Chinchillas have very dense fur with a lot of lanolin. They require a special dust bath a few times a week. Use a dish that is large enough for your chinchilla to roll in. Pour about an inch of dust in the dish and place it inside the cage. Your chinchilla will jump in and have a wonderful time. Only leave the dust in the cage for about 15 minutes. Always use chinchilla dust. Never put your chin in real sand. The dust can be reused for about a week or until it begins to look clumpy. Scoop out all of the pellets before you store it away for the next use. If your chinchilla urinates in the dust you can not reuse it. If you are breeding your chinchillas, wait 10 days after a birth to give mother and babies a bath. When mom gets hers let the babies bathe too. If you have more than one cage of chinchillas, each should have their own container. Using the same dust for multiple cages is a good way to pass on a sickness. Do not wash a chinchilla with water. If you do happen to get your chin wet roll him up in a towel immediately and keep him warm.