Purple-gray Chinchilla (AfroViolet) face, back, and tail are grayish purple, while the belly and paws are white. Most purple-gray Chinchillas have black eyes, but there are also a few extremely rare red-eyed purple-gray Chinchillas. Purple-gray Chinchilla is a relatively rare color and generally smaller in size compared to other colors of Chinchillas.

Weight: Male 400-500g / Female 450-800g; Body length 20-25cm; Tail length 7-15cm. The appearance of Chinchilla is very similar to rabbits and squirrels. There are long-tailed and short-tailed species. They have small and chubby bodies, rabbit-like heads, and squirrel-like tails. Chinchillas have a pair of big and bright eyes, with many long and short whiskers on the sides of the nose, which are sensitive to touch. Their ears are big and thin, with a blunt and round shape. The front limbs are small with 5 toes, while the hind limbs are strong with 4 toes and good at jumping. The fur on the back and sides of Chinchilla is gray-blue (and some other artificially cultivated colors), gradually fading to white on the belly. The distribution of fur is uniform, and generally, each hair follicle can grow 50-60 hairs.

Purple-gray Chinchilla: also known as velvet purple-gray Chinchilla or purple-grey silk mouse. It is a mammal belonging to the rodent order, Chinchillidae family, and Chinchilla genus, originally from the Andes Mountains in South America, which is the habitat of its ancestors. The face, back, and tail are grayish purple, while the belly and paws are white. Most purple-gray Chinchillas have black eyes, but there are also a few extremely rare red-eyed purple-gray Chinchillas. Purple-gray Chinchilla is a relatively rare color, and its size is generally smaller than other colored Chinchillas.

In order to evaluate the treatment effect of old fracture of the Chinchilla, a clinical case observation method was used to treat an old fracture of the lower leg of a Chinchilla with internal fixation. The results showed that using intramedullary pin for internal fixation and appropriate external fixation achieved good therapeutic effect in Chinchilla with old fracture of the lower leg.

Small pet chinchillas are recommended for people who love them. They are gentle and timid, and prefer a quiet environment. They are sensitive to their surroundings and emit a long, crying-like alarm sound when startled. They do not like strong direct sunlight and are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night. When angry, they make a hissing sound like a snake or a purring sound. In a group, the female chinchilla holds the dominant position, and if there is a fight between males and females, the female usually wins. However, when males and females are raised together, they get along very well and rarely fight.

1. Overgrown incisors - like beavers, incisors grow too long due to a lack of regular rubbing of softwood blocks, pumice stones, etc., affecting chewing and resulting in loss of appetite, weakness, and even starvation. The overgrown part should be trimmed in time with bone pliers or flower scissors, and the swollen lips should be cleaned with anti-inflammatory lotion for 3 consecutive days.

2. Throat obstruction - swallowing difficulties caused by eating large pieces of feed or other foreign objects, and chinchillas have difficulty spitting out food from their mouths, so it is easy to cause throat obstructions. When small food is obstructed, chinchillas may jump anxiously, often make swallowing movements, accompanied by coughing. The main symptoms are rapid breathing or difficulty breathing, often quickly leading to suffocation, eye congestion, inability to stand on all fours, and even death. Therefore, do not give chinchillas hard or shell-like feeds such as pine seeds and large beans. In the case of mild obstruction, immediately drip-feed plant oil to lubricate the esophagus, so that the food can be swallowed into the stomach. Severe obstruction often leads to suffocation before measures can be taken.

3. Cathartic gastritis - inflammation of the gastric mucosa, mainly due to the excessive proportion of grain feed in the diet, lack of coarse fiber; feeding indigestible food; sudden change in feed variety; excessive feeding of delicious feed leading to overfeeding; or occurrence of gastric distension causing cathartic inflammation. Eating mud, drinking unclean water, or eating moldy feed contaminated by pesticides can also cause gastric catharsis. This disease often occurs suddenly, with sudden onset, depressed spirits, unbearable pain, reduced appetite, or refusal to eat. The chronic form is characterized by reduced appetite, moderate constipation, gradual weight loss, drooling, moist lower lips and both corners of the mouth, and tangled fur. Acute cathartic gastritis should be stopped for 1-2 days, replace pelleted feed with soft feed, add fresh tender green feed, and grape fresh milk as a drink, and take 2-3 milliliters of aluminum hydroxide gel orally. Chronic conditions mainly involve improving feeding management and drug treatment, with little effect.

