Question:
O.K. So here is my problem. I bought a chinchilla from a pet store...i know bad idea...but the first one that I bought had some problems. all of the fur right behind the ear and the skin was kind of scaly. He also had the same scaly stuff on his rear foot. My roomate and i decided to take it back to the pet store and see what they said about it. When i brought it to the store they didn't even let me explain, they took the chinchilla and gave me a new one. Now the new one is starting to lose fur behind its ear and i am really worried that the same thing is going to happen to this one. Whats even more strange is that my roomate developed a yeast infection on her chin and her doctor told her it could have been from the Chinchilla. Is it possible for the chinchilla to have had a yeast infection on its ear and leg? or what else could it be and how can i help the little girl? Please if anyone can help me i would appreciate it sooooo much!
Thanks


Answer:
It sounds like it could be some type of fur fungus, but only a qualified vet can really confirm this. Fungus can definitelty spread to humans so if your friend developped a skin problem shortly after the chins came in, it's possible she got it from them.

Find a good vet in your area and get the chinchilla examined. It could be as easy as putting some tenactin in her dust bath and getting her to bathe every day or she may need some medication. Since the pet store has already shown they have no interest in actually solving the problem, I would not even bother going to them with this...or maybe going to them after (sans chinchilla) once you have a disagnosis and a vet bill to see if they will cover some of the expense. don't hold your hopes up though...


Answer:
Sophie is right. Fungus is extremely contagious and if you put the new chinchilla in the previous chinchilla's cage, it can easily develop fungus. And it also sounds like the pet store you got your chinchilla from has a problem with fungus. I would wash the cage and all accessorites thoroughly.


Answer:
I actually bought a new cage and new accessories because i was so afraid that the new baby chin would get whatever the other one had. My problem is that i am a college student and i can't really afford to take it to the vet right now. I have been doing alot of research and every picture i have seen of a fungus shows that the skin is red and looks infected, but the skin on my chinchilla is normal colored it is just scaly and there is no fur. i don't know what else to do cause i can't find anything on the net that sounds like what my chin has.


Answer:
Fur fungus can take on a variety of different forms depending on the bug that is infectign the animal. Either way, you know your chin is sick and you do not know what it is sick with. While we can provide guesses, we are not medical professionals. That would be why a vet visit is advisable.

No offence, but if all you can afford is the chinchilla itself and cannot afford to provide it medical care, maybe you should reconsider even owning one. It is really not doing your animal justice to just let it get sick and not provide care based on lack of money. Medical needs are always an issue at some point in a pet's life and there should be a plan in place to provide what is necessary even before the animal steps into your house. It's just not enough to want a pet for companionship or any other reason. You need to take care of it when required too.


Answer:
You could have saved alot of money by disinfecting your 1st chinchilla cage instead of buying a new one. Then you could have put that money towards the Vet. Any chance of returning one of the cages?


Answer:
i am trying to sell the other cage right now. the store won't take it back i already tried. they also told me that the likelyhood of me actually cleaning the cage well enough to prevent it from spreading was not very good. I cleaned it really well with some bleach and water and now i'm trying to sell it. I am going to call the vet tommorrow and see if they can just tell me what to do over the phone or something.


Answer:
Bleach should kill it. Let it soak for a good 20 minutes at least.