#agent chinchilla to the rescue

[dexeryy9000]

Boris Jr Scares Team Chip

[iamrheaspeaks]

omitted truths

Erik X OC!

Bold Italics: Flashback

Word Count: ~1900

Warnings: None

A/N: As always this was lightly proofread/ edited. Enjoy! 💋

Part 2 Part 3

Back pressed against the door Mila slide down roughly against it until she made contact. Settling on the hardwood floor with a thud. It wasn’t until a ball of fluffy white fur settled in her lap, the humming from it’s purring slowly relaxing her enough to speak. Lifting her head to the dark cloud that just shot her day to hell. “Why are you here, Erik?”

Sighing deeply before answering, “Look I know I’m the last person you want to see. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t necessary.”

Shock and denial regressing back to anger “Just fucking say it! She demanded.

“One. Watch your fucking tone Mila! And two it involves our last…day together.”

“I’m blissfully ignorant about there ever being a last anything with you.”

“Well, that sucks because there’s surveillance videos that say otherwise.” Erik retorted blankly.

Mila threw her head back as she cackled before leaving her seat on the floor going to stand right in front of Erik. “I’m sorry nigga? Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you’re trying to tell me that there’s video surveillance of a day we both agreed would NEVER be spoken of again! You’re not supposed to fucking be here! What the fuck did you do Erik?”

“Look!” Erik pinched his nose to try and combat his frustration before continuing, “Imma go get a drink at the spot down the street from here. Here’s my number if you wanna talk when you calm down, if you don’t that’s fine too. But I ain’t going away anytime soon princess.”      

That was 3 months ago. Before that day Mila’s life had been simple. Just her, her husband Noah and Midnight, their White Chinchilla Persian rescue. Life was a familiar rotation of hellos and goodbyes. Judy, the only cashier whose lane she went to because she actually knew how to properly bag groceries. Mark, the drive thru bank teller who always gave her homemade cat treats for Midnight. Janine, an overly energetic and absolutely adorable three year old toddler whose cheeks she got to pinch while waiting for her morning coffee at the hole in the wall cafe next door to her apartment building. Now there was nothing but lawyers, endless questions from everyone, staring glances from strangers and friends alike, that damn surveillance video and Erik.

“Mrs. Day?”

“Yes”

“Can you confirm that this is indeed you entering the Stevens’ residence?”

“It is”

“And what were you doing there?”

“Visiting an old friend, sir”

“Friend is an interesting word considering I have it under good authority that you and Mr. Stevens dated exclusively for three years before the date in question.” Mila silently scoffed at the word exclusively. That would imply a monogamist relationship, something Erik wasn’t capable of.

“Objection your honor! That wasn’t a question!” Mila’s lawyer quipped almost immediately.

“You’re right counselor! Let me rephrase, Mrs. Day how do you know Mr. Stevens? From the beginning please.” The prosecutor corrected.

For the first time since this all began Mila looked over to Erik. He just smirked and nodded. “Alright then, the beginning. Mr. Stevens and I met sophomore year of high school. We began dating the summer of junior year and were dating on and off until about six months before that footage when I met my husband.”

The man who was dead set on proving Mila was some sort of informant for Erik was now scrabbling through his notes and mumbling to himself. His unraveling was truly as sight to see. Hmm, I guess the truth will really set you free, Mila thought to herself.

“B-but that can’t be true,” he sounded defeated as his frantic search through his files subsided, “unless, unless…” he never got to complete that thought thanks to the FBI agent who stormed into the court rushing straight up to the judge handing him a file with a big red CLASSIFIED stamp on it. After skimming the file, the pasty white man swallowed hard looking at Mila.

“Witness dismissed! Thank you Mrs. Day for your cooperation up until this point. You are no longer needed.” He then turned to face the rest of the room, “Court is adjourned for the remained of the day! With the exception of Mrs. Day everyone is expected back tomorrow morning.”

The ride home from the courthouse was the same it’s been since the trail started, deafly quite. All Noah wanted to talk about was Erik and Mila just wanted things to go back to normal. To take a long hot bath with a glass of wine and her ‘Chill Vibes’ playlist and finally, to wake up tomorrow like none of this ever happened.

“Mila, can you please tell me what the hell is going on? What was in that file? That was the fucking FBI! Who are you?”

“I was fine until you came in here demanding answers to shit above your level of clearance Noah” Mila snapped sipping her Merlot. “But since you wanna know so damn bad I’ll tell you when I get out. Until then I’d pack my shit if I was you. You won’t even admit to knowing me after today.” As the door to the bathroom shut behind Noah, Mila’s phone dinged with a message.

Erik 😓: Still hate me?

Mila: Yes!

As Mila moved throughout her bedroom getting dressed she noticed Noah had taken her advice. His side of the closet was empty and his toiletries no longer took up space on the dresser. Of all the things that she should feel in the moment, relief shouldn’t have been one of them. But she was ready for this to all be over. Dressed in a gray and blue pajama shorts set complete with blue knee high socks, Mila found Noah sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands.

“Look. This wont be easy to hear,’ She started ‘I’ll answer any questions you have after I’ve finished.”

“Well…”

“My name,’ Mila took a breath before continuing ‘My real name is Briana Clark. I’m originally from Oakland, CA. And I’ve been in Witness Protection since 2011.”

“That’s a year before we met.”

“I was placed as a means to keep my identity secret from Erik’s enemies and me away from Erik.”

“But you went to see him that day. I was in court. I watched the damn video!”

“Pretty sure I asked you to let me finish first but fine! Yes, I did got to see Erik that day. I broke protocol, but when I got a text from an unknown number on my phone with a photo of me and Erik from a class trip.”

“How the fuck is that important Mila? Or Briana? Or whoever the fuck you are?”

“It’s important because when I entered Witness Protection one of my conditions was that all evidence of me and Erik’s relationship before college was destroyed! That’s picture should’ve been destroyed!”

“You were in there for almost three hours! You expect me to believe that’s all that happened? You told him about some damn picture someone texted you?”

“At this point, I don’t care what you believe. No matter what I tell you, you’ve already come up with your own answers.” Briana pulled the antique gold ring off before sliding it towards Noah on the table. “Here, I know what it means your family.”­–––

Briana woke up to someone banging on her front door. “Alright, alright I’m coming! Stop fucking banging!” Two in the damn morning, this better be fucking good Briana thought. After swinging the door open her instincts told her to slam it shut again but his boot in the door jam let her know that wouldn’t work so she just stepped out the way letting him enter. “You have court six hours. What do you want Erik?”

“What? No thank you? If it wasn’t for me your mans would’ve heard in court what you were really doing at my crib that day.”

She didn’t have to see his face to know he was wearing his signature shit eating grin. The one he gave whenever he was feeling himself, which was always. “Yes! Thank you for revealing my being in Witness Protection because of your stupid ass decisions and uprooting my life yet again. How could I fucking forget?”

Erik stomped his way over to Briana grabbing her by the neck and pushing her against the wall, “Watch your fucking tone with me girl!” he growled before using his thumb moving her head to the side whispering in her ear “Besides, you know that’s not what I was referring to love.” Erik released his grin around her throat before he made his way into the kitchen. Refrigerator door open about to grab a bottle of water before the door was slammed shut just missing his fingers.

“Like I said three fucking months ago when you showed up before catapulting my life to shit, I don’t know what you’re fucking talking about! Get the fuck out Erik!”

“Nah!”

“Erik. Please. Just go” all the fight starting to fade into desperation.

“Nah. I’ll leave when you admit it” Erik deadpanned before picking up Midnight and petting him taking a seat. “I’m waiting Bri.”

Looking out the window as it started to rain Briana thought back to what should’ve been her last day with Erik.

“Hey, I can’t believe you’re here”

“Don’t get used to it. After today I’m gone Erik”

“Yeah, I got that. So what you want?”

“A parting gift”

Erik looked up about question further only to see Briana standing in his living room stark naked with her coat in a puddle by her feet. “Damn!” was all he could say in response as he stride over to her. Briana jumped into Erik’s embrace wrapping her legs around his waist as he attacked her neck with nibbles and kisses while ascending to his bedroom. “You sure about this princess” he asked from between her thighs with his member hovering by her apex. Briana sat up on her elbows kissing Erik’s lips lightly before nodding her head and letting out a hushed yes.

Sex with Erik was always an event. He took pride in knowing Briana’s body better than she did. Bringing her to her peak over and over again without remorse or any signs of slowing down. Totally selfless. All things that set her over the edge but not what she wanted. Needed. Briana wanted to hear Erik recite something he’s told her many times but she stopped believing. She needed to hear it until she was convinced that she truly was okay with everything she’d ever known being gone after today.

“T-Tell me. Tell me, that you love me” Briana breathed through moans.

“I love you” he spoke into her neck. The vibrations against her neck causing her walls to tighten.

“Again.”

“I love you princess” Erik grunted, picking up his pace.

“Fuck! A-again! Please!”

“I. Love. You.” each word punctuated by a hard thrust right to her sweet spot.

Once her body stopped convulsing underneath him Briana took a deep breathe, sitting up on the bed. Looking over her shoulder, Erik was laid out staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. “This never happened.”

Erik turned his head looking Briana in the eyes before nodding “I got it”.

“I love you. Goodbye Erik.”

“What do you want me to admit to exactly? That if you weren’t so hell bent on things being done your way none of this would’ve even happened?”

“That you never stopped loving me.”

“You were a huge staple in my life. You taught and showed me things I’d never know otherwise. I wouldn’t be who I am if I never knew you but love? My love for you along with the memory of that day, no matter how vividly I remember it, is the truth I choose to omit Erik.”

Tags: @savagesensitivity @cancerianprincess @another-imaginesblog @loosewindmill @bidibidibombaclaat

[mldrgrl]

Would you consider writing a little Daggoo story featuring Molly? Please?

Sure.  This is just a bit of silliness and requires knowledge of Dog Gone and Certain Expectations.

Molly was nearly eight months old before she met Daggoo.  The little dog that Scully had once rescued had chosen to make himself a part of the family next door, and no one stopped him.  He was still welcome anytime, but a friendly old lady with a mini Collie, a pair of ragdoll cats, and an assortment of chinchillas, was no comparison to a couple of FBI agents who used to not be home all that much.  Maxine, their animal-loving neighbor, didn’t mind the extra addition at all.

Scully was heavily pregnant the last time they’d seen Daggoo.  It was right after a heat wave in late September and he’d shown up on the porch, sniffing around the place as though he was just making sure everything was still the same.  He didn’t stay long, but he let Mulder throw a tennis ball for him a few times, accepted a milkbone, and then went on his way.  After that, the weather turned cold, and though they only had a few snowstorms, Winter lasted well beyond what it should have and the days were still frigid with harsh winds throughout April.