4. Constipation - Constipation is mainly caused by improper feed, resulting in weakened gastrointestinal motility, and poor nutrition of intestinal muscles. Unstable feeding environment can cause neurological disorders and abnormal gastrointestinal motility. When chinchillas have constipation, mild symptoms are not obvious, only the shape of feces becomes slightly smaller, and there are usually no bubbles in the feces, and the color is darker. In severe cases, defecation is significantly reduced or stopped, feces are very small and dry. The diseased chinchillas stop eating and drinking, squat in one place, reluctant to move, have humped back and painful posture, tired spirits, and closed eyes. Long-term constipation gradually leads to thinness, and the weight loss is very obvious. In addition to adjusting the ingredients, the following medications can be used for treatment: 2% liquid paraffin or soft soapy water can be taken orally or rectally infused at a dose of 5-15 milliliters each time; a mixture of 10%-15% hot vegetable oil and water can be taken orally or rectally infused at a dose of 5-15 milliliters each time; rectal enema with a glycerin suppository can also promote defecation.

5. Intestinal obstruction - Constipation can aggravate intestinal obstruction. Some chinchillas suffer from trichophagia. Because these chinchillas eat hair and form hairballs in the digestive tract, obstruction occurs. In addition, a large amount of crude fiber in the feed or the use of a large amount of antibiotics to treat diseases can cause a decrease in the ability of the intestinal microorganisms to digest crude fiber, resulting in constipation and, consequently, intestinal obstruction. Therefore, avoid or use broad-spectrum antibiotics as little as possible, and it is safer to use sulfonamides for anti-inflammatory purposes. The initial symptom of this disease is constipation. Acute symptoms of intestinal obstruction are rare, so it manifests as all symptoms of constipation. Diseased chinchillas dehydrate rapidly, with sunken eyeballs. The abdomen is often slightly bloated, and hard feces can often be felt in the abdomen. Diseased chinchillas often show abdominal pain, extend their forelimbs forward, lie with their abdomens touching the ground, and severe cases lie on their backs with their limbs curled up. Duodenal obstruction is the most obvious. Prevention and control measures: Be highly vigilant once constipation occurs, make every effort to eliminate constipation, and prevent secondary intestinal obstruction. When intestinal obstruction has occurred, the treatment focuses on promoting bowel movements. If the use of oil-based cathartics is ineffective, try using 10%-20% sodium sulfate or deep enema with soft soapy water, combined with laxatives, which is effective for mild intestinal obstruction. Severe intestinal obstruction, where the intestines are inflamed or necrotic, is ineffective with laxatives and may even be dangerous with the risk of intestinal rupture and perforation. In necessary cases, surgical treatment can be performed.

6. Intestinal torsion and intussusception - This disease can occur suddenly during mating when chinchillas chase each other or fight vigorously. Once the disease occurs, it will cause severe pain, trembling of limbs and the whole body, inability to stand, and sometimes "squeaking" sounds, leading to death in severe cases. Upon autopsy, twisted or invaginated intestines, mucosal bleeding, and bleeding phenomenon can be directly observed. Because this disease comes on suddenly and death occurs quickly, it is often too late to take measures and the diseased chinchillas have already died. In rescue operations, manually straightening the intestine can be effective for some sick chinchillas.

