05/01/2025
RINGWORM PREVENTION IN CHINCHILLAS.
Ringworm is a fungal parasite which thrives in DAMP conditions. Consequently, there is much we can do to prevent its getting a grip in our environment with good husbandry:
1• Ensure chins are cleaned every day. Sitting on urine soaked wood, wood chips, newspaper or fleece causes issues on many levels. Always make sure your fleece is thoroughly line or tumble dried.
2• Invest in a dehumidifier. My A/C also has dehumidifier function for the wet months. It’s always good to remember that chins hail from an ARID country, that means very little rainfall, whilst the UK is about as wet as Winona Ryder in that film about addiction. Chinchillas just aren’t designed for this climate and they need some extra help.
3• Diatomaceous Earth. These fabulous, microscopic, fossilised remains of diatoms are nature’s most effective anti-parasitic. I first started using them for myself, on the advice of my Crufts-class-winning-schipperke-breeder-client/friend. All the best people are now using it as a broad spectrum anti-parasitic to save the pets the trauma of harsh chemical treatments. It works very nicely with everything from fleas to mould, ringworm included.
It’s very mild and very safe for chinchillas, I’ve been using it for about… Hmm, 12 years. I put about 3g in 400g of my forage mix, as well as a little bamboo charcoal. Give it a good mix/shake and it mops up any impurities in the environment as well as dissuading any fungal visitors.
You can also use it topically but NEVER put it in the bath as it’s not safe to inhale. I’ve rubbed it into the skin of a chin which was suffering from too much starch in her diet. We initially had the absolute crap scared out of us, thinking it was ringworm, when lots of little clumps of fur with dandruff attached to them started to come out of her skin. Some help from Belinda at Galen’s Garden, a big change in diet and a mix of Belinda’s rosemary and sepiolite with DE fixed her in six months.
My only brush with ringworm was when I was boarding. A guy left me with two hamsters and I didn’t check them. Luckily as it was a very hot summer and I quarantined them straight away, none of my chins ever caught it. The endless washing of hands and changing of clothes is not something I ever wish to repeat and I’m no longer boarding unless it’s a housing emergency.
Pic from Cuddlebug Chinchillas