On the morning of Daggoo’s return, Molly had started her morning with a nice breakfast of mashed banana and oatmeal.  She wasn’t far from her second nap, rubbing her eyes as she played with the soft toys on her blanket on the floor.  Her dad had been trying to get her to crawl for the past few days, mimicking her on hands and knees and showing her how to do it, but she was content to just sit back and wave her arms and shriek when she wanted something.  He’d given up and stretched out beside her on the blanket, reading out loud about very hungry caterpillars from one of the cardboard books with her bite marks on it.

There was a scratch at the door and Mulder stopped reading.  The water in the kitchen stopped running and Scully came out, wiping her hands dry with a small towel.  A little nose pressed to the bottom of the screen door and then a paw came up to scratch again.  

“The prodigal dog returns,” Mulder said, as Scully unlatched the screen door.  

“Watch him around the baby,” Scully said.

Daggoo came in hesitantly, his nose turned up and flaring like a bunny rabbit.  He knew the air in the house was different with a plethora of new smells.  Baby powder, Johnson & Johnson shampoo, diapers, and burp rags.  Most of the smells were coming from the new little creature in the middle of the room, jerking and spitting bubbles in a way that Daggoo found off-putting, but still intriguing.  He tiptoed onto the blanket where the creature was sitting and stretched his neck out to get a better whiff.  The creature let out a high-pitched shriek and reached for him, but he backed away just in time.

“It’s a doggie, Molls,” Mulder said.  “Just like Clifford, but his name’s Daggoo.  He used to belong to a lizardman.  Remember we talked about the lizardman?”

“There’s no such thing as a lizardman,” Scully said, crouching down next to Daggoo and scratching the back of his neck.

“Fine.  Weremonster.”

“You’re insane.”

“I can’t believe you’re still in denial.”

“I can’t believe you still want to argue about this.”

“Scully, look, look!”

As they’d bantered, Molly had leaned over onto her hands and slid her feet back so she was on her knees.  She rocked forward and back and then stretched an arm out until her hand found the floor.  She repeated the process, crawling forward in slow and jerky increments towards the dog, who she already considered to be her new best friend, even though she was too young to know what a best friend was.

“Go, Molls!” Mulder said.

“It’s okay, boy,” Scully said, putting a hand on Daggoo’s chest as she scratched his neck.

The little creature moved towards Daggoo, but the closer it got, the stronger the smell of bananas became and he definitely liked bananas.  He took a few steps closer as well and met the creature in the middle.  It slobbered a lot and seemed to be a very messy creature, but also friendly.  When it tried to reach for him, it fell over, but then pushed itself back up and kept slobbering.  Tentatively, Daggoo licked its cheek, where the banana smell was the strongest, and it giggled and rolled over on its back, so Daggoo knew it wasn’t a threat.  He laid down next to it and licked its cheek until the banana flavor was gone.

Molly was beside herself with hysterics.  She’d never had a tongue bath before and it was a lot more ticklish than a regular bath.  She wanted to give her new best friend a hug, but he was making her laugh too hard for her to do it.  In fact, he made her laugh so hard, she peed her pants and then let out a loud gas bubble.

Mulder fell over laughing as Daggoo jerked back and cocked his head to the side.  Scully picked Molly up and, chuckling herself, and rubbed the baby’s back in soft circles to calm her down.  Molly wriggled and bent over, reaching down for the dog and making whimpering noises.  

“Okay, it’s time for someone to get changed and off for their nap,” Scully said.

Daggoo watched as the banana-flavored creature was taken away into the other room.  Mulder gave him a few scratches and then pushed up from the floor and stretched.  Daggoo got up as well and shook himself off.  He went to the door and gave it a scratch and then looked back at Mulder.

“You should come around more often, Daggoo,” Mulder said, holding the door open for the dog.  “We’ve got a playmate for you now.”

Daggoo barked once and ran down the porch.  He thought he would come by more often, especially if the banana-flavored creature would be here.  He should bring Pippa.  She liked bananas too, but she didn’t really like to travel.

The End

[jaemtens]

Rescue (Chapter 6)

seventeen | junhao | side meanie / vernkwan | chapter 6 of 10 | 24.4k

tumblr links: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 ao3 links: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

written with @rendawnie | updates every saturday morning

summary:  When Soonyoung finally “agrees” to let Junhui get a dog for their apartment, he realizes that he needed something a little bit more than a puppy. Enter Minghao, the bona fide Bad Boy™ with tattoos and piercings. Oh, and he doodles puppies and kittens in their Probability and Confirmation class.

chapter 6: dino

“Okay Dokyeom!” Dino announced, pulling out one of his class notebooks and setting it on Dokyoem’s desk. “It’s time to go over our plan for Operation Make Minghao Smile.”

Dokyeom was leaning back in “his” office chair in “his” cramped office. Spoilers: it wasn’t really his office (or his chair), he just pretended it was when the vet wasn’t there to, you know, care. Not that Dino would ever use this info against Dokyeom.

“Do we really need an operation name, Dino?” Dokyeom nervously scratched his head, his messy brown hair getting even messier. Dino had picked up on all sorts of Dokyeom nervous ticks, but this one was his most obvious; he knew he could charm his way into getting Dokyeom to help him out.

“Of course we do! ” Dino loudly retorted. “We need to have a codename to talk about our mission when Hao-hao’s around.”

Dokyeom paused for a moment. He was shooting Dino a puzzled look, like he still wasn’t quite on board despite Dino’s complete and unwavering conviction for codenames and missions and everything else covert. What wasn’t there to like about operation names? It was cool! Dokyeom was such a party-pooper sometimes.

“Okay… but… how does saying Operation Make Minghao Smile, like, not tell Minghao exactly what the goal of our Operation is.”

“It doesn’t because we’re going to have a codename for our codename, silly.”

Dokyeom sighed, leaning back in his chair even farther. The chair audibly creaked, though Dokyeom didn’t seem to mind much. “And what’s the codename for our codename?”

“Operation Mimosa, duh.”

Dokyeom raised an eyebrow in response. “I’m not even going to ask--”

“--Well, since you asked,” Dino interjected, “If you make an acronym from ‘Make Minghao Smile,’ it comes out to MMS, which you can sound out to make mimosa.”

His boss seemed to be deep in thought, as if he were trying to work out Dino’s logic in his head. Meanwhile, Dino just sat there expectantly, waiting for Dokyeom to realize his brilliance. Everybody always seemed so surprised when he said something even somewhat intelligent.

“That… That’s actually pretty clever,” Dokyeom finally replied. Dino: 1, Dokyeom: 0.

“And we can celebrate with mimosas after it works!”

“Don’t push it,” Dokyeom muttered, earning an immediate frown from Dino. “Why do we even wanna make Minghao smile?”

Dino frowned even more. How could Dokyeom, like, not have noticed? Was it not completely obvious to everyone in the whole wide world? Ever since the whole Junhui thing, Minghao was practically a ghost of his previous bad-boy self.

“Have you been living under a rock for the past few weeks, Dokyeom?”

“Um, well, actually--”

“--Yeah yeah yeah, you’ve been busy with whatever it is Dokyeoms go off and do,” Dino dismissively interrupted, watching as Dokyeom made a face. “Let me just remind you why Minghao hasn’t been himself.”

Dokyeom leaned back even farther in his chair. Dino was like 99% sure he was going to fall over.

“First, Minghao’s stopped talking.”

“Um, did he ever really talk much to begin with?”

“Yes!” Dino fiercely answered, leaning forward in his seat and staring directly at Dokyeom. “Minghao may not be the most talkative person ever, but he used to at least say more than ‘Hi’ and ‘Thanks’ or whatever. Now I’m lucky to get a grunt for yes out of him. Maybe he didn’t say much to you, but he used to talk to me all the time. Things like ‘Why don’t you go eat the cat litter, Dino,’ or ‘How’s the weather down there, Dino,’ or ‘Did you actually eat the cat litter today, Dino.’ Now he doesn’t say anything like that!”

Dokyeom leaned back a little farther until he actually almost fell out of his chair, catching himself before outright disaster. Dino repressed his desire to laugh out loud; Operation Mimosa was more important. Pretending like nothing happened, Dokyeom pivoted to his response:

“Aaaand that’s a bad thing how?”

Dino basically erupted, flying out of his seat and onto his feet in a passionate defense for Minghao. “Don’t you see a problem here!? Minghao used to care about me, that’s why he used to say those things. It was Minghao’s way of connecting with me -- his own sardonic, melodramatic, ridiculous way! But you know what? He owned it, and I loved it. Now he can’t even bring himself to be, well, himself!”

Dino sat back down again, collecting himself.

“And that brings me to number two: Minghao doesn’t seem to care about anything anymore.”

Dino sighed.

“Me included.”

“I’m sure it’s not just you.”

“It’s not, Dokyeom. It’s everything. You may not notice because you spend all your time doing paperwork and check-ups, but Minghao has been really reserved. Mellow. Like, even around the rescues, he doesn’t act like his usual self. Even around me, he doesn’t act like his usual self. And maybe I’m not his favorite person right now, but he always loves the rescues. You know Joshua Hong?”

Dokyeom made a face, as if he were deep in thought.

“Cute? Reddish-pink hair?” Dino prodded.

“Um, I don’t think so.”

“Joshua is his tutor for a few of his classes. Anyways, so he dropped by the shelter yesterday. Apparently Hao hasn’t been going to any of their tutoring sessions. He used to religiously go, Dokyeom. Like he made me cover his shift here once so he could go to his tutoring appointment with Joshua!”

Dokyeom frowned.

“Yeah, I covered for him! The point is that he used to genuinely care about doing well in his classes. But now I think he doesn’t even care about that. Or here. Or me. He’s down in the dumps, Dokyeom.”

Dino sighed again, fidgeting with the pen in his hand. “Third, Hao hasn’t been eating.”

Dokyeom frowned again. This time, Dino could tell it was less of a disapproving frown and more of a concerned frown.

“Are you su--”

“--Yes.”

“Hmmph,” Dokyeom replied. “I mean, he usually didn’t eat a lot, so--”

“But this is different, Dokyeom,” Dino insisted. He was slightly exasperated thinking about it, but he had to tell Dokyeom. “He used to eat most things I brought him. Now he won’t even look at it. He won’t even bring his own food either.”

Dokyeom pursed his lips. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, okay . Operation… Mimosa, or whatever, is a go.”

Finally, some progress! He had been telling Dokyeom about Operation Mimosa for the past few days, but Dokyeom kept waving him off. Now he knew he had his boss’s timid support, and that was more than he expected, to be honest. Meanwhile, Dokyeom shook his head, wondering just what he had gotten himself into.

“So here’s the plan,” Dino started, “I told Mull8 th--”

“--Wait wait wait.‘Mull8’ ? Did I hear that right?”

“Yeah, Mull8! That’s our codename for the target, Hao-hao.”

“Why? ” Dokyeom spat out.

“Do you remember back when he had that mullet for a few months? And his favorite number is eight, so, Mull8!”

Dokyeom buried his face in his palms. “Oh my go--”

“--I’m Agent Ramyum and you’re Agent Buttercup!”

“I regret agreeing to this so much.”

“This is important, Agent Buttercup,”

“If it’s so important did you really have to name me after a My Little Pony character!?”

“Are you trying to say you’re not a Buttercup?”

“I definitely am not!”

“Besides, I only named you Agent Buttercup because of Hansol’s chinchilla.”

Dino wasn’t going to lie; he secretly loved it every time Dokyeom was rendered completely and totally speechless. Like right now. There was something oddly satisfying about being so extra that people just didn’t know how to react. Especially people who were so slow to pick up on jokes, like Dokyeom.

“Anyways, so where was I?” Dino continued, pausing to remind himself what he was talking about. “Oh yeah, Mull8. So I told Mull8 to drop by after his class. I mentioned that he forgot something here.”

“Well? Did he?”

Dino looked away and quietly replied: “Not really…”

Dokyeom raised one of his eyebrows.

“Okay, well, he forgot about being best friends with me.”

“Aww, Dino,” his boss replied, making a sad face.

“It’s okay, though! This is why we have Operation Mimosa! Like I was saying, I’m going to lure Mull8 here, and then force him to come over to my apartment. I’ll say that I must have taken his thing home with me or whatever. Once we get there, your job, Agent Buttercup, is to block the door so that he can’t leave. I’m going to explain to Mull8 that this is an intervention, that we’re getting him a one-way ticket out of Mopeville.”

“Oh my god.”

“So, right now, I have enough popcorn to feed a small village, three really cheesy movies that I picked out on Netflix, and enough blankets to make at least 17 blanket forts. Oh, and some hair bleach.”

“Hair bleach? … Why?”

“New hair, new Hao, new boy crush. Duh.”

“Uh huh,” Dokyeom half-agreed. “Speaking of new boy crush… what exactly happened with old boy crush again?”

Oh, yeah. That.

“Well, um, honestly, I don’t know if Hao-hao is over Junhui. If I know anything about him, it’s that he’s probably out there beating himself up over yelling at me in front of his crush. He’s probably trying to get over his crush, but, like, can’t.”

Dokyeom just nodded. Dino decided to let the silence settle between the two of them, something he usually didn’t do. He really didn’t like thinking about what Minghao said to him. It hurt, you know? Minghao was one of his closest friends, and for him to say all of those things… even if he didn’t mean them...

“Yeah,” Dokyeom finally blurted out, “You sounded really upset when you called me after that whole… thing.”

“I know and I’m so so sorry I had to close down early after that, I know I was supposed to work til closing and I know it’s my job to take care of everything during my shift because you know that’s why you let me work here and I really let you down and I’m just so sorry and ups--”

“--Dino, it’s okay,” his boss interrupted. Dino looked up, and Dokyeom was looking back at him all concerned and stuff. His words and his expression were completely earnest. He forgot Dokyeom could be like that, and it made him feel so… relieved, that Dokyeom wasn’t like your normal boss.

“You were going through some things, and I get it. It’s also Minghao’s fault for walking out on you.”

“I know.”

“Dino, you did good, you focused on helping Junhui and then you called me. You did what you could do.”

“I -- I know,” Dino choked out.

“And…” Dokyeom started. “Well, I hate to ask this, but, like, why are you even trying to make Minghao happy again after he made you cry like that? After he said all of those mean things?”

“Because he’s my best friend, and he was having a bad day.”

*

“Dino.”

“Hao-hao.”

“Where’s my homework.”

To be honest, Dino wasn’t entirely sure that he was going to make it this far. He was 95% confident that Dokyeom was going to blow their cover at some point and/or that Minghao was going to catch on to what was going on. But, to his surprise, Dokyeom kept it together, and Minghao was oblivious. Dino had managed to convince Minghao that, yes, he had actually forgotten a piece of homework. And, yes, in a stroke of bad luck and bad forethought, Dino accidentally brought it home to his apartment. Furthermore, Dino was absolutely sure that it was due tomorrow because he remembered seeing a date on the assignment. Oh, and Dokyeom had decided to tag along for no particular reason. Minghao bought all of it. Bad boy? More like gullible boy. Not that Dino would ever say something that salacious to Hao-hao’s face. And, you know, risk death.

But, now that Minghao was actually in his apartment, the ruse was about to fall apart. Dino hadn’t really planned for how Minghao might react. Was he going to get angry? Was he going to try to leave? Was he going to chew him out again? Dino looked over Minghao’s shoulder and saw a very concerned Dokyeom. Dino quickly motioned toward the door, and Dokyoem got the signal -- block the door so that Minghao couldn’t leave. Agent Buttercup slowly moved into position.

“Dino,” Minghao sternly repeated. He was practically glowering at him, sullen eyes boring through Dino’s purest of intentions. Minghao was definitely not happy.

“Um,” Dino started, trying to think of words -- any words -- that might be able to convince Minghao to stay.

“I didn’t forget my homework, did I?”

Minghao was really glaring at him now. Dino kept wracking his brain, begging himself to come up with something, anything, to keep Minghao here. It’s like his brain was molasses, not a single coherent sentence or an iota of logical thought reaching him.

“And you didn’t bring it here, did you?”

Dino looked over Minghao’s shoulder again, his eyes pleading with Dokyeom to help him. Dokyeom just shrugged, looking equally as clueless and not-helpful as Dino’s brain. Note to self: write in Agent Buttercup’s performance eval that he’s not good at thinking on his feet.

“You don’t even know if I have homework due tomorrow, do you?”

Note to self #2: Agent Ramyun is also not good at thinking on his feet.

His friend rolled his eyes and sighed disapprovingly before turning around to leave. Minghao was moving quickly, but he stopped just in front of the door -- Dokyeom was blocking his exit. Dino could see Dokyeom’s eyes focus, like he had already prepared for Dino’s incompetence, like he had been steeling himself for this Minghao confrontation. It wasn’t like that was entirely surprising: Dokyeom probably had contingency plans for Dino throughout the shelter, Agent Ramyum just didn’t know about them. For instance, there probably was a plan B for when Dino accidentally adopted out the wrong pet to someone, which he almost did last week.

“So you’re in on this, too,” Minghao dryly said. It wasn’t really a question, like Minghao was totally disinterested in whatever Dokyeom decided to say in response.

“C’mon Hao, just listen to Dino,” Dokyeom calmly started, “He’s your best friend. Do you really think he’d plan all of this if it wasn’t important?”

“Oh, I’m sure he’d do something this stupid.”

Dino couldn’t see Minghao’s face, but he was sure it was expressionless, devoid of any feeling. Just like how he’d been for the past few weeks. Dokyeom, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes, basically glaring at Minghao.

“Hao,” Dokyeom replied, clearly agitated that Minghao was so openly dissing him. It wasn’t like his normal disses -- Minghao fully meant what he said, it wasn’t sarcastic or harmless teasing.

Minghao grunted, turning around to face Dino. His now-obvious annoyed expression definitely confirmed Dino’s suspicions: Minghao was not happy.

“So, um, I know the thing with Junhui a few weeks ago sucked.” Minghao’s expression soured even more; honestly, Dino didn’t think it was possible. “And I know I was partly to blame for making fun of you, and I’m really really sorry. I don’t think you meant what you said, but, um, I won’t lie. It hurt my feelings a lot.”

“And you didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, right? ” Dokyoem interjected.

“Even if you say you did, I wouldn’t believe you,” Dino replied before Minghao could open his mouth. “Either way, all I know is that you haven’t been yourself the past few weeks, Hao-hao. And you can try to say that ‘This is who I really am’ or whatever, Hao, but I still wouldn’t believe you. You’re not like this. You’re not boring. You’re not dismissive. You’re not someone who just drags themselves from place to place. I know you, Hao. You care a lot about your classes, you go to your tutoring sessions, you like doodling animals and dancing, you volunteer in the shelter because damnit Hao you love those rescues. And you say you tolerate me but I know you consider me a friend.”

Minghao looked away. His expression was softening, like Dino was getting through to him.

“And you can say whatever you want to try to deny that, but I know it’s true. I know it because you’re one of my best friends, Hao. You’re like a big brother to me.”

His friend looked back at him, his eyes wide.

“I wanted you to come over because I want you to feel better, Hao-hao. I want you to stop being so mopey, goddamnit! So I dragged Dokyeom into this, and… and we’re going to hang out tonight because you need to be reminded that you have friends that care a lot about you.”

“I know you care,” Minghao softly replied, looking away again. It was one of Dino’s favorite things about Minghao -- how ridiculously shy he got when his true feelings finally peeked through.

“Yeah, well I’m going to have to prove it to you, Hao-hao! So we’re going to watch cheesy Netflix movies, eat so much popcorn that we’ll get sick, hide in blanket forts on the couch, and we’re gonna bleach your hair,” Dino finished, holding up a bag of hair bleach.

“Wait, what,” Dokyeom piped up. Apparently he had forgotten about that part.

“I am not letting you bleach my hair,” Minghao insisted.

Dino just smiled knowingly.

*

“I’m going to help Dokyeom out in the back, Dino. You’ll be alright out front?”

Dino looked back at his friend, who was hovering in the open doorway heading to the exam room. Hansol had come in with Buttercup -- again -- and this time he brought along his boyfriend Seungkwan, who seemed to be even more of a hyperactive hypochondriac than Hansol. Hence the need for reinforcements; Dokyeom couldn’t deal with Hansol and Seungkwan breathing down his neck about their chinchilla’s mysterious “lethargy.”

Did anybody ever try telling them that maybe they had a lazy chinchilla?

“Dino?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll be fine,” Dino said, smiling a little too much. He flashed an enthusiastic thumbs-up at Minghao who 100% definitely had bleach-blonde ramen-colored hair.

Minghao shot him a weird look, like Dino was the one who had bleached hair.

After his friend closed the door to the exam room, Dino chuckled to himself: Minghao was such a pushover. It took not even five minutes of pestering for black-haired Hao to buckle, giving into Dino’s puppy eyes. It was the “older brother” thing to do, Dino insisted. He loved every second of it -- if Minghao had been one of those Kpop idols or whatever, Dino stanned soft Hao-hao. He was just so cute.

And a pushover.

Minghao never really did apologize for three weeks ago. He didn’t have to, though. At least not verbally. Dino knew Minghao, and he knew that words were not his thing. No, Dino knew that Minghao was sorry when Minghao brought him a burrito yesterday. A burrito! Minghao doesn’t even buy burritos for himself. His friend gave it to him wordlessly with a small smile. It was cute.

Yet, despite the Operation Mimosa’s complete and resounding success, something was still off. Minghao was better, but Dino could tell something was off. He was still quiet. Reserved. Dino had a hunch it was about Junhui.

Dino heard the door open, perking up to see who it was.

Oh shit.

“Oh hey Dino.”

Oh shit oh shit oh shit.

Dino recognized that lilt in his voice, and he knew Minghao would too if he heard him, if he heard Junhui. Meanwhile, Junhui seemed completely oblivious to his role as Minghao’s #1 problem right now. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come here, Dino reasoned.

“Oh, um, hi Junhui,” Dino choked out, trying to keep his voice quiet-ish. He needed to get Junhui out of here before Minghao finished up in the back and before Junhui figured out that Minghao was here. Dino ran one of his hands through his dyed brown hair, pushing it back. He wasn’t good at thinking on his feet, how was he going to pull this off?

“So, um, how can I help you?”

“Oh, I --” Junhui started, stopping mid-sentence without much explanation. “I was just in the neighborhood with Lilli and figured I’d stop by?”

Junhui looked down at Lilli, and the little sausage pup was excitedly wagging her tail in response. Damnit, it was so cute; Lilli had a pastel pink collar now, and it looked like Junhui was walking her using a pink leash with flowers on it. She seemed to recognize this place, too, wagging her tail even more when she noticed him at the front desk. Oh my god, he wanted to pet her so badly. Instead, Dino nervously laughed like an idiot. He really wasn’t good at this thinking-on-your-feet thing.

“It’s nice of you to visit!” he finally responded. Dino was trying his best to keep his responses short, hoping that Junhui would leave.

“I actually had a few questions, too.” Junhui shifted his weight, watching Dino carefully. “You know, about puppy training.”

“Um, well, actually --”

“I mean, if you’re busy, I could wait and ask Minghao or something?”

Abort, abort, abort!

“No-no-no, you can totally ask me, I know a lot about puppies!” Dino exclaimed... anything to avoid another Junhui-Minghao interaction -- another disaster. “Besides, Hao-hao’s busy right now.”

“Oh, so he’s here?” Junhui piped up.

Shit.

“Uh, yeah,” Dino admitted, silently berating himself for being such a dumbass. “But he won’t be done in the examination room for, like, hours.” And with Seungkwan and Hansol, that might actually be true.

“He’s in the examination room?” Junhui looked back at the door behind Dino, the door that said ‘Examination Room’ in big, bold letters.

Shit!

Dino just about wanted to light himself on fire right now.

“Yeah, but it’ll be a really long appointment! So you should just ask me your questions.” And maybe forget about Minghao .

“Okay. And then maybe Minghao can examine me.”

What? Dino cocked an eyebrow, and Jun’s eyes grew super wide in embarrassment.

“I meant ‘my Lilli,’ sorry,” Junhui added. “Sometimes I, um, forget how to talk.”

“Uh huh.”

“It usually happens around Minghao for some reason…” Jun explained.

What was going on with Junhui? Last time he visited, he was pretty calm and collected; he wasn’t really flirting, but he also wasn’t really not flirting. Little things here and there made Dino wonder if Junhui really liked Minghao. But this week basically confirmed it. Who the hell forgets how to talk about one of their random classmates? No, Junhui probably liked Minghao.

Buuuuuut, Minghao definitely would not want to see Junhui right now. Dino had to stick to his plan: he had to get Junhui out of here ASAP so that he could avoid another catastrophe.

“O… kay,” Dino slowly enunciated, confusion spilling out into his voice. “So you had some questions?”

“Oh, um, yeah! I actually have a list.”

Dino watched as Junhui pulled out a neatly-folded piece of paper from his pocket and started unfolding it. He could feel his soul leaving his body as Junhui kept unfolding it and unfolding it until it was a full-sized lined piece of notebook paper with Junhui’s neat and tiny handwriting filling up each line with questions. Lilli kept trying to get Junhui’s attention, resting her front paws on his shins while her hind paws were on the ground. Junhui finally acquiesced, picking her up with his free hand.

“Um…” Dino demurred.

“Oh, uh, these aren’t all questions!” Junhui replied, laughing a little at Dino’s shocked response. “I have some other random notes here. Mostly because Lilli here is so… special.”

Of course he had a list. Of course Minghao would fall for the cute studious boy who makes disorganized lists and has a lilt in his voice. It all was starting to make sense now.

“Um, I can really just wait for Minghao if you want? It’s no big deal.”

Apparently Dino hadn’t changed his expression at all. “No, um, I can just answer your questions quickly? Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.”

Before Dino could mentally (and maybe physically) facepalm at himself for stupidly thinking out loud, a loud shriek cut through the building.

“OW!”

Oh shit, that was definitely Minghao’s voice, and it definitely came from the examination room.

“Is Minghao alright?” Junhui asked, putting Lilli down.

“Um, I’m sure he’s fine,” Dino answered, looking back toward the examination room. “He probably just hurt himself, he’s good at doing that.”

“Oh.” Junhui had this fond smile plastered on his face, the smile he usually had when he was looking at Lilli. Shit, did he make Junhui like Minghao even more?

Before Dino could even begin to answer Junhui’s first question, the door to the examination room burst open. Seungkwan and Hansol led the way with Hansol carrying the small pet carrier again. The first thing he heard, though, was Minghao’s shrill, nasally voice, which was really goddamn loud.

“I can’t believe their chinchilla bit me!”

Oh, so Minghao didn’t actually hurt himself this time.

“Seungkwannie, can chinchillas get diseases from humans?” Hansol quietly asked his boyfriend, who seemed frustrated with the whole ordeal.

“How am I supposed to know, Hansol? I’m studying to be a human doctor -- do you really think I have time for veterinary classes on top of Advanced Organic Chemistry, Physical Inorganic Chemistry, Ethics and Medicine, and Cell Biology for Pre-Medical Majors? Not to mention all the time I have to spend shadowing doctors and volunteering at hospitals and doing non-acaedmic extracurriculars.”

“I know you’re very busy, babe,” Hansol softly responded. “I was just asking because you’re so smart.”

God, Dino wanted to gag so badly right now.

Meanwhile, Seungkwan smiled ever-so-slightly, his chronically stressed facial features softening a bit. “We should just wait for the vet like Dokyeom said. I’m sure Buttercup will be okay til then.”

“Seungkwan?” Junhui piped up. “What -- I’m so confused. How did you beat me here?”

“Oh hey Junhui. My beau drove us here,” Seungkwan replied, looking up at his boyfriend fondly.

“No, you’re my Boo,” Hansol added, not missing a beat.

Dino actually started gagging this time, earning a mixture of concerned and annoyed looks from the small audience that was gathering in the front. Dino felt bad, but their PDA was just so… gross . Nothing like the soft flirty heart eyes Minghao made for Junhui a few weeks ago.

“Oh it’s nice to meet you,” Junhui answered after Dino was done externally dying. To be perfectly clear, he was still internally dying.

“Oh, yeah!” Seungkwan jumped in. “Hansol, this is Jun. Jun, this is Hansol, my boyfriend.”

“Like we couldn’t tell,” Dino butted in, earning a dark look from Seungkwan. Hansol nodded at Junhui while Junhui smiled.

“And this is Lilli!” Junhui added, motioning toward his puppy.

Hansol nodded again, seemingly not impressed by the literal ball of cuteness standing next to Junhui.

“I’m sorry, he’s scared of dogs,” Seungkwan explained.

“Oh.” Junhui seemed a little disappointed by that, and, honestly, Dino was too: who doesn’t like dogs? “Um, random question, but is Minghao back there?”

“Yeah,” Hansol answered. “You know Minghao?”

Junhui seemed a little taken aback by that totally normal question. “Um, well, yeah, you see, w-we’re--”

“--Oh my god, you like him,” Seungkwan interrupted, a big smile forming on his face.

In some far off universe, Dino was internally regretting everything in life right now. He could see this slow-motion trainwreck happening from a mile away.

“Jun’s in loooooove ,” Seungkwan teased, causing Junhui’s cheeks to turn a rosy pink. “Beau, we should go so that Junhui can have some alone time with his boyfriend.”

Hansol frowned. “You’re my boo.”

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Dino interjected.

Seungkwan groaned in response. “C’mon Hansol, let’s take Buttercup home. Besides, I’ve got to study for my four exams next week. And drink my sixth cup of coffee for the day. Unlike some people here, I actually have to know what a liver looks like.”

Seungkwan and Hansol headed for the exit. Lilli barked at Buttercup’s pet carrier while Hansol walked by with it in hand. Seungkwan made a supremely annoyed face at Lilli. Hansol looked back at Dino and mouthed ‘sorry’ at him. Junhui awkwardly waved bye, though Seungkwan was having none of it. Seungkwan and Hansol left. And Minghao finally stepped out of the back room, stopping in his tracks as soon as he noticed Junhui. Dino actually threw his face into his palms this time -- this was such a mess. Everything was happening so fast.

“What are you doing here?” Minghao pointedly asked Junhui, a whole lot of venom in his tone falling on the ‘you’ part of that question. In fact, his voice had done a complete 180 from earlier; instead of being soft-spoken and quiet, Minghao’s voice was lower and a little gravelly. Like he too was extremely fed up with this situation. Dino finally removed his face from his hands and looked over at Junhui, who was still blushing pretty profusely. He seemed legitimately surprised by Minghao’s question.

“Well, um, I was just in the neighborhood, and, um, I had a few questions about, well, puppy training and…”

Junhui’s soft voice got quieter and quieter until it disappeared altogether, the honeyed lisp dying under Minghao’s intense gaze. There was absolutely nothing Dino could do now other than watch the impending fireworks. Minghao was royally upset.

“Wow, your hair’s blonde…” Junhui whispered. Dino looked back at Minghao, who was still parked next to the examination room doorway. He seemed even more peeved by Junhui’s comment, full-on glaring at Junhui. Dino looked over at Junhui, who was now looking away.

Before anybody could say anything, Dino felt someone roughly grab onto his shoulder and yank him back toward the lounge.

“Dino and I have something to take care of in the back,” Dokyeom quickly commented, dragging a limp Dino back toward the mini-table in the lounge. Dino was able to catch a glance of Minghao before disappearing from the front altogether; he couldn’t care less about Dokyeom or Dino. His focus was entirely on Junhui.

Once they were out of earshot of the front, Dino looked over at Dokyeom, who was washing his hands.

“Why did you pull me out of there? ” Dino whispered. “What if something happens between them? ”

Dokyeom sighed. “Dino, there’s literally nothing you can do to stop what’s about to happen.”

Dino frowned in response. He was being a petulant child, but he wanted to know what was happening out there.

“If you stop talking, you can still hear what they’re saying,” Dokyeom added, his low voice barely making it to Dino. Dokyeom took a seat opposite of Dino, clearly interested in what Minghao and Junhui were about to say in the other room. Dino shook his head and listened in too.

