Sometimes owners of chinchillas may face the fact that their pet begins to lose hair dramatically. For many animals, molting is a completely natural process, but is it characteristic of chinchillas? Why do chinchillas molt? Is it dangerous? How to help your pet in this case?
Chinchilla molt - the norm?
Many owners wonder: why does the chinchilla molt in the spring? Chinchillas are not characterized by seasonal molting, like many other animals. So the answer to this question will be found below. Nevertheless, these animals, like people, lose a certain number of hairs in the process of life. Their hair is renewed quite slowly, they lose from 20 to 30 hairs per day. The owner may not even notice them in the enclosure of the beast or on the floor, because a sharp increase in the fallen wool is immediately evident.
It is worth noting that chinchillas still change their hair from "children" to "adult". This happens when the animal is about one year old, and may last several months.
Thus, if suddenly in a cage of a pet you find lumps of wool, and bald patches appear on the body of a chinchilla, it is worth paying close attention to this. Fur problems are the first sign that something is wrong with the animal. Why does chinchilla shed much? The reasons we will consider below.
Stress
Surprisingly, distant relatives of chinchillas are porcupines, which drop their needles in case of attack by a predator. Chinchillas also have a similar habit in critical situations, but they only lose their hair. This mechanism often saves the lives of animals in nature, but at home it can cause a sharp baldness of the pet.
Why does the chinchilla molt to shreds? There can be quite a few reasons for fright: contact with other domestic animals, careless handling of the owner, stress when moving to a new place, pain from the injury, loud noises and sudden movements, fights with relatives.
If you remove the source of stress, the chinchilla begins to grow very quickly with hair. In just a few weeks, her hair will be renewed.
To avoid hair loss due to stress, you need to be very careful about the animal. After the purchase, do not disturb him for several days. Do not immediately pull him into your arms, first you need to get to know him. First let the chinchilla sniff his hands in order to get used to the smell of his master. She must be accustomed to her hands slowly and carefully, gradually gaining confidence.
Temperature violation
Why does a chinchilla molt in spring? What to do in this case? The most likely cause may be a change in the temperature regime in the room. The closer to summer, the warmer in the apartment. If the room is over + 23 ° C, the animal feels uncomfortable and, in order to cool off a bit, sheds its thick and warm coat.
Optimal for chinchillas is a temperature from +16 to + 18 ° C. If the temperature in the room is much higher, the beast may become too hot: it will lose its coat, the skin becomes covered with red spots and begins to peel off.
To achieve a beautiful and dense coat at the pet, it is worth maintaining the temperature in the optimum mode (from +16 to + 18 ° C). In summer, the room should be air-conditioned and air-cooled. However, one should be careful here, because under a direct stream of cold air a pet can catch a cold. In winter, you should not put a cage in heaters and batteries to avoid overheating.
Avitaminosis
One of the reasons why chinchilla sheds may be vitamin deficiency. Chinchilla nutrition should be varied. In addition to special dry food, the animal should be given fruits and vegetables rich in a variety of vitamins. When feeding poorly balanced feeds, chinchilla hair becomes faded and brittle, it begins to fall out.
In the case of vitamin deficiency, it is worth revising the pet's diet. Only high-quality feed recommended by breeders should be selected. Also in the diet of the animal must be: hay, apple, carrots, seedlings of oats and wheat, dry leaves of strawberries, rose hips and hawthorn. It is necessary to consult a veterinarian who will prescribe a course of vitamins for the animal.
Skin and internal diseases
A common cause of chinchilla baldness is allergic dermatitis. They can appear as a result of an allergic reaction to individual components of food, bedding or bathing sand. In case of an allergy, the chinchilla begins to cough, she has hoarse breathing and shortness of breath, hair falls out on the sides, neck, legs and abdomen, huge bald patches form. Often such a reaction is possible when feeding chinchillas with prohibited foods.
Quite often lichen is found in chinchillas. Wool falls out on the infected site, a dry crust appears. It is possible to isolate a sucker and pus. Most often, lichen appears on the muzzle at the nose and eyes, on the legs, at the tail. Chinchilla begins to itch and bite the fur, she is annoyed and constantly rushing around. If lichen is not cured in time, it will spread throughout the body of the animal. In addition, lichen is contagious to humans.
Hair loss can also be in the case of infectious and internal non-communicable diseases of the animal. Often, only a doctor can determine the problem and make an accurate diagnosis. Loss of hair in chinchillas can indicate many problems, which is why in this case it is necessary to consult a doctor.
Gnawing fur
Quite often, chinchillas gnaw out their fur with their teeth, which makes them look disheveled and messy. In addition, these animals are not averse to patting the fur of a neighbor. The exact causes of this phenomenon are unknown, but chinchilla hair is supposedly gnawing for the following reasons:
- stress;
- similar behavior is often observed in emotionally unstable and nervous animals and is inherited;
- pregnancy and feeding offspring cause hormonal stress in the female, and also cause a lack of vitamins in the body;
- unbalanced nutrition and poor-quality feed;
- high temperature in the room;
- illnesses;
- lack of attention and boredom.
Treatment
Often, only a doctor can answer the question why a chinchilla sheds so much. If the animal has a lot of hair, it is first necessary to analyze the conditions of its keeping. It is worth protecting the animal from stress, checking the temperature of the room where the cage is.
In the case of allergic dermatitis, it is important to find the cause of the allergic reaction of the animal. It is worth revising the pet's diet, excluding all prohibited foods from it. You can experiment a bit with food and bedding to identify the source of the problem.
If the animal has lichen or other diseases, only a veterinarian can make an accurate diagnosis. The doctor should examine the animal, take blood and make a scraping from the skin for analysis. Depending on the identified source of the disease, medication will be prescribed.
Content Rules
Why do chinchillas molt? The main reason for most pet health problems is poor conditions. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the established standards for keeping the animal to please you with a thick and soft coat.
Chinchillas need to be fed in a variety of ways. Granular feed of high quality that contains all the necessary vitamins and minerals is well suited. It is necessary to exclude prohibited foods from the diet that can cause a severe allergic reaction. These include sweets, cabbage, citrus fruits, bananas, melon, persimmons, smoked meats. Free water should be clean.
The minimum size of the cage: 70x50 cm. It must have special sand for swimming. Chinchillas cannot be bathed in water. Chinchillas are accustomed to the toilet, so you can pour a special granular filler into it, which absorbs moisture. There must be a house in the cage where the animal can sleep during the day.
Since chinchillas are extremely shy, their cage should be in a quiet place, away from other pets. Drafts are dangerous for the animal, as are direct sunlight.
Thus, why a chinchilla molts can be determined only by analyzing the conditions of the animal. To exclude the possibility of a disease, you should immediately consult a veterinarian. As soon as you eliminate the cause of the sudden molt, the chinchilla will again delight you with the beautiful soft fur that these funny animals are so famous for.