Keeping Your Chinchilla Healthy

Let's talk about keeping your chinchilla healthy.

Being knowledgeable on health problems that your pet can get is a great way to prevent them from every happening. This includes preventing chinchillas from having abscesses. Abscesses are a fairly common ailment that pet chinchillas get. They are a cavity of pus that forms under a chinchilla's fur.

What causes them? Typically an injury that becomes infected is to blame. Injuries that many chinchillas get include cuts or punctures from sharp spot on cage as well as bite wounds and scratches from other chinchillas. If you have multiple pet chinchillas you should definitely may attention to any injuries they get, even minor ones. Pets can easily get infections.

Infections and abscesses can sometimes be caused by dirty cage conditions. A chinchilla's cage must be cleaned frequently and disinfected regularly. Spoiled food and feces create a good environment for bacteria and parasites and you don't want your pet to get those. Keeping your pet's cage clean and making sure there are no sharp edges is on way to prevent abscesses from forming.

If you notice lumps, redness, swelling or pus, your chinchilla could have abscesses. Contact your veterinarian right away. Pets with abscesses or any type of infection need immediate treatment. Infections can spread to other organs and get in the blood stream. When bacteria spread it can cause more severe issues that could be fatal.

Don't just rely on your own diagnose, let a veterinarian figure out exactly what your pet's issue is. A veterinarian can run tests and with the right diagnosis, your chinchilla can receive the proper treatment. If abscesses rupture they have to be drained and treated with antiseptic to treat the infection. If they aren't ruptured your veterinarian will surgically remove them or have to apply a topic medication to them until the infection clears up. Oral antibiotics are also prescribed to infected chinchilla as well because antibiotics can help treat any secondary infections.

The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your veterinarian or other health care professional. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment.