My Little Kerby Keeps Shedding

[circulita17]

I have had my standard grey chinchilla Kerby for almost 2 years now and lately he has been shedding a lot more than usual. Around his body theirs little strands of hair sticking out and when I clean around his cage theres fur balls on the floor. I changed his diet to Oxbow, because they told me he wasn't getting enough nutrition and was causing his hair to fall out. Is this normal? is their something else I can do? Thanks for helping me out. Also I am new to Chins-N-Hedgies.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Chins shed depending on temperature and priming. If the temperature is higher than they are used to they'll start blowing fur to try to stay cooler. Priming occurs about every six to nine months. This is where the chinchilla will grow a new coat and push out the old coat. You end up with a large amount of dead fur that usually sheds slowly out of the coat. Other times the dead fur builds up too much and you end up with a lot of tufts of fur sticking out and dead fur all over the room. Either way, he just needs a good combing. Being on Oxbow and getting fresh timothy hay and filtered water is a good diet. Make sure he isn't getting any fresh fruits, fresh veggies, nuts or even seeds. These are all unhealthy treats for chinchillas. The best treats for them are Cheerios and shredded wheat.

Welcome to CnH! You'll find a lot of great info here.

 

[Chinmama]

Both my chins are going through this right now with little poofs of hair coming out everywhere. It usually happens with them around this time of year, every year. They look "homeless", as I call it, for a week or so and then it'll not be as bad for a while.

ZZ is too energetic to sit still to let me try to comb him and I'm afraid of Marble...lol. She will let me pet her and pull some of the tufts of hair as I pet, but I don't think there is any way I could comb her and still have intact hands when I was done!

 

[BoundNoFtWaL]

My Stitch is loosing hair right now also. I've let him out to run about the past few nights and I sit in the play area with him. I'm able to pet him as he runs over my leg and brush off the loose hairs with my hands. He hates the comb, but doesn't mind the hand grooming as long as he gets to run. The sitcks he gets when he goes back in the cage probably help too.