We know you love your chinchillas - they bring us so much joy!  But do you ever wonder if you are giving them everything they need?  While certainly not an exhausetive checklist, here are three quick areas that you can evaluate about your chinchilla's health right from home.  How does your chin's health rank?

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Check the Teeth

No, your chinchilla doesn't need Crest White Strips - for them, it's the oranger the better!  The orange enamel is indicative of sufficient calcium levels which is important for the health of your chinchilla.  If you notice your chin has white teeth, consult your vet right away for advice on calcium supplementation.  To ensure your chinchilla is receiving adequate amounts of these important minerals, as well as the essential amino acids, a balanced diet is key.  The food I recommend is Mazuri Chinchilla Pellets for a carefully balanced diet.  You can review the nutritional facts here: http://www.lonestarchinchilla.com/mazuri.html .  You can also visit http://www.mazuri.com/ to read about why each of these nutrients are so important!

Photo from Eyes of Texas Chinchillas

Not only is the color of their teeth an indicator of health, but also the size.  Chinchillas possess continuously growing incisors and molars and therefore require them to be grinded down constantly.  Fortunately, this is something your pet will do on his or her own, so long as you provide the appropriate resources.  First, if you are feeding your chinchillas with coarse pellets, such as the Mazuri diet, they will grind down the pellets as they consume them, helping maintain proper dentition at the same time.  Chinchillas will also employ this grinding behavior with their hay.  And of course, the ever popular chew toy is a handy tool.  Pumice stones, shown below, and wood chews serve a similar function.  Visit the "What chew talkin' about?" link on the Chinchilla Place homepage to review which species of woods are safe for chinchillas.  Remember, not everything sold in the pet store is safe for these exotic animals, even some marketed specifically for chinchillas.  If you currently provide pumice stones to your chin and it seems as though he or she has lost interest in it, it may be because he has chewed the edges and has trouble fitting his jaw around the remaining chunk.  Try cutting the stone in half to create new edges to chew.

Photo from Forchinate Chins

If your notice the level of food in your chinchilla's food dish has not gone down in a while, he or she may be suffering from a malocclusion.  This means that the teeth have become overgrown, preventing the animal from eating.  This is a serious problem, but usually can be corrected by your veterinarian if the problem is detected soon enough.  The "What chew talkin' about?" link lists more information about malocclusion which is important for every chinchilla owner to be aware of.

Check the Feet

Having cold feet is a good thing!  Maybe not at the altar, but for these little guys, it is a sign that they are regulating their body heat appropriately.  If you notice your chinchilla's feet becoming hotter, this is a sign that he or she is overheated and you should take measures immediately to cool them and their environment.  If the room temperature exceeds 75 degrees F, brain damage can occur and death will most likely ensue.  Another sign of overheating is pink ears (and/or feet).  If you suspect your chinchilla is overheating, cool the room right away, offer ice cubes in a bowl, and supervise your pet until his or her condition improves.  If the chinchilla is lying on their side, appears to have labored breathing, is convulsing, is unresponsive, or limp upon being held, CONTACT YOUR VETERINARIAN IMMEDIATELY.  This is a sign of heat stroke and if not treated right away, it will almost certainly be fatal to the animal.  The best way to prevent overheating in your chinchillas is to keep them in an air conditioned area in the Summer (this is an absolute necessity), equip their cage with a small marble or granite slab on which the chinchilla can sit to cool off, and do not position the cage in direct sunlight.  Also, be mindful that, if you are cooling the room with fans, not to have the cage in the direct path of the blowing fan.

Check the Fur

Perhaps their most notable characteristic, healthy chinchillas have the ability to grow and maintain a soft, full coat of fur, but occasionally you may notice patches of shortened fur that continually appear in various places on the chinchillas body, most commonly the hips.  Get the Chinnie Help Hotline on the phone because this patching is the result of fur biting, which means you may have an anxious or depressed chinchilla on your hands.  It was once thought that the actual behavior of fur biting, by which the animal bites of his own fur sometimes right down to the skin, was a genetic trait, meaning if the chin's parents were fur biters, the chin too would be.  However, it is now better understood that fur biting is a direct neurotic response to to a stress stimulus in the environment.  The hereditary contribution has been only linked to the temperament of the animal, meaning if mom and dad were high-strung, so will be their offspring and when said offspring are exposed to stressful conditions they are liable to fur bite.

