How often to give dust bath?

[PITSTOP64]

I was just wondering,how often should chins be getting dust baths?
Also,is there any way to cut down on the mess(dusting) it makes?
Thanks,
Penny

 

[Christina Noraas]

About 2-3 times a week for 10-15 minutes is what I do. To reduce the mess you can buy nifty little chinchilla bath houses, find a bowl with high sides, I would suggest trying a few different things.

My chinchillas however manage to get a bunch of dust out of their dusting container no matter what I use. D;

 

[caiti]

I give my chin a dust bath twice a week. I just kind of go on how her fur looks. It's more intuitive than a schedule because I know she'll need more or less depending on how humid it is. I use one of those plastic super pet dust houses and I just put it in her cage, facing the back wall and let her have at it. So the excess dust she kicks up ends up under her shavings and it gets tossed when I clean out her cage.

 

[Sandi]

In the winter, once a week is fine for my boys. It can also depend on the humidity where you live. Currently it's 32% humidity in my basement and one of my chin's paws get a little too dried out with too much dusting. I also use those penny candy bowls from Wal-Mart ($7.00) it works pretty good in keeping the dust in.

 

[Essentia]

In winter I also only do once a week. The humidity here is at 25% so there isn't any need for more. In the summer I usually dust 2-3 times a week.

 

[~SG~]

I dust during playtime, I put the dust house in the bathtub, when it's over I just turn on the shower

 

[caiti]

I dust during playtime, I put the dust house in the bathtub, when it's over I just turn on the shower

That's a wicked good idea.

 

[Essentia]

Be careful if you are in an older house with narrower pipes. I tried that in my 1924 house and it clogged my tub.

 

[~SG~]

eek! thanks for the fair warning!!

 

[StevieP]

The bathtub is a great idea, but for those who do not use a bathroom for playtime/dusting I would put the bathhouse or container inside of a cardboard box turned on its side. That way dust can only come out of the front. I say I would do that because I use a playpen for that purpose but if I did not have a playpen I would use a box.

 

[Rob Walker]

I used a bread pan for awhile, but I let her dust during playtime. There was so much dust on my walls, that I resorted to buying a bath house.

I generally do twice a week in winter, but I never took into consideration drying her paws out.

 

[3CsMommy]

When his chest fur starts to get clumpy. It ends up being every 4 days or so.