I've just adopted a second chinchilla from one of my friends (her house is like infested with chinchillas!). And I've only got it for a few hours and I'm wondering (not sure if I should worry about it or not...)
So, this new chinchilla of mine is white and its age is somewhere less than a year. I've noticed when it eats that its teeth is EXTREMELY yellow! I have another chinchilla by the name of Chin-Chin who is grey and Chin-Chin's teeth seem very healthy as they are white. I'm not sure if this new white chinchilla of mine has yellow teeth because of malnutrition, hygiene, or health issures and if it can be helped.
The second think about this new white chinchilla is that compared to other chinchillas, its tail is lacking quite some fur! The chinchillas I've seen have really thick tails mostly coverred in fur and this one just doesn't seem to have it.
I'm wondering if these are signs if an un-healthy chinchilla, or just minor problems that can be fixed or if they are natural.
Answers:
snooky is correct their teeth should be yellow/orange depending on the age... young chinchilla's can have white teeth. Cuddle bones also work well as they wear down the teeth on top of getting calcium into their system. Calcium supplementation is serious stuff and only should be done if the teeth are white or chalky looking. Is the chin with white teeth hunchbacked? There could be more going on than shows. A high quality pellet and hay should have all the nutrients needed.
As to the hair it could be from hair slips, if it is dry and flakey or has a rash appearance a vet could better tell you if it is a fungus or ringworm.
They are all different I wouldn't worry bout the fur. The teeth can be white or yellow, either way the teeth are healthy. If they start turning brown you can worry about it but yellow is totally normal. Not all chinchillas are noise makers, he may be deaf if he dosen't make noise when he thinks he is in danger.
I would isolate chinchilla til I found out, their teeth need trimmed if it seems ok, feed it good food ahd make sure it has a chewy for those teeth
Yellow teeth are not a bad sign. Its just he doesnt have anyting to chew on. Give him a good chew toy with vitamins. If he seems to be scratching he may have mights which causes him to pull the fur out. GIve him a good diet and slowly introduce him to your other one.
Hope this helps.
A sign of a healthy chinchilla is a dark orange colour. If the teeth are white that can be a sign they need calcium. You can give them some tums to get the calcium levels up.
The fur around the tail that is missing is probably the result of someone grabbing them by the tail. When they're scared, they release fur. It's a survival tactic. It should grow back.
Who knows or cares?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment