Greenwood Chinchillas
(Oxidised Beige through age, retired Breeder owned by Albatross Chinchillas)
Fur Oxidisation
As you may be aware, the best time to show your chinchillas is when young - normally suggested to be up to he age of 12-18 months. After this time it is said that the fur quality will no longer be at their best - however some animals do go on to win for many years after this normal cut off point.
The problem for most animals is that as they do age their fur actually reacts to the amount of light and the atmosphere around them and lose the nice blue sheen that we are aiming for and acquire a dull or brownish tinge to the tips of the fur.
This process by which the fur does become discoloured and dull is called oxidisation and is especially a problem in Beige and Black chinchillas.
Beige derived chinchillas (hetero beige, homo beige, brown velvets, pink whites, pastels, tans) oxidise in bright light, especially sunlight, and can become a "rusty" or "orangey" colour over the fur.
This colouration in a young animal or on a show bench is very undesirable as it detracts from the clear blue sharp fur we are trying to achieve so animals with this cast to them would not be used for breeding, however if you know that oxidisation is the cause then you can breed from them to produce good future kits, but the adult itself will not do well on a show table.
To avoid oxidisation occurring upon your own animals, do not keep them near direct light sources and where you have more than one line of cages keep them on the lower rows - this will reduce light filtering onto the fur and minimise the effects of oxidisation, thereby keeping the clear colour.
NOTE: DO NOT keep chinchillas in the dark to avoid oxidising there fur, they do require a normal pattern of light and dark for their own health.