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[gtriping]

Hello,
    I have two chinchillas and for the past 8 months or so they have been having fur issues. It might be fur chewing, or it might even be there food not containing enough nutrients, but I want to make sure exactly what it is because I am starting to feel bad for the little guys. A couple facts:
-The food they have is a very cheap $3 bag of food from walmart supposedly designed for chinchillas, guinea pigs, and rabbits. (I do not belive this is true though since I fed it to my guinea pig and it got scurvy from vitamin C deficiency)
-One is male and the other is female and they are inseperable
-They have a 5 story cage with a house and plenty of toys
-They get out to play when I get a chance
-I give them usually 2 dustbaths a week

I have looked up both fur chewing and problems with food and want any opinions I can get, I do not see them ever chewing on eachother except for a little bitting to bathe that only lasts a second or two. Below is an image of one of them, any help would be appreciated.

[jbcstratton]

Not sure from the picture what is going on but I would definately get a better quality food to transition over to.  There is a whole list of quality foods like Mazuri and Manna Pro.  Also try buying a good quality dust like blue sparkle or blue cloud.  It will take a while for them to look better unless there is furchewing going on, which will probably not get better.  Jean sells quality items and ship very cheap this is a link to her store www.tjschinchillasupplies.com  Good luck and I'm sure other can give more insight and help.  Good luck!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Yes can we see a closer pic? Looks more thin fur too me. Could they be too warm?
Yes get a better feed anything is better than that.

[gtriping]

Thank you so far for your guys's input, I have taken your advice and recently bought better food, I went to the petstore where I bought one of them and asked what they use to feed there chinchillas and bought some of it, it was about 10 dollars a bag, 3x more expensive but worth it for my chinchilas. I also bought them better dust too. I do not belive they can be too warm though, for the most part it has been winter here in Vermont and the basement I keep them in is usually an average of 50 degrees or so. Below is a closer version of the pic (I would retake a newer one but am currently 2 hours away from them at college).

[heiwa]

I have a feeling in another issue.... is that you solely feed on pellets?? Any hay??

[dianah]

how often do they get their dust bath? how often is the sand changed? what's the inside of their cage like? i mean, wooden shelves/fleece?

i agree that a pellet that was designed for chins, piggies, rabbits sounds wrong. they have different dietary requirements. what hay do they get?

i would suggest you get lifeline http://chocolatechinchillas.com/id6.html - it's a powder mix of probiotics, prebiotics and all sorts of lovely stuff. it helps to absorb nutrients from food better so if the problem is the previous food, this can help speed things up.

is everything else normal? what's their poo like? poor body/fur condition suggests there might be something wrong with them medically but given it's both of them i think it's either insufficient nutrition, conditions they are kept in or insufficient bathing.

remember to introduce new foods really slowly. also, fur doesn't improve all that quick so it may take a while.

i would take them for a health check just to be on the safe side.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Looks like very soft fur ::nod::not good for coats, but who cares.

[ABC Chinchillas]

just looks like poor fur quality. I bet they have a lot of mutation in the lines. bad for a show/breeder but if it is just a pet it is fine

[gtriping]

:UPDATE:

   I gave the chinchillas new food, formulated especially for chinchillas I also give them a bath usually 1-2 times a week and it is a constant 70-75 here in the basement. I have also switched them from timothy hay too alfalfa due to the female recently giving birth to a newborn. I am happy to say that so far it looks like a healthy newborn and is feeding from his wonderful parents perfectly. Even tried to run on the wheel. As for the fur I am guessing it is from the female having chewed on both herself and her hubby. I say this cause I noticed she has a couple patches missing on top of her back legs where she can reach and the males fur was perfect till I put her in the cage (Does this seem plausible?). Other than the fur condition they are three very healthy chins.

[jbcstratton]

If your female is a few chewer, it is not a good idea to be breeding these chins as fur chewing can be genetic, also you don't know what other underlying conditions could be going on that you are breeding into these kits.  I would suggest seperating your male and from the female.

[jrod1195]

I'm no chinchilla expert, but I'd get them a better food. I try extremely hard to not have to switch my girls products often, only if I can't find it anywhere.

[CrazyChinLady]

I agree with the pellets to begin with. Need a name brand like what was suggested - Mazuri and hay is really important since that is a staple with them. Third cut timothy hay is the best you can get when in season. Go to www.kmshayloft.com. Their hay is top quality. You may want to add supplements to their pellets and foods that are high in c like rose hips. Blue Cloud, like one of your reads suggests, is good quality and change it often - you can tell when it is dirty... it starts looking grainy, and unfortunately, has poop in it.....
And, also, make sure their 'poop' is hard, about 1/4 to 1/2 long (not round and soft - that's a vet issue).
But always, a vet visit can never hurt.
Good luck