“Why didn’t you ask Dino for help then?” Minghao asked Junhui.

“I did! We just, um, didn’t--”

“--Why are you even here? Was Google not good enough for you?”

A long pause broke out between them. Dino stopped breathing, trying to focus on hearing Junhui’s soft voice.

“I, um, actually wanted to talk to you,” Junhui replied, his voice barely audible from where Dino and Dokyeom were seated in the lounge.

“Isn’t that what your boyfriend is for, Junhui?” Minghao clapped back.

“W-what?”

“Why don’t you go talk to Soonyoung,” Minghao repeated, mocking Junhui’s assertion that they were just talking. “You know, while you’re cuddling with him in bed.”

“M-minghao, you’ve got it all wrong.”

“Oh? Do you guys save the bed for fucking?”

“No, Minghao!” Junhui sounded extra flustered, even from the other room. “Soonyoung isn’t my boyfriend!”

“Oh? So you’re just friends with benefits? Great. Just wonderful.”

“No, we’re not anything! We’re just roommates, I swear.”

“It doesn’t even matter!” Minghao shouted, his voice loud and aggressive. Dino could hear Minghao storming out the back door, his footsteps getting quieter and quieter. When the door clicked shut, Dino slowly got out of his seat and quietly walked to the front.

Junhui was still standing there, but he looked really distraught. He wasn’t angry -- he was upset. Like he was about to cry. Lilli was still jumping up on him and trying to get his attention, but Junhui was too messed up right now to notice. However, he did hear Dino stop near the front desk, his head shooting up and eyes widening when he realized that Dino was still there. There was an awkward silence between them; Dino had no idea what to say.

“Dino, I need to go talk to him. I need to explain everything. He needs to know.”

Junhui was talking really fast; he was frazzled, but motivated to make this right.

“I, um--”

“--Dino, tell me where he lives. Please. I need to go find him and explain everything.”

Oh no.

“Please, Dino, please. Which dorm does he live in?”

“You -- You didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Jun. Minghao’s homeless.”

Junhui just stared back at him, apparently in shock.

“He lives in a homeless shelter.”

[lovemychinchilla]

How to Bathe a Chinchilla in Water (Step by Step)

Chinchillas take dust baths, not water baths, although it is possible to bathe a chinchilla in water if you know what you're doing. But how can you, and why would you ever need to?

Can you bathe a chinchilla in water? You can, but there's hardly ever a need for you to do so. It should only be considered in extreme cases, e.g. in severe infestations, for rescue chinchillas with dirty fur, or if a chinchilla is experiencing heat stress or hypothermia and a bath at an appropriate temperature would help. To bathe a chinchilla, fill a washing up bowl with one or two inches of water and place your chinchilla into it. Use dilutes shampoo to ensure it gets through your chinchilla's thick fur. Ensure that the water is a suitable temperature (55-65°F/12-18°C) as your chinchilla can develop heat stress or hypothermia from being bathed.

But that's far from all you need to know. Just as important—you have to get your chinchilla completely dry afterwards using a mixture of towel drying, blow drying, and a dust bath to finish. If you don't, your chin could develop a fungal infection, or worse, hypothermia. The guide below looks at every stage of the bathing process, from preparation to bathing to drying, plus topics like do chinchillas need baths, how can you get a chinchilla wet without killing it, and much more.

Can You Bathe a Chinchilla in Water?

You can bathe your chinchilla in water. But there are several caveats to that statement that you need to be aware of if you plan on doing so.

The first is that there's typically no need to bathe a chinchilla in water. Chins bathe in dust baths, and by and large, that's enough to keep their fur sparkling clean. The second is that while bathing doesn't instantly kill a chinchilla as if by magic, it can cause hypothermia if your chinchilla's fur isn't fully dried afterwards.

It's for both of these reasons that we don't recommend doing this if you're a new owner. Instead, there's likely another fix for whatever problem is affecting your chinchilla and perhaps necessitating treatment like bathing.

Do You Need to Bathe Chinchillas in Water?

As stated above, there's normally no need to bathe a chinchilla. Pet chinchillas bathe in dust in the exact same way that their wild counterparts do. The dust acts like talc, wicking up moisture and grease. It then sticks to the fur to act like a deodorant or anti-perspirant until your chinchilla's next bath. So, why would you need to give a chinchilla a water bath?

There are a few select circumstances in which water bathing is either necessary or might help. These are uncommon, so are unlikely to affect your pet.

Fleas and other parasites. Chinchillas can get fleas, and bathing, even in regular soapy water, can help manage infestations.

Ringworm. Bathing in water with an anti-fungal agent in it can treat ringworm (although it's not the only solution).

Exceptionally dirty fur, e.g. on a rescue chinchilla. Chinchilla rescues are a thing, and they frequently take in chins that were kept in awful conditions. These animals' fur may be so dirty and unkempt that a dust bath wouldn't be effective in cleaning it.

If your chinchilla is in danger of hypothermia or heat stress. Bathing a chinchilla in water of an appropriate temperature can help cool it down or warm it up, depending on the issue affecting it.

Other than this, though, there are precious few reasons to give a chinchilla a water bath. If you're planning on bathing it simply to keep it clean, that's not reason enough to put your chinchilla in such an unnatural situation—as chins would never, ever bathe in water in the wild.

What Happens If Chinchillas Get Wet?

This may seem like a silly answer, but if you dunk a chinchilla in water, its fur will get wet. But why can't chinchillas get wet?

The problem is that a chinchilla's fur is so incredibly thick that it takes a long time to get dry without an owner's intervention. The fur traps any water, or even just dampness, for a long time. This has knock on effects:

Your pet will be uncomfortable. Having a wet coat would be akin to having to wear damp clothes 24/7. It would be a distinctly unpleasant experience. But you could change into something dry, whereas your chinchilla can't.

Your pet's fur can develop a fungal infection. Fungus thrives in damp and warm conditions, so if your chinchilla's fur is left damp, ringworm or other fungal infections can grow.

Can water kill a chinchilla? It can, if you don't dry it thoroughly. Damp fur can cause hypothermia, especially in a cool room or one with a draft.

It's for these reasons that chinchillas don't take water baths in the wild. They only ever take dust baths, and that's what all owners should offer their pets. But the above doesn't mean that water baths are never necessary, or that they can't be safe if the owner is careful.

How to Give a Chinchilla a Water Bath: The Complete Guide

There are three steps to bathing a chinchilla. The first is to prepare yourself, the chinchilla's bath, and the chinchilla itself in the correct way. This will make sure that bathing goes smoothly. The second step is to bathe the chinchilla, and the third is to dry it off.

As simple as that sounds, there is lots more to learn about each individual step. So, for example, preparing the bath involves knowing what temperature the water should be, how deep the water should be, where you should bathe your chinchilla, what shampoo to use and so on. Bathing involves knowing how to rub the shampoo into your pet's fur, how long the bath take, and more besides. And, of course, drying is a multi-stage and time-consuming process since your chinchilla has such thick fur.

The rest of this guide looks at these three steps: preparation, bathing and drying.

Step 1: Preparing a Chinchilla Bath

We don't recommend running a quick bath and bathing your chinchilla without preparing first. You need the right equipment, the right shampoo, and the right knowledge before you can. Let's take a look at how to prepare properly for your chinchilla's bath.

What Can You Bathe Chinchillas In?

You have a few options available to you. We recommend rectangular or square tubs as these won't tip over as easily as a bowl. A big washing up bowl would be perfect. You may already have one of these for washing up, or for giving your chinchilla dust baths.

If you don't have one and can't get one, you can bathe your chinchilla in the sink. This may be a bit more awkward, especially if you have a slippy porcelain sink. You must also remember to thoroughly wash the sink afterwards to get rid of any bacteria left behind. We recommend using the bathroom rather than the kitchen sink, as it's generally best to keep your chinchilla away from food preparation areas.

How Much Water Does a Chinchilla Water Bath Need?

You don't need to fill your chinchilla's tub all the way to the top to bathe it. You want enough that it covers much of your pet's body, but not enough that your chinchilla can't feel the bottom with its toes. It's like bathing a baby: you're going to be doing most of the work, so it doesn't matter if your chinchilla's body isn't fully submerged. Two to three inches of water is fine. Adjust as necessary if your chinchilla is particularly tall or short!

Water Temperature for a Chinchilla Bath

The biggest pitfall of water bathing is that you need to get the temperature of the water correct. Chinchillas can very easily overheat, and that's especially true in water. There are a few reasons why the heat of water is particularly dangerous:

Water passes on and absorbs heat more easily than air. Have you ever noticed how cool water feels colder than air of the same temperature? That's because water is better at sapping your body's heat than air is. The same applies in reverse, meaning that warm water feels warmer than air of the same temperature.

Your chinchilla's fur doesn't dry quickly. As such, when you take it from the bath, the warmth of the water is still acting on its body.

This means that if the water is too hot, your chinchilla can develop a condition called heat stress. This is where the body essentially starts shutting down, the organs stop working, and the animal dies. This can happen remarkably quickly even in temperatures far lower than you might expect.

It's for the same two reasons as above that you also have to avoid the water being too cold. Chinchillas can develop hypothermia in cold water, which is similar to heat stress in that the body starts shutting down, but because of cold conditions rather than hot.

As such, you need to keep the water at a comfortable temperature. Between 55-65°F, which is 12-18°C, is optimal. This isn't something that you should guess at; you should measure the temperature exactly with a thermometer to make sure that it's precisely right both before and during the bath (because the water may cool down gradually, too).

What Shampoo Can You Use to Bathe a Chinchilla?

You should use a gentle shampoo, like a baby shampoo. These are formulated not to be harsh on hair and skin. You could alternatively consider using a soap brand that's kind to skin. The fewer ingredients in the soap or shampoo, the better, as this means it's less likely to have any unintended effects.

Ideally, you want a shampoo that doesn't have a heavy scent. Once the bath is over you want your chinchilla's fur to go back to smelling like normal. Chinchillas have even more sensitive senses of smell than we do, and you want your chinchilla to smell like itself again as soon as possible. There are lots of unscented shampoos and soaps available.

Preparing Your Chinchilla for a Water Bath

You should be prepared for the eventuality that your chinchilla won't want to take a water bath. That's normal, and you shouldn't force your pet to do something it desperately doesn't want to do.

Most chinchillas are friendly and docile, if a little skittish. If your pet trusts you, it will therefore not mind all that much if you put it in a water bath, even if it's something it isn't used to. But say for example that you take your chinchilla in your hands, and lower it into the water of the bath; if it doesn't like the experience, your pet may try to get away from you, splashing you with water or tipping the bath altogether, and maybe even running off to hide somewhere. This isn't dangerous for your chinchilla per se, but you'll have to clean up and encourage your pet back into its cage. That's a lot of work you could avoid.

