Chinchilla taking a bath

[Marie5656]

I thin k I have mentioned in the past that Trixie takes "dust baths" rather than water baths,
Found a video to give you an idea of how they bathe. Note the scratching of the dust before the chin rolls in it.

[guppy]

ha ha, thats tame compared to the way mine used to take a dust bath...they loved to dive in and make a dust cloud.....they were hysterical.....

[Marie5656]

Oh yes..Trixie loves to jump out of her bath house in a puff of dust..then run right over to me, jump up on my lap and shake off more dust.

[Marie5656]

Originally Posted by almostfamous

what kind of dust is this? i can't say i know much about chinchillas but they're cute lil rascals

It is mainly a very fine lava ash, and a few other ingredients. Chinchilla coats are so very dense that it is hard for them to dry completly if gotten wet. So, they roll around in this stuff, gets embedded deep into thier coats and they get nice and clean.
Before two years ago, I did not know much about them either. They are not as chubby as they seem..they are mainly all poof.
The average weight is about 1 and a half pounds (between 500 and 600 gms).

[Marie5656]

Originally Posted by almostfamous

I think I know what I'll be asking for on my birthday
Gollee they're so dang cute. I wonder how it would interact with my cat
Do you let em run around a bit? Can they do tricks ? ..just curious

Gotta be careful with letting your chin have free run time. They can squeeze into alot of tight places. I have a dedicated chin proof room (our guest bedroom) which I use as her playroom when I have her out.
I do not know about interactions with cats, but I do kn ow thay many chin owners have other pets. My only concern is that cats are predators...she may see a chin as a meal. So you may n ot want the chin and cat on the floor together unsupervised. Though chins are mighty fast...they can get from here to there in a flash.
Remember too, before making the commitment...they require alot of care..and have a life span of up to 12 years. make sure you want to commit that long.

[Marie5656]

Another bath time video