A sand bath should be given to a chinchilla on a regular basis in order to keep the fur clean, soft and free standing, if this does not take place then the fur can  accumulate grease and dust and start to clump together causing the fur to cause knots which may get caught and pulled out of the chinchilla.

The frequency recommended for sand baths vary, personally due to the number of animals I have they tend to get a sand bath placed in their cage over night on alternate nights.  Most pet owners tend to place the sand bath daily for 15-20 minutes,  either out on the floor when the chinchilla has a run or in the cage after it has been out.

Generally it is better to give your chinchilla its sand bath AFTER it has been handled as that allows it to remove the sweat and grease that your hands will have left in his fur.

Specialist Chinchilla sand can be bought from most pet shops, but most large breeders also tend to supply it - either in sacks or small amounts.

The make generally used most is Sepiolita,

Though called sand and sand baths - the dust used is actually ground up volcanic ash and you should avoid any real sand and specifically NOT use any form of builders sand. Some sand can contain sharp bits that will cause eye irritation and may cause skin complaints.

Also reddish coloured sands should be avoided as they can stain pale chinchillas and will under show conditions ruin the "blue" glow that you are trying to achieve for top show quality.

Any receptacle can be used to hold the sand for the duration of the chins sand bath -  but if it is to be left with the chin for any length of time - especially overnight - then avoid any plastic containers.

Specially made chinchilla baths can be bought - but they are pricey compared to medium sized metal dog bowls, old large sweet tins (dont use if any rust on them), glass bowls, and plastic bowls.

You can buy a sand bathing house which is designed to keep the majority of the sand inside so that the chinchillas make less mess when bathing - however I have found that they do tend to chew these quite badly.

You can create the same effect by using a large glass sweet jar with the sand inside and laid on its side (ensure the mouth of the jar is the wide ones as used for selling sweets by weight).

The sand in the sand bath can be reused quite a lot - and only needs to be discarded if it should be tainted with urine.  After each use, use a spoon to remove any wet lumps if your chinchilla has urinated in the sand, and then sieve the sand  to remove any poops, using a normal kitchen sieve such as the one shown below. (you will be surprised by how many of your kitchen implements end up being used for chins instead!)

Where possible use a different sand bath for animals in different cages - but animals that share a cage will often al try and jump into the same bath together at the same time.  When quarantining animals it is ESSENTIAL that they have a separate sand bath to stop the spread of any infections