweat glands. Its an adaptation because they are from a semi arid environment so water needs to be conserved as much as possible. They can however pump blood into their ears (like an elephant!) to help cool down, the red you see is blood filling the veins in the ears.

This lady apparently painted the stuff in her cage, where do you get powder coating? I thought about doing this myself!😊 Or do you get different paint for wood?
Powder coating is for metal (the cage, metal wheels, etc), it's also expensive to redo powder coating (it's the paint/coating that is used on most cages and metal wheels when you get it) for a cage it would cost more then a new cage. You can get it done at places that do powder coating for things like car parts, the equipment needed is several thousand dollars so not something most people buy, lol.

For wood you can use kool-aid, the kind you are suppose to add sugar to (but don't) not the sugar free kind that has chemical sweetener. You can also use food coloring, you can even get food coloring markers to draw things on the wood.
https://www.amazon.com/Wilton-W6091...3505516&sprefix=food+color+mar,aps,256&sr=8-7
 

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So don't use cool-aid at all? Or don't use the suger free kind?
Don't use the sugar free kind, use the unsweetened kind that if you were making for a drink you would add sugar to, but don't add sugar when using to dye wood for chinchillas. (just using cherry as an example but you can use other flavors)
This https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61knZTnUQwL._SL1000_.jpg
Not this https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.9lv3Np_Xj5kmIYAc0bWYdgHaHa&pid=Api&P=0&w=300&h=300
 
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