If you think your chinchilla is likely to react badly, start small. Have it stand in a bath with hardly any water in it so that it can get used to the feeling. You'll have to dry it afterwards all the same, but at least you won't have to clean up!

Step 2: How Do You Bathe a Chinchilla?

Once you, your chinchilla and the bath are ready, you can bathe your pet.

Do Chinchillas Know How to Bathe in Water?

Your chinchilla doesn't know how to clean itself in water like some other animals do. While it learned how to bathe in dust in the wild, it never learned how to bathe in water. That's partly because there's precious little water for it to bathe in in the Andes, and partly because if it did bathe in water, it couldn't get its fur dry.

As such, your chinchilla won't have any idea what to do if you put it in water. It certainly won't know how to use shampoo! This means that it's your job to bathe your chinchilla properly. That's what the rest of this section addresses.

Should You Wear Gloves to Bathe a Chinchilla?

This is very much your choice. There's no need for you to wear gloves if you don't want to. But, if you don't want the soap to dry out your hands and nails, you're free to wear some.

The only difference would be that you can rub the shampoo into your chinchilla's fur slightly better if you're not wearing gloves. That's because you can better feel your chinchilla's fur and skin with your fingertips, while wearing gloves means you can't feel exactly what you're doing. That's less of a problem if you use diluted shampoo, though, as this soaks through your pet's fur anyway.

Also, if you're bathing your chinchilla to get rid of parasites in its fur, that's something else you have to consider. Do you want to be able to feel where the fleas, lice and eggs are in your chinchilla's fur? You might be more effective at getting rid of them if you do, in which case you could keep the gloves off. But if the idea of pests disgusts you, wear them.

How to Wash a Chinchilla's Fur with Shampoo

Use the baby shampoo as you usually would: take a small amount and lather it into the area where it's required. Try to get in between hairs and underneath your pet's fur to give it a thorough clean. This is essential as otherwise, you wouldn't be addressing the issue that has made water bathing necessary, such as fleas or severely dirty fur.

To help the shampoo reach in through the outer layers of fur, you should consider diluting it. This will help the shampoo seep through to every place that it's needed. Comparatively, if you were to rub shampoo directly onto the outside of your chinchilla's coat, it would leave one part of the fur spotless while the rest isn't as clean as it could be. You can either do this by mixing the shampoo with water in your hand, diluting it in the bottle beforehand, or even just picking a runnier shampoo.

We recommend only using shampoo where it's needed. Avoid using it in places where it could hurt or irritate your chinchilla, such as around its eyes or around its mouth. Your pet's face is a no-go area, although if necessary, you could use shampoo on the back of your pet's head. You then have to rinse your chinchilla's fur, as you would rinse your hair when you wash it.

If you're only bathing your chinchilla because it got too hot, there's no need to wash its fur with shampoo. Instead, just use water.

Rinsing a Chinchilla's Fur

Your chinchilla's fur requires more rinsing than you might expect. That's because it's so thick and dense. If you don't rinse your pet's fur thoroughly, some of the shampoo will be left behind. This likely wouldn't be a major issue, as the biggest problems it could cause are that it would make your chin's fur smell different, and that it may dry out your pet's skin. But these problems are worth avoiding anyway.

Rinse the fur as you normally would. Gather water in your hand or in a jug and run the water on, and into, the fur. Continue until there aren't any obvious bubbles left in the fur, meaning there's no more soap/shampoo.

To fully rinse your pet's fur, it may be necessary to change the water. We don't recommend doing this if it would take a long time to refill the bath and get the water to a suitable temperature, because your chinchilla could get cold. If you have another bath, or you could pre-fill a sink with suitably warm water, then consider doing that. But otherwise, it's preferable to leave a tiny amount of shampoo behind than to compromise your chinchilla's health.

Can You Use a Shower Head to Bathe a Chinchilla?

Using a shower head would be a good way to rinse out your chinchilla's fur. But if you do plan on using one, there are a few things you have to be careful of.

You could easily have the water running at the wrong temperature. Plus, the temperature is changeable, so could start out as the right temperature but then get too hot or too cold.

The water would splash everywhere, and could get in your chinchilla's eyes.

The loud noise of the shower running could make your chinchilla stressed.

The water pressure of your shower may be high, which could shock or even hurt your chinchilla.

It's for the same reasons that we also don't recommend holding your chinchilla under a running tap. As such, we recommend bathing your chinchilla or rinsing its fur in other ways. Use a regular jug, bowl or cup to gently pour water through your chinchilla's fur instead.

How Long Should You Water Bath a Chinchilla For?

There's no need to give your chinchilla an extra long bath. Ten to fifteen minutes should be long enough. That's because:

Your chinchilla is small, so it won't take a long time to wash it

Your chinchilla will get more restless the longer you bathe it

The temperature of the water will change as you bathe your pet, either getting hotter or colder, depending on the room temperature

Continue to monitor the temperature of the water throughout the bath, so that you can be sure it's still the right temperature.

Step 3: How to Dry Off a Chinchilla's Fur

Once your chinchilla's bath is over, you should dry it off. You can do this at home with things you likely already have to hand.

Drying is a multi-stage process. That's because a chinchilla's fur is so thick. If you have very long or very thick hair, you'll have experienced something similar to your chinchilla: you pat it down with a towel, but that's nowhere near enough to dry your hair completely. You then have to blow dry it.

While drying a chinchilla's fur can take a long time, you absolutely need to see through. If you don't thoroughly dry your pet's fur after its bath, it could in the best case develop a fungal infection like ringworm or in the worst case experience hypothermia.

How to Towel Dry a Chinchilla

The drying process begins with towel drying. This step isn't too complex: you rub your chinchilla's fur until it's almost dry. The only thing that's difficult about this is that it's going to take a while.

Start by setting your chinchilla comfortably in your lap. Lay a towel down underneath it, and hold another in your hands. Then, gently rub your chinchilla's back, sides and belly. Here are a few guidelines that will make doing so easier:

Dry your chinchilla in a chinchilla-proofed room. If your chinchilla gets away from you, you want it to be safe in a room that it can't escape from or hide in.

Don't tug at your chinchilla's fur. If you do, you could tug tufts of fur out due to fur slip.

Don't get impatient and rough. It's vital that you get your chinchilla as dry as possible, but you also don't want the experience to be a stressful and unhappy one for your pet. Then, if you ever need to bathe your chinchilla again, it won't want you to.

It may take ten minutes to dry your chicnhilla's fur enough. Make time for this so you don't have to rush or cut your drying session short.

If your chinchilla is particularly skittish or impatient, hold it in in your hands wrapped inside a towel. This will mean that it can't get away as easily.

Can You Blow Dry a Chinchilla's Fur?

You can only blow dry your chinchilla if a) you blow dry it on a cool setting, and b) if your pet is mostly dry already.

If you were to blow dry your chinchilla at a high heat, you would give it heat stress. This is the exact same problem as hot water would cause your pet, and you have to avoid it at all costs. You therefore can't ever use a regular hair dryer that doesn't have a cool setting. If that's your only option, towel-dry your chinchilla extra-thoroughly and skip to the next step.

But that doesn't mean that blow drying on a cool setting is perfectly safe, either. If your chinchilla is still sopping wet, then blow drying it will make the water evaporate. When water evaporates from a surface, it cools that surface down; that's why sweating makes you feel cool, and how air conditioners make air colder. If you blew dry your chinchilla straight after you took it from its bath, it would take a very long time, and it would develop hypothermia.

As such, you have to be very careful with your blow dryer if you do decide to use it.

Dust Bath After Water Bath

To finish the drying process, we recommend allowing your chinchilla a brief dust bath.

The first thing that this achieves is that it allows your chinchilla's fur to fully dry. It's akin to using talc once you towel dry yourself after a shower. It leaves you feeling completely dry, because the microscopic particles of talc (or whatever you use) absorb what little moisture is left. They then form a dry, protective coat on your skin (or fur, if you're a chinchilla).

This is an important step because even if it's only damp, chinchilla fur takes a long time to get dry. It's like a sponge which can hold onto water for hours, even days after getting wet. The dust stops this from happening, and prevents the fur from developing a fungal infection.

The second point of offering a dust bath is that it makes your chinchilla happy. Your chin will have been in an unfamiliar environment, feeling the unfamiliar feeling of water around its body. It will then have been rubbed with a towel (another thing it's not used to) and perhaps even been frightened by your loud hair dryer. A dust bath is a return to normal, and your chinchilla will appreciate that.

Beyond these tips, we recommend a) avoiding water bathing where possible and b) being careful if you must bathe your chinchilla in water. With correct care, it's highly unlikely that any of this will ever be necessary.

Below, you can find our chinchilla quiz, new posts for further reading, and a signup for our Chinchilla Newsletter!

#chinchillas #chinchillacare

[alanaisalive]

Yeah. She's a rescue and Kali is the name she came with, but I absolutely didn't want to change it. It's just such a good name for a chinchilla. They are all agents of chaos and destruction. She is very sweet generally though. Likes people and doesn't mind being handled. She is just not sure about Squish yet. Which is honestly fair because Squish is a hyperactive little weirdo.

We're in the process of introducing our new chinchilla, Kali, to our existing chinchilla, Squish. They're in the same cage without killing each other, which is a great start. Kali has claimed the bottom level as her own, and screams at Squish whenever she tries to go down there.

Squish has always been on the anxious side, but now she's the one who wants to play, while Kali is convinced that she's going to die if she has to share space with Squish.

It's all very dramatic.

Squish:

Kali:

[elrhiarhodan]

Ask Meme: 6. Favorite character you ever created; 20. Post a snippet of a WIP you’re working on; 50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

Thank you - you are one of my best Tumblr friends, hands down!

6 - Favorite character you’ve ever created:

Ooooh, that’s a hard one because I’ve created some really wonderful OCs over the years - Eduardo Montoya from We Shall Come Home, who rescued Wolfhounds Peter and Neal.  Then there’s Isabelle Burke from Privilege, Peter’s twin sister, who lived to make her brother’s life miserable, until she needed him (and who just might have been the woman who broke Mozzie’s heart).  And what about Dennis Christiansen - Mozzie’s would-be-brother from Sterling Heights, Michigan - who spent a lifetime regretting what he’d done, from Happily Ever After Isn’t for Guys Like Us.

But it really is a tie between Michael Burke, Peter’s pot-smoking, alpaca-owning, nickname-obsessed dad from Thanksgiving at the Burkes and Joe and Cathy Burke from The Wonderful Years.

I can’t really choose.  Michael is just such a delicious basket of crazy - and just the type of crazy that made Peter be able to deal with - and more importantly - appreciate the joy that is Neal Caffrey.

But on the other hand, Joe and Cathy created Wonder(ful) Years Peter, who is loving and generous and selfless, a man who can fall in love and never be afraid of loving.

