New Chinchilla Owner--Questions About Fur/Skin

[automaticturtle]

Hello all,

I recently adopted "Hugo" from my local Humane Society. He is my first chin, and like many new parents, I'm a bit flustered!

Hugo's Backstory: He was left abandoned in an apartment and was surrendered to the Human Society by the building's landlord. He lived there for approximately six months before I adopted him.

The vet at the Humane society informed me that Hugo had some health problems when he came in: specifically, alopecia and dry skin/scaling around his ears. He was also treated for mites. The vet attributed most of his problems to poor diet (not sure how accurate this is).

I've had Hugo home with my for a few days now. He seems to be behaving normally--he eats, poops, chews, and plays. However, I've noticed while petting him that he has a small patch of skin near his shoulder-blades that feels rough (almost like sandpaper). Is this the dry skin they were talking about? As well, there is a rather large chunk of fur missing from his thighs still (only the guard hairs are missing--you can see the dark underfur peeking out).

Just wondering whether I should be concerned or not. I signed a contract agreeing not to take him to my vet for the first 14 days after adoption, so I feel a bit "in the dark" right now!

Thanks in advance to any replies I get.

 

[Chinniechantel]

I bet it is fungus. I would treat it with catain and or blu kote, but would get a scaping by the vet done first if possible. I would use blu kote found at most feed stores or amazon. A fungues infection can become cronis and also cause itching and pain if it gets really bad. You can also buy sulfur on amazon and it is supposed to help with fungus, which is what it sounds like to me. How often do you give him dust baths?

 

[automaticturtle]

Fungus, eep!

He's been having dust baths every other day since I brought him home. However, it's possible that he did not get as many at the shelter.

 

[Silverrose]

Do you have any pictures? The rough, scaly skin could be fungus. You can get a skin scraping at the vet to be sure. You can add tinactin to his dustbath and put blu-kote on the area if its not too bad. Otherwise, you will need a vet to help you treat it.

The missing fur on his thighs sounds like he is fur-chewing. There is not much you can do about that. He may have developed it because he was in such a stressful situation previously. It may go away now that he is in a better environment, but it may not.

I don't know why they would have treated him for mites... maybe you want to find a more knowledgeable chin vet anyways.

And what's his diet like now?

 

[automaticturtle]

I don't know if I can get a picture of it, as I can't really see the skin underneath all that fur, and he isn't much used to handling yet.

My first thought about the missing fur was also that he was fur-chewing--however, I haven't caught him doing it since I brought him home. :hmm:

As for his diet, I'm currently transitioning him away from Kaytee (it's what the shelter was feeding him) and onto Oxbow.

Yes, a visit to the vet would do him good (I have a vet specifically for exotics--not sure how knowledgeable the Humane Society one was), but like I said, I signed a contract stating that I would not bring him to an outside vet for the first fourteen days of adoption.

Starting to think I should just ignore this and bring him in anyway.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Too many dust baths can dry out skin too, but it should not be flaky to the point you described. I would pay cash at the vet, I don't get the reasoning behind that contract at all, did they tell you why?

 

[automaticturtle]

Too many dust baths can dry out skin too, but it should not be flaky to the point you described. I would pay cash at the vet, I don't get the reasoning behind that contract at all, did they tell you why?

No clue. It's just the standard adoption contract at my local shelter. They tell you to bring the animal back to their vet if you have any problems in the first two weeks.

Anyway, I think I'm going to ignore it and take Hugo in to my vet. I'd rather break a silly contract than put his health at risk.

Thanks for your input guys, and I'll keep you updated!

 

[Chinniechantel]

His health is not really at risk, unless he starts really scratching it and or it gets infected. You could wait the 14 days, but I would treat the area with blu kots and get some sulfur or captain and that should do the trick. The vet can't do much but confirm fungus and maybe if it is really bad give an oral med.

 

[automaticturtle]

His health is not really at risk, unless he starts really scratching it and or it gets infected. You could wait the 14 days, but I would treat the area with blu kots and get some sulfur or captain and that should do the trick. The vet can't do much but confirm fungus and maybe if it is really bad give an oral med.

Oh! Well, that's a relief. (Sorry, I've been reading up on the broad Chinchilla health topics, but am still learning. Wasn't sure how serious a fungus is.) I will look into the blu kote for the time being.

Thanks again.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Just be careful as fungus can be caught by humans, and it is not a fun thing to have!

 

[Cuddlebug]

In case you don't already know, another name for fungus is ringworm.