Chinchilla fur

[trista]

Hopefully I am in the right spot.
My question is:
Does Chinchilla fur change with age?
I know that it can oxidize...which I'm still not 100% sure on (meaning, I don't know what causes it and all of the info, but I am interested in knowing)
And does the "quality" change with age? Can a chinchilla that once had really great fur, start to look a little "ruff around the edges"
Fur really interests me at the present moment.

[chinclub]

Absolutely!  In the first few months a chinchilla has its baby fur.  At around 7-8 months it will come into its first prime.  This is typically considered the best fur age for a chinchilla and most people show their chinchillas at this time (if they are going to show)  Then after that the chinchilla will be in various stages of priming where they are losing old fur and growing new fur.  The fur can become damaged from breeding, cage conditions, ect.  Its not uncommon for a chinchilla to be taken to a show multiple times in its life and get all totally different results.

Oxidation is best seen in beige colored chinchillas (including tans). As the hair ages it starts to get a orangy look to it.  Darker beiges tend to show it more than lighter ones do.  This doesn't hurt its breeding quality but it will kill its chances at a show.

[trista]

Thanks so much for the info. I knew about the priming and all of that, but I was just unsure if the fur quality "diminishes" with age. Thanks for answering! The reason I asked is I have a Homo. Beige Chinchilla and he will be 6 on Sunday. Some of his fur is still nice and some of it has that tint to it. He's obviously been through a lot of primes in his lifetime so far! I don't think he had the most WONDERFUL life - but now that he's with me I am trying to make sure that his coat looks nice while it still can. He began his 9th Prime in June and will peak in the middle of October.