Can you be allergic to chinchillas?

Chinchillas are adorable and endearing and offer many years of companionship for the owner, but can you be allergic to chinchillas? A little known information is that the chinchilla does release proteins that make a person allergic. It is an expulsion in the form of urine and saliva and they also shed their fur once every few months.

The reason a person becomes allergic to chinchillas is mainly due to the hay and dust from the chinchillas. If you are allergic to hay and dust, you cannot buy a chinchilla as a pet. It is a well-known fact that most protein-releasing warm-blooded animals have hair on their bodies. Furry animals like to lick their fur and the saliva, once dry, the protein will float on different materials in the home.

Some who are unaware of such things will have to deal with their allergies and eventually give away their chinchilla as a pet. It is not only the owner who has to put up with the hassle, but also the poor chinchilla. They will have to leave their hay and dust bath and then sooner or later they will have to be relocated. It can be traumatic for the chinchilla pet, not just for the allergy sufferer.

You can become allergic just by being exposed to the chinchilla and rubbing your eyes and skin is common. A relevant detail that we must know is that the allergy can take weeks, months or even years to occur and there are cases in which some owners may need an inhaler to cure their respiratory problem. If you are one of those people who eventually becomes allergic to hay and dust, then rehoming is a must for your pet.

To avoid developing long-term allergies to hay and dust, there are many ways and covering your chinchilla’s cage with a sheet and having its own enclosed area with the door closed is one of them. If dusting is necessary, move away from the fans, then wrap a sheet around them and close the door to the room for a little over ten minutes, as this will allow the dust to settle.

In addition to the necessary safety measures, you can buy your chinchilla pet certain brands of bath litters that reduce the impact of flying dust. While useful for dust reduction, it is not cost effective for those who have a limited resource. Steps you take to reduce your pet chinchilla’s allergies are essential steps, but if he eventually develops allergies or is severely allergic to fur and dust, then rehoming is the best option.