Emma Jones
Species-appropriate husbandry and healthy food are the basis for a long and happy chinchilla life. To be absolutely sure that your loved ones are healthy, you should carry out a short health check every day. Find out how here.
With a large, clean enclosure, lots of free space, and species-appropriate nutrition, you lay the foundation for the health of the animals. But despite the best care, every animal can get sick at some point.
The daily health check for chinchillas is important in order to detect diseases as early as possible because the earlier a disease is detected, the faster the affected chinchilla can be treated and the better the chances of recovery. Therefore, check briefly every day whether your chinchillas show any changes or abnormalities. It is best to observe them while they are running free.
If you know your chinchillas well, you will usually notice quite quickly if they behave differently or show external changes. Then you can react in time and take your animal to the vet.
You should pay attention to this during the health check of your chinchillas
To be able to judge whether your chinchillas are healthy, you should take a look at the following body regions and behaviors of the chinchillas:
- activity/liveliness
- appetite
- eyes
- fur
- whiskers
- nose and ears
- teeth and tooth position
- faeces/excretions
Signs of a healthy chinchilla
In order to notice changes, it is first important to know how a healthy chinchilla behaves.
- A healthy chinchilla sleeps during the day but is lively and awake in the evening and at night.
- It enjoys nibbling on furniture and happily hopping across the carpet.
- A healthy chinchilla eats with a great appetite.
- Healthy chinchillas have clear, shiny eyes.
- Chinchillas are very clean. In a healthy animal, the coat is soft, dense, and well-groomed.
- Chinchillas have long, soft whiskers.
- Healthy chinchillas have clean, dry noses and ears.
- Healthy chinchillas have yellow-orange fangs. In a healthy chinchilla, the lower teeth are longer than the upper ones. The chinchilla droppings are oval in shape and have a hard, dry consistency.
These are signs of illness in chinchillas
If you notice the following things on your chinchilla’s body during a health check, you should consult a veterinarian.
- Bonded or bald spots in the coat
- Nasal discharge or crusts and crusts on the nose
- Scales, crusts, and scabs on the edges of the ears
- cloudy or sticky eyes
- White teeth are brittle.
- Extremely small droppings can indicate constipation, in the case of diarrhea the droppings are soft and greasy and the animal’s anus is often sticky.
Even if not every change in your animal necessarily means that it is seriously ill, you should always consult the vet when in doubt.
The behavior of chinchillas as signs of disease
as are not self-pitying. If they’re feeling bad, they hide it as long as possible. They will also not let you know by vocalizing when they need help. However, if you know your animals well, you will quickly notice when they behave strangely. These are notable behaviors:
If your chinchilla is in the evening and at night when the animals are actually active,…
- … sits apathetically in the cage,
- also does not want to come out to freewheel and
- separates itself from its peers, …
… it may be sick. Even if the animal no longer responds to you when you talk to it or pet it, you should consult a veterinarian.