Grooming.

Unless your chinchilla is going to be shown it is not necessary to groom it. A dust bath is really all that is required, though you will be missing out on an aspect of keeping your pet. Also, by combing you will make the area around the cage a little tidier as you will be removing the fur that otherwise would be floating around. Chinchilla grooming requires combs that are not readily available in your local pet shop unfortunately, though they can be bought from Paul Spooner and Aileen Cook who can be contacted through my links section. Chinchilla combs come in three sizes, though the medium grade comb is the one most commonly available. The medium comb (the green comb in the following photo)is used first to remove any loose hair, and then the fine comb (the white comb in the following photo) is used to finish the job. For general grooming only the medium comb is required, but to groom a chinchilla for the show bench I would recommend using the fine grade comb as well.

Chinchilla combs differ from the combs that you would use to groom your dog or pet rabbit in that the teeth of the comb are pointed and sharp to enable them to penetrate the fur of the chinchilla. A normal animal comb is fine for rough grooming, but not up to the job for the show bench. Care must be taken when using the fine comb as the teeth are very sharp.

Cover your lap with an old towel to catch any loose hair. Hold the chinchilla by the tail as close to the base as possible to completely restrain it. Firstly use the medium grade comb to begin grooming from the tail, working towards the neck. Use the comb to lift and separate a small section at a time, continue forward until all of the back and both sides are groomed. It's not necessary to groom the fur on the belly of the chinchilla. When finished, repeat the process using the fine grade comb to separate the hairs even more and pick up any loose fur. A fine toothed hacksaw blade can also be used to remove any stray loose hair by stroking it gently across the surface of the coat. Having finished grooming, gently lift the animal by the tail and give it a little shake (very gently), this will settle the fur and remove any grooming lines left in the coat.

Grooming will be very difficult at first, but will get easier as both you and the animal gain in experience. It can be very difficult if the animal is shedding heavily. Don't groom the chinchilla right after a dust bath. The comb will snag on any dust left in the coat ripping healthy fur out. It is useful to comb just before dusting as it helps the dust to penetrate more deeply into the fur. If you intend showing your chinchilla, check the fur on the end of the tail. If it is long, bushy or stained it may be worth trimming it with a pair of scissors. To do this hold the fur between your fingers and use the edge of them as a cutting guide. By placing your fingers between the edge to be cut and the tail, you remove the possibility of cutting into the tail itself.

If you intend grooming your chinchilla, stop giving dust baths about three days beforehand. This allows the chinchilla to loose any dust that it may have lodged in it's fur. If you groom your chinchilla just after a dust bath the comb will snag on any dust in the fur, possibly leading to fur being pulled out.

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