Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: sashasmommy on May 31, 2008, 09:36:14 AM
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Can chinchilla's get fleas??? If so..how do u get rid of them?
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No they cant . Their fur is too thick for fleas .
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::howdythere:: No, fleas cannot live on chinchillas. A chin can be a transition host for them, but that is all. The fleas will not stay on a chin. Their fur has the highest density of all animals. They have more than 50 hairs per hair follicle. Humans have one. So, fleas would suffocate if they stayed on a chin. JANE
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Ok thanks. So is there any other possible reason my chins are itching a lot lately??
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There are a few causes of itchy skin that I am aware of. Illness, stress, skin fungus/ringworm, diet deficiency, too many for too long of dust baths. Does your chin seem to be eating ok? Have you moved him lately to another location or caged him with another chin? Does he have any sores or dry spots on his body? Is he getting a grain supplement as well his pellets? Yes, you can give a chin too many baths & you can leave them in for too long. They have lots of lanolin in their fur & some of that must stay in. You can dry them out by giving too much of a good thing. Kind of look at things individually & maybe you can figure it out. Could be that they are fine & just like to scratch. Hope this helps....JANE :-\
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No they cant . Their fur is too thick for fleas .
Actually I have seen a case of a very poor fur quality chinchilla actually getting fleas. Most chinchillas can't get them because the fleas are too large to get through the thick fur to bite the skin, however, in a very poor quality animal is may be possible. Although, if your chinchilla had fleas you would be able to see them as you would have no trouble seeing the skin.
Most likely it is dry skin from too many dust baths. :)
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I actually think that the dust bath may be the culprit. Their bath got left in the cage on accident the other day over night and I found Spike sleeping in it the next day. Thanks a ton!