So does fur biting harm the chinchilla?  Perhaps not the act of biting the fur itself, unless it is leaving skin exposed and irritated, but the major red flag in these situations is that there is something in the animal's environment that is upsetting them.  Fur biting is, in a sense, a form of self-mutilation and is their way of telling you they aren't happy.  The way to resolve a fur-biting problem is to remove the stressful stimulus.  It may be another pet, such as a dog or cat that frequents the cage and intimidates your chinchilla, it may be the chin's cage mate, it may be a small child, or loud noises, or insufficient diet, or it may even be lack of attention.  That's right - some chinchillas fur bite out of boredom.  Ensure that the immediate area of your chinchilla's cage is protected from these threats to reduce the stress factor.  If available, keep your chinchilla's cage in low-traffic area, such as a spare room or office, where you can prevent other pets from approaching the cage and harassing the caged animal.  In most instances, the fur will grow back and the biting will cease when the animal feels comfortable again.  If your chinchilla has chewed its fur to the point that skin is exposed, contact your veterinarian.  Without fur, chinchillas are limited in their ability to regulate their body temperature and you may need to take extra measures to accommodate for this deficit.

*** It is important that you research veterinarians who have experience with and extensive knowledge of chinchillas.  Because they are exotic pets, they require specialists when they need medical attention.  Be sure to locate a veterinarian as soon as (or before!) you get your chinchilla so you are prepared in an urgent situation. ***

Hopefully your prized pets measure up in all of these areas, and if not, you now have the facts to contact your vet and provide the best care possible for these sweet little critters!  Evaluate these areas on a weekly basis, and for the feet temperature, check daily.

It's late one evening, you've had a long day, but alas your nocturnal furry friend is at the cage door, begging for his nightly rounds to stretch his legs outside of his cramped quarters.  You unlatch the door and the little guy makes a break for the living room.  It's okay though because you've chinchilla-proofed the area, meticulously blocking off any hole where he could escape, removing or securing electrical cords that he could chew, and vacuuming the carpet of any debris he might try to eat.  You yawn and track him down the hall toward the living room where the nightly news drones on the TV.  You locate your pet darting under the couch, and emerging again only to find darkness under the coffee table, so you reach behind you for the newspaper and sit down in your La-Z-Boy, intending to keep an eye to the floor in supervision.  Unbeknownst to you, your sweet little furball has become intrigued by the metal jungle gym underneath your recliner.  You kick up the foot rest and hear a terrifying squeal, but it is too late . . .

Ah, the recliner - the domestic chinchilla's nemesis.  An unlikely suspect next to the obvious dangers of live electrical wires and open areas of water, the reclining chair is a lesser known culprit that severely injures and claims lives of many pet chinchillas every year.  While it may just be a comfy retreat to you, the inside is, of course, filled with metal levers and gears which are easily accessed by your chinchilla slipping under the side panel.  Despite how quickly your chinchilla is able to get into these situations, they don't always have the same luck when trying to get out.  It only takes a second for them to become trapped and suddenly they're in severe danger.

While this scenario is not to depress you, it is to make you aware of a legitimate household threat to your pet so you can take the necessary precautions for their protection.  If the living room is an accessible area to your chinchilla, and assuming you have taken steps to remove all other dangerous objects there, add this one to your list.  Make a rule that no person is to sit in the reclining chair (or reclining couch, for that matter) while your chin is roaming to avoid this heartbreaking situation.  As we owners well know, these little creatures are inherently curious and it is our responsibility as their human companion to protect them when they cannot protect themselves.  This precaution may seem obvious, but it can be easy to forget especially when you have multiple chinchillas playing in that area, and multiple humans in the house.  You might know exactly where the little guys are at all times, but your spouse, hoping to catch the ball game on TV, might not!  Take necessary measures to ensure the safety of your chinchilla so that he may have a long and healthy life.  Happy trails!

Amanda