What is YOUR favorite?

20 - Post a snippet of a WIP.

I don’t have any active WIPs for White Collar at the moment, but I always hope that I’ll get the spark that brings me back home.  I do have a few that have been sitting for a while, so here’s something from a story I’d started for the WC Pairings challenge last year but couldn’t get more traction on:

“Tell me, should I or should I not get a hot dog from a street cart?”

Peter blinked, that usually wasn’t a question he was asked on a first meeting – or ever.  "Well, we do call them dirty water dogs for a reason.“

The other agent laughed.  "Teddy’s is kind of obsessed with meat in tube form, since he started watching Anthony Bourdain on Netflix.”

Peter figured he’d offer a little New Yorker wisdom on that score, “Well, you could head uptown to Papaya King, or to Coney Island for a Nathan’s original.”

Winters nodded.  "Thanks, will do.“  To Peter’s shock, he waved and left.

“Is he really going to get a hot dog?”  Peter looked at Reese, who shrugged but didn’t seem otherwise put out.

The man in the good suit answered.  "Probably – I wasn’t kidding about Teddy and hot dogs.“

Peter held out his hand.  "We haven’t been introduced.  You are?”

“Neal Caffrey.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Agent Caffrey.”

“I didn’t say I was an agent.”

“But you are.”  Peter wished he’d take off that ridiculous hat.

“Why do you say that, Agent Burke?”

“When I entered the room, you shifted your weight from right to left, as if you were going to reach for your gun.”

“I’m not carrying.”

“No, you’re not – not in that suit.  But you’re accustomed to it.  And you walk like an FBI agent, too.”  Peter looked over Caffrey, from head to toe.  "I’d put you as a ten-year veteran, probably recruited fresh out of Harvard.  Or maybe Princeton?.  At least four languages – and I’m guessing French, German, Japanese and … Greek?“

“No Greek.  Italian.  You’re very good at reading people, Agent Burke.”

Peter grinned and thought it was a pity he couldn’t tell this man that he’d deliberately flubbed the last one.  The file he’d just read noted that this deep-cover agent actually spoke nine languages, but none of them was Greek.

“What brought you and Agent Winters to New York?”

Caffrey sat down, took off his hat and dropped it on the conference table.  Peter blinked.  The man was … exquisite.  He also looked exhausted.

“Winters’ technically isn’t with me.”

“He’s your handler?”

Caffrey flicked a gaze up at Reese, who hadn’t said anything since the initial introduction.  Reese nodded.

“Yeah.  We go back a ways.  He’s been my connection into the Bureau for about three years.”

“You’re just coming off an assignment?”

“Yeah.”

Reese sat down and gestured for Peter to do the same.  "This situation isn’t optimal and the AD assures me that the operation won’t drag on forever.“

"I’ve had those assurances before, Agent Hughes.  Last time I got that promise, I was undercover for eighteen months.”

50 - Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had. 

Oh, come on!

My writing is weirdness central!  Peter turns into a cat, Elizabeth is a tiger-shifter, Neal turns into a kitten (or a puppy, depending on the story), Moz is a multi-shifter - depending on the phase of the moon, he turns into a chinchilla, a hamster or a wombat.

Or Peter and Neal both turn into dogs.

Elizabeth and Peter  are a witch and a wizard and Neal’s the only muggle in the White Collar unit. 

Neal has wings and tentacles.

Alder has tentacles.

Mozzie’s a dragon

Peter and Elizabeth and the whole FBI are Dracons.  Neal’s a Dracon, too.

You want weirdness, just check out the Transformations tag on my masterlist. 

::HUGS::

[lovemychinchilla]

How to Bathe a Chinchilla in Water (Step by Step)

Chinchillas take dust baths, not water baths, although it is possible to bathe a chinchilla in water if you know what you're doing. But how can you, and why would you ever need to?

Can you bathe a chinchilla in water? You can, but there's hardly ever a need for you to do so. It should only be considered in extreme cases, e.g. in severe infestations, for rescue chinchillas with dirty fur, or if a chinchilla is experiencing heat stress or hypothermia and a bath at an appropriate temperature would help. To bathe a chinchilla, fill a washing up bowl with one or two inches of water and place your chinchilla into it. Use dilutes shampoo to ensure it gets through your chinchilla's thick fur. Ensure that the water is a suitable temperature (55-65°F/12-18°C) as your chinchilla can develop heat stress or hypothermia from being bathed.

But that's far from all you need to know. Just as important—you have to get your chinchilla completely dry afterwards using a mixture of towel drying, blow drying, and a dust bath to finish. If you don't, your chin could develop a fungal infection, or worse, hypothermia. The guide below looks at every stage of the bathing process, from preparation to bathing to drying, plus topics like do chinchillas need baths, how can you get a chinchilla wet without killing it, and much more.

Can You Bathe a Chinchilla in Water?

You can bathe your chinchilla in water. But there are several caveats to that statement that you need to be aware of if you plan on doing so.

The first is that there's typically no need to bathe a chinchilla in water. Chins bathe in dust baths, and by and large, that's enough to keep their fur sparkling clean. The second is that while bathing doesn't instantly kill a chinchilla as if by magic, it can cause hypothermia if your chinchilla's fur isn't fully dried afterwards.

It's for both of these reasons that we don't recommend doing this if you're a new owner. Instead, there's likely another fix for whatever problem is affecting your chinchilla and perhaps necessitating treatment like bathing.

Do You Need to Bathe Chinchillas in Water?

[caption id="attachment_1951" align="alignright" width="300"] Chinchillas bathe in dust and sand in the wild, so your pet needs to do the same. Image courtesy of Jaime E. Jimenez.[/caption]

As stated above, there's normally no need to bathe a chinchilla. Pet chinchillas bathe in dust in the exact same way that their wild counterparts do. The dust acts like talc, wicking up moisture and grease. It then sticks to the fur to act like a deodorant or anti-perspirant until your chinchilla's next bath. So, why would you need to give a chinchilla a water bath?

There are a few select circumstances in which water bathing is either necessary or might help. These are uncommon, so are unlikely to affect your pet.

Fleas and other parasites. Chinchillas can get fleas, and bathing, even in regular soapy water, can help manage infestations.

Ringworm. Bathing in water with an anti-fungal agent in it can treat ringworm (although it's not the only solution).

Exceptionally dirty fur, e.g. on a rescue chinchilla. Chinchilla rescues are a thing, and they frequently take in chins that were kept in awful conditions. These animals' fur may be so dirty and unkempt that a dust bath wouldn't be effective in cleaning it.

If your chinchilla is in danger of hypothermia or heat stress. Bathing a chinchilla in water of an appropriate temperature can help cool it down or warm it up, depending on the issue affecting it.

Other than this, though, there are precious few reasons to give a chinchilla a water bath. If you're planning on bathing it simply to keep it clean, that's not reason enough to put your chinchilla in such an unnatural situation—as chins would never, ever bathe in water in the wild.

What Happens If Chinchillas Get Wet?

This may seem like a silly answer, but if you dunk a chinchilla in water, its fur will get wet. But why can't chinchillas get wet?

The problem is that a chinchilla's fur is so incredibly thick that it takes a long time to get dry without an owner's intervention. The fur traps any water, or even just dampness, for a long time. This has knock on effects:

Your pet will be uncomfortable. Having a wet coat would be akin to having to wear damp clothes 24/7. It would be a distinctly unpleasant experience. But you could change into something dry, whereas your chinchilla can't.

Your pet's fur can develop a fungal infection. Fungus thrives in damp and warm conditions, so if your chinchilla's fur is left damp, ringworm or other fungal infections can grow.

Can water kill a chinchilla? It can, if you don't dry it thoroughly. Damp fur can cause hypothermia, especially in a cool room or one with a draft.

It's for these reasons that chinchillas don't take water baths in the wild. They only ever take dust baths, and that's what all owners should offer their pets. But the above doesn't mean that water baths are never necessary, or that they can't be safe if the owner is careful.

How to Give a Chinchilla a Water Bath: The Complete Guide

There are three steps to bathing a chinchilla. The first is to prepare yourself, the chinchilla's bath, and the chinchilla itself in the correct way. This will make sure that bathing goes smoothly. The second step is to bathe the chinchilla, and the third is to dry it off.

As simple as that sounds, there is lots more to learn about each individual step. So, for example, preparing the bath involves knowing what temperature the water should be, how deep the water should be, where you should bathe your chinchilla, what shampoo to use and so on. Bathing involves knowing how to rub the shampoo into your pet's fur, how long the bath take, and more besides. And, of course, drying is a multi-stage and time-consuming process since your chinchilla has such thick fur.

The rest of this guide looks at these three steps: preparation, bathing and drying.

Step 1: Preparing a Chinchilla Bath

We don't recommend running a quick bath and bathing your chinchilla without preparing first. You need the right equipment, the right shampoo, and the right knowledge before you can. Let's take a look at how to prepare properly for your chinchilla's bath.

What Can You Bathe Chinchillas In?

[caption id="attachment_613" align="alignright" width="300"] If you have a tub like this for your chinchilla to take dust baths in, you could use that for your pet's water bath too.[/caption]

You have a few options available to you. We recommend rectangular or square tubs as these won't tip over as easily as a bowl. A big washing up bowl would be perfect. You may already have one of these for washing up, or for giving your chinchilla dust baths.

If you don't have one and can't get one, you can bathe your chinchilla in the sink. This may be a bit more awkward, especially if you have a slippy porcelain sink. You must also remember to thoroughly wash the sink afterwards to get rid of any bacteria left behind. We recommend using the bathroom rather than the kitchen sink, as it's generally best to keep your chinchilla away from food preparation areas.

How Much Water Does a Chinchilla Water Bath Need?

You don't need to fill your chinchilla's tub all the way to the top to bathe it. You want enough that it covers much of your pet's body, but not enough that your chinchilla can't feel the bottom with its toes. It's like bathing a baby: you're going to be doing most of the work, so it doesn't matter if your chinchilla's body isn't fully submerged. Two to three inches of water is fine. Adjust as necessary if your chinchilla is particularly tall or short!

Water Temperature for a Chinchilla Bath

The biggest pitfall of water bathing is that you need to get the temperature of the water correct. Chinchillas can very easily overheat, and that's especially true in water. There are a few reasons why the heat of water is particularly dangerous:

Water passes on and absorbs heat more easily than air. Have you ever noticed how cool water feels colder than air of the same temperature? That's because water is better at sapping your body's heat than air is. The same applies in reverse, meaning that warm water feels warmer than air of the same temperature.

Your chinchilla's fur doesn't dry quickly. As such, when you take it from the bath, the warmth of the water is still acting on its body.

This means that if the water is too hot, your chinchilla can develop a condition called heat stress. This is where the body essentially starts shutting down, the organs stop working, and the animal dies. This can happen remarkably quickly even in temperatures far lower than you might expect.

