Grooming?

[nikkik0720]

Not too sure what topic this would go under, but considering hygiene and grooming go together, I'm guessing it can go here.

I was wondering when a chinchilla should be groomed and how often. My 3 get a dust bath once a week (it was twice a week, but they were itching more and I noticed their ears and feet getting dry, so I cut back temporarily, and increased the humidity in their room slightly. Pennsylvania tends to have pretty dry winter air, and we have forced air/heat in the house).
I've noticed though that they seem to be 'shedding'. They aren't pulling/chewing fur or anything. In fact their coats look really good. When I pet them, especially my girl, the fur just flies. It's not from fur-slip either. I'll be petting them while in the cage.
I am concerned, but at the same time, I feel like I shouldn't be. They aren't losing fur or anything. Just shedding?
Is it normal for them to shed? Is it because of 'priming'?
That's another thing I'm kind of confused on, despite all my research (and I had done A LOT before getting them, and still spend hours reading about them). What exactly is priming, how often does it happen, and how can I tell if they are? Is the shedding a part of that?

I don't want to sound stupid and uneducated about chins. I spent about a year doing extensive research on them before committing to them, and as I said, I still do a lot of research and reading about them.
So, aside from the dust bath, what other grooming should I be doing? And is it safe to use a soft bristled baby brush on them to remove the excess shedding fur? Could I even use an (old) toothbrush (obviously I wouldn't push to brush)?
By baby brush, I mean the kind you get from the store for an infant/toddler.

Again, sorry if it's a stupid question.

I should also not that my chins are currently not show chins (although someday I will try to show Willow), so they aren't groomed for shows or anything.

 

[Amethyst]

Priming is when they are shedding, new fur is growing in pushing the old fur out, and it happens a couple times a year. You can buy a chinchilla grooming comb, but if not used right they can hurt the chin, they are sharp. I've found a metal fine toothed or flea comb works just fine since I don't show my chins, I bought a double sided cat comb. I wouldn't use a soft brush, it might cause mats since you wouldn't really be able to get into the fur with it.

 

[becky12883]

Pet chins don't really need to be groomed at all, the dust bath is all they need. I have noticed that my white boys shed all the time, and my BV tends to prime a couple times a year.

 

[nikkik0720]

My main concern about the shedding is that when they groom themselves, they'll ingest the fur and get a blockage. I have an unused cat comb, so I'll try that.
And Becky, they are show-quality chins, and will be shown eventually. I just wanted to know what I could do for now.

 

[nikkik0720]

These were all taken a few days ago. They get weekly dust baths, so they're fur isn't 'greasy' in the pictures.

This is my girl, Willow. I believe she's an ebony white (it says it on her pedigree, but I don't have it out right now to check). She's 10 months old (born April 26, 2013)

This is one of my boys, Mazlow. He's a Standard Grey. He's Willow's brother.

And this is his cage-mate, Gizmo. He's also a Standard Grey, born June 9, 2013.

 

[ticklechin]

Pet/show chin who was not groomed, just daily dust baths with blue cloud-all mine look like this, what dust are you using?

 

[nikkik0720]

Planet Petco Blue Cloud dust.
It's the only thing I'll buy from the store, dust wise. I don't like the other brands that are available in the store.

Are they just priming? They didn't look like this about a month ago. Their dust was fresh dust, too. So it's not that the dust was old/used.

At first I thought maybe the room was warm and they were 'shedding' to try to cool down (even though I know they don't do that), but the room is always kept between 70-73 degrees, with humidity between 30-35%. Once in a great while the room will get around 75 degrees with like 20% humidity, but that's only when it's like -10 degrees F outside and the backup electric baseboard heat kicks on. It's never warmer than that, and it's only that warm for maybe 15 minutes. I know that's high for a chin, but it's the way the house is set up, so please no criticisms.

 

[ServantofBlueberry]

As far as brushing, using a soft bristle brush probably is not doing anything to remove dead hairs. Their fur is so dense, its probably not penetrating. I am scared of the chin combs, as they are pretty sharp and Blueberry is NOT a fan of being groomed. However I have a metal greyhound comb that I use at work ( I am a dog groomer) It has a larger spacing at one end and it gets more fine at the other end, I use that as the ends are not sharp. I can say that the state of the fur on your guys looks unusual. Hopefully someone here can put some more light on the possible cause for you.

 

[nikkik0720]

I feel like a horrible chin mommy because they look like they haven't been dusted in forever... They get them once a week. There's nothing wrong with them, no fungus or anything like that. None of them fur-chew. I use good quality dust (Planet Petco Blue Cloud). Ugh I wish I knew what to do.

The reason I said about a soft bristle brush is to just get the loose fur off the top. Not for actual grooming. I have a comb similar to a greyhound comb as well (my brother signed up for online dog grooming courses and got them in the mail before deciding to quit and going into HVAC). I also have a small square brush similar to this: http://www.petco.com/product/118832/Petco-Cushion-Pin-Dog-Brush.aspx
It's actually a cat brush, but it's never been used.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

I feel like a horrible chin mommy because they look like they haven't been dusted in forever... They get them once a week. There's nothing wrong with them, no fungus or anything like that. None of them fur-chew. I use good quality dust (Planet Petco Blue Cloud). Ugh I wish I knew what to do.

The reason I said about a soft bristle brush is to just get the loose fur off the top. Not for actual grooming. I have a comb similar to a greyhound comb as well (my brother signed up for online dog grooming courses and got them in the mail before deciding to quit and going into HVAC). I also have a small square brush similar to this: http://www.petco.com/product/118832/Petco-Cushion-Pin-Dog-Brush.aspx
It's actually a cat brush, but it's never been used.

The greyhound comb should work well.

 

[nikkik0720]

It's been a few days since their last dust bath, and I was using a soft bristled baby brush to remove the fur that's shed off the top of their coats. They look better than before, they still don't look as nice as they did a few months ago.
Could a change in the hay affect their fur? The hay I usually get, Kaytee Wafer Cut timothy hay, was out of stock and wont be back in for a few more weeks, so I had to get a different kind. It's still the same brand. But it's not wafer cut and isn't as good looking as the others. I don't think it's as good as quality as I usually get. I know Kaytee isn't the best quality to begin with. Could this be affecting their fur?
I've gone through all other aspects of their lives, and that's the only other thing I could think of.
I will try using the greyhound comb before the next dust bath. Until I get comfortable though, only Willow will be groomed with it. The boys are too jumpy and aren't as comfortable being handled and held still.

Thanks again for all the support and advice.