7. Vitamin deficiency - Various nutritional deficiencies are caused by defects in feed formulation and should focus on prevention with treatment as a supplement. Common vitamin deficiencies include vitamin A and B1 deficiencies. When vitamin A is deficient, chinchillas often suffer from keratinization, respiratory infections, decreased reproductive performance or infertility, obvious dry eye disease or night blindness. Affected chinchillas often have dull and cloudy eyes, dull and inelastic fur, and weight loss. The mating rate of male chinchillas decreases significantly, sexual behavior disappears, the estrus period of female chinchillas is prolonged or they do not come into estrus, pregnant chinchillas experience pregnancy interruption, and fetuses are absorbed or miscarry. When vitamin A is deficient in newborn chinchillas, they become thin, weak, and difficult to survive or go blind. Supply each diseased chinchilla with 100 international units of vitamin A every day and supplement it through feed after 1 week. When vitamin B1 is deficient, chinchillas have uncoordinated movements, are nervous, easily excited, and typical symptoms are convulsions, sudden spasms of limbs and body, which can occur after a spasm and then return to normal activity, but if it continues to develop, it can cause death. The treatment should involve administering a high dose of vitamin B1, continuously administering it for 2-4 weeks, and giving a daily dose of 10 milligrams per chinchilla.

8. Calcium-phosphorus metabolic imbalance - Calcium and phosphorus deficiency in feed, improper calcium-phosphorus ratio, or vitamin D deficiency in feed can all cause calcium-phosphorus metabolic imbalance. The typical symptom of this disease is sudden muscle spasms throughout the body, which is similar to the spasms caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. However, the spasms caused by this disease often occur before and after feeding, and the most important difference is that the spasms caused by this disease do not involve swaying. Diseased chinchillas lie with their abdomens attached to the cage bottom, their limbs are stiff, their forelimbs extend forward, and their heads are bent backward. Treatment measures: Increase the calcium and phosphorus content in the feed and adjust the ratio of calcium to phosphorus and the content of vitamin D. Alternatively, inject glucose calcium into muscles at a dose of 1-1.5 milliliters once a day for 3-5 consecutive days.

9. Hair loss - Chinchilla fur is precious, and hair loss is a major loss and can occur frequently. There are two reasons for chinchilla hair loss: first, a lack of unsaturated fatty acids in the feed, and second, chinchillas are easily excited and have neurotic hair loss. After hair loss, the skin will lose its value for making fur garments. The symptoms often involve both causes, often with neurotic hair loss as the main cause. Whether the diseased chinchillas are active in cages or other activities such as feeding and watering by humans, the diseased chinchillas shed their hair sporadically or in clumps, and there are remnants of hair everywhere in the cage. The severely affected areas of the skin become exposed, keratinized, and scaly. Chinchillas affected by this disease cannot participate in breeding. Oral administration or addition of unsaturated fatty acids to the feed, accompanied by feeding for immediate effect, is best not overnight. Give each chinchilla 2 pills of linoleic acid per day for 3-5 days to achieve certain results.

Purple-gray Chinchilla

Diet: Herbaceous plants or the bark, stems, and branches of shrubs, cacti, hay, and seeds.

Health standards for Chinchillas:

1. The liver is clean without loose stools or dirt. Normal chinchilla feces should be relatively hard, oval-shaped, and about half a centimeter long, black-green or black-brown. Chinchillas with soft stools, loose stools, or dirt around the anus have digestive diseases;
2. No damage, bloodstains, upward curl of the tail, symmetrical limbs without deformities, and ability to eat normally with an open mouth. Such chinchillas definitely have no fractures or external injuries;
3. Ability to defecate and urinate normally, without frequent urination or the need to urinate at any time.

Typically, chinchillas change their fur every few months. The old fur starts to shed from the neck and continues to the tail. This cycle is influenced by weather conditions and is not seasonal. Chinchillas shed their fur every three months or so, depending on the growth of their hair. Therefore, chinchillas molt irregularly throughout the year. Normally, the shed fur falls to the bottom of their cage, some may stick to the wire mesh. During the molting period, it is recommended to brush off the shed fur to make the chinchillas look more elegant. Additionally, this prevents the fur from flying everywhere.