It's for the same two reasons as above that you also have to avoid the water being too cold. Chinchillas can develop hypothermia in cold water, which is similar to heat stress in that the body starts shutting down, but because of cold conditions rather than hot.

As such, you need to keep the water at a comfortable temperature. Between 55-65°F, which is 12-18°C, is optimal. This isn't something that you should guess at; you should measure the temperature exactly with a thermometer to make sure that it's precisely right both before and during the bath (because the water may cool down gradually, too).

What Shampoo Can You Use to Bathe a Chinchilla?

You should use a gentle shampoo, like a baby shampoo. These are formulated not to be harsh on hair and skin. You could alternatively consider using a soap brand that's kind to skin. The fewer ingredients in the soap or shampoo, the better, as this means it's less likely to have any unintended effects.

Ideally, you want a shampoo that doesn't have a heavy scent. Once the bath is over you want your chinchilla's fur to go back to smelling like normal. Chinchillas have even more sensitive senses of smell than we do, and you want your chinchilla to smell like itself again as soon as possible. There are lots of unscented shampoos and soaps available.

Preparing Your Chinchilla for a Water Bath

You should be prepared for the eventuality that your chinchilla won't want to take a water bath. That's normal, and you shouldn't force your pet to do something it desperately doesn't want to do.

Most chinchillas are friendly and docile, if a little skittish. If your pet trusts you, it will therefore not mind all that much if you put it in a water bath, even if it's something it isn't used to. But say for example that you take your chinchilla in your hands, and lower it into the water of the bath; if it doesn't like the experience, your pet may try to get away from you, splashing you with water or tipping the bath altogether, and maybe even running off to hide somewhere. This isn't dangerous for your chinchilla per se, but you'll have to clean up and encourage your pet back into its cage. That's a lot of work you could avoid.

If you think your chinchilla is likely to react badly, start small. Have it stand in a bath with hardly any water in it so that it can get used to the feeling. You'll have to dry it afterwards all the same, but at least you won't have to clean up!

Step 2: How Do You Bathe a Chinchilla?

Once you, your chinchilla and the bath are ready, you can bathe your pet.

Do Chinchillas Know How to Bathe in Water?

Your chinchilla doesn't know how to clean itself in water like some other animals do. While it learned how to bathe in dust in the wild, it never learned how to bathe in water. That's partly because there's precious little water for it to bathe in in the Andes, and partly because if it did bathe in water, it couldn't get its fur dry.

As such, your chinchilla won't have any idea what to do if you put it in water. It certainly won't know how to use shampoo! This means that it's your job to bathe your chinchilla properly. That's what the rest of this section addresses.

Should You Wear Gloves to Bathe a Chinchilla?

This is very much your choice. There's no need for you to wear gloves if you don't want to. But, if you don't want the soap to dry out your hands and nails, you're free to wear some.

The only difference would be that you can rub the shampoo into your chinchilla's fur slightly better if you're not wearing gloves. That's because you can better feel your chinchilla's fur and skin with your fingertips, while wearing gloves means you can't feel exactly what you're doing. That's less of a problem if you use diluted shampoo, though, as this soaks through your pet's fur anyway.

Also, if you're bathing your chinchilla to get rid of parasites in its fur, that's something else you have to consider. Do you want to be able to feel where the fleas, lice and eggs are in your chinchilla's fur? You might be more effective at getting rid of them if you do, in which case you could keep the gloves off. But if the idea of pests disgusts you, wear them.

How to Wash a Chinchilla's Fur with Shampoo

[caption id="attachment_105" align="alignright" width="300"] Chinchilla fur is so dense that the shampoo won't penetrate unless you work it in.[/caption]

Use the baby shampoo as you usually would: take a small amount and lather it into the area where it's required. Try to get in between hairs and underneath your pet's fur to give it a thorough clean. This is essential as otherwise, you wouldn't be addressing the issue that has made water bathing necessary, such as fleas or severely dirty fur.

To help the shampoo reach in through the outer layers of fur, you should consider diluting it. This will help the shampoo seep through to every place that it's needed. Comparatively, if you were to rub shampoo directly onto the outside of your chinchilla's coat, it would leave one part of the fur spotless while the rest isn't as clean as it could be. You can either do this by mixing the shampoo with water in your hand, diluting it in the bottle beforehand, or even just picking a runnier shampoo.

We recommend only using shampoo where it's needed. Avoid using it in places where it could hurt or irritate your chinchilla, such as around its eyes or around its mouth. Your pet's face is a no-go area, although if necessary, you could use shampoo on the back of your pet's head. You then have to rinse your chinchilla's fur, as you would rinse your hair when you wash it.

If you're only bathing your chinchilla because it got too hot, there's no need to wash its fur with shampoo. Instead, just use water.

Rinsing a Chinchilla's Fur

Your chinchilla's fur requires more rinsing than you might expect. That's because it's so thick and dense. If you don't rinse your pet's fur thoroughly, some of the shampoo will be left behind. This likely wouldn't be a major issue, as the biggest problems it could cause are that it would make your chin's fur smell different, and that it may dry out your pet's skin. But these problems are worth avoiding anyway.

Rinse the fur as you normally would. Gather water in your hand or in a jug and run the water on, and into, the fur. Continue until there aren't any obvious bubbles left in the fur, meaning there's no more soap/shampoo.

To fully rinse your pet's fur, it may be necessary to change the water. We don't recommend doing this if it would take a long time to refill the bath and get the water to a suitable temperature, because your chinchilla could get cold. If you have another bath, or you could pre-fill a sink with suitably warm water, then consider doing that. But otherwise, it's preferable to leave a tiny amount of shampoo behind than to compromise your chinchilla's health.

Can You Use a Shower Head to Bathe a Chinchilla?

Using a shower head would be a good way to rinse out your chinchilla's fur. But if you do plan on using one, there are a few things you have to be careful of.

You could easily have the water running at the wrong temperature. Plus, the temperature is changeable, so could start out as the right temperature but then get too hot or too cold.

The water would splash everywhere, and could get in your chinchilla's eyes.

The loud noise of the shower running could make your chinchilla stressed.

The water pressure of your shower may be high, which could shock or even hurt your chinchilla.

It's for the same reasons that we also don't recommend holding your chinchilla under a running tap. As such, we recommend bathing your chinchilla or rinsing its fur in other ways. Use a regular jug, bowl or cup to gently pour water through your chinchilla's fur instead.

How Long Should You Water Bath a Chinchilla For?

There's no need to give your chinchilla an extra long bath. Ten to fifteen minutes should be long enough. That's because:

Your chinchilla is small, so it won't take a long time to wash it

Your chinchilla will get more restless the longer you bathe it

The temperature of the water will change as you bathe your pet, either getting hotter or colder, depending on the room temperature

Continue to monitor the temperature of the water throughout the bath, so that you can be sure it's still the right temperature.

Step 3: How to Dry Off a Chinchilla's Fur

Once your chinchilla's bath is over, you should dry it off. You can do this at home with things you likely already have to hand.

Drying is a multi-stage process. That's because a chinchilla's fur is so thick. If you have very long or very thick hair, you'll have experienced something similar to your chinchilla: you pat it down with a towel, but that's nowhere near enough to dry your hair completely. You then have to blow dry it.

While drying a chinchilla's fur can take a long time, you absolutely need to see through. If you don't thoroughly dry your pet's fur after its bath, it could in the best case develop a fungal infection like ringworm or in the worst case experience hypothermia.

How to Towel Dry a Chinchilla

The drying process begins with towel drying. This step isn't too complex: you rub your chinchilla's fur until it's almost dry. The only thing that's difficult about this is that it's going to take a while.

Start by setting your chinchilla comfortably in your lap. Lay a towel down underneath it, and hold another in your hands. Then, gently rub your chinchilla's back, sides and belly. Here are a few guidelines that will make doing so easier:

Dry your chinchilla in a chinchilla-proofed room. If your chinchilla gets away from you, you want it to be safe in a room that it can't escape from or hide in.

Don't tug at your chinchilla's fur. If you do, you could tug tufts of fur out due to fur slip.

Don't get impatient and rough. It's vital that you get your chinchilla as dry as possible, but you also don't want the experience to be a stressful and unhappy one for your pet. Then, if you ever need to bathe your chinchilla again, it won't want you to.

It may take ten minutes to dry your chicnhilla's fur enough. Make time for this so you don't have to rush or cut your drying session short.

If your chinchilla is particularly skittish or impatient, hold it in in your hands wrapped inside a towel. This will mean that it can't get away as easily.

Can You Blow Dry a Chinchilla's Fur?

You can only blow dry your chinchilla if a) you blow dry it on a cool setting, and b) if your pet is mostly dry already.

[caption id="attachment_1262" align="alignright" width="225"] Blow drying helps—but only on a cool setting.[/caption]

If you were to blow dry your chinchilla at a high heat, you would give it heat stress. This is the exact same problem as hot water would cause your pet, and you have to avoid it at all costs. You therefore can't ever use a regular hair dryer that doesn't have a cool setting. If that's your only option, towel-dry your chinchilla extra-thoroughly and skip to the next step.

But that doesn't mean that blow drying on a cool setting is perfectly safe, either. If your chinchilla is still sopping wet, then blow drying it will make the water evaporate. When water evaporates from a surface, it cools that surface down; that's why sweating makes you feel cool, and how air conditioners make air colder. If you blew dry your chinchilla straight after you took it from its bath, it would take a very long time, and it would develop hypothermia.

As such, you have to be very careful with your blow dryer if you do decide to use it.

Dust Bath After Water Bath

To finish the drying process, we recommend allowing your chinchilla a brief dust bath.

The first thing that this achieves is that it allows your chinchilla's fur to fully dry. It's akin to using talc once you towel dry yourself after a shower. It leaves you feeling completely dry, because the microscopic particles of talc (or whatever you use) absorb what little moisture is left. They then form a dry, protective coat on your skin (or fur, if you're a chinchilla).

This is an important step because even if it's only damp, chinchilla fur takes a long time to get dry. It's like a sponge which can hold onto water for hours, even days after getting wet. The dust stops this from happening, and prevents the fur from developing a fungal infection.

The second point of offering a dust bath is that it makes your chinchilla happy. Your chin will have been in an unfamiliar environment, feeling the unfamiliar feeling of water around its body. It will then have been rubbed with a towel (another thing it's not used to) and perhaps even been frightened by your loud hair dryer. A dust bath is a return to normal, and your chinchilla will appreciate that.

Beyond these tips, we recommend a) avoiding water bathing where possible and b) being careful if you must bathe your chinchilla in water. With correct care, it's highly unlikely that any of this will ever be necessary.

Below, you can find our chinchilla quiz, new posts for further reading, and a signup for our Chinchilla Newsletter!

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