Infrared Thermography as an Indicator of Heat Loss in Fur-Chewing Chinchillas (Chinchilla Lanigera)

ABSTRACT

Fur-chewing is a common problem in chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera). It may affect the welfare of animals due to heat loss, thereby possibly impacting food and water intake to maintain body temperature. In this context, infrared thermography seems to be a suitable method of measuring heat emissions from the surface of objects.

Sexually mature male domestic chinchillas were divided into two groups: “non-fur chewers”, exhibiting normal behaviour (n = 25), and “fur chewers” displaying fur-chewing behaviour (n = 23). Food and water intake (mean ± SD) measured in the control animals amounted to 20.7 ± 4.52 g and 15.9 ± 3.45 mL, while in fur-chewing chinchillas were 25% and 33% higher, respectively. Metabolic energy intake, were calculated 2.2 and 2.8 W for the control and fur-chewing animals, respectively. Heat flux through chewed areas was 6.06 mW cm-2, which is 2.8 times higher than through undamaged chinchilla fur. To sum up, thermal imagingexplicitly shows that fur-chewing causes increased heat loss. Disturbances in the maintenance of thermal homeostasis may be an additional factor that reduces the welfare of these animals.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinchilla lanigera
• fur-chewing
• heat transfer
• thermography
• welfare

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

For this type of study formal consent is not required.

Additional information

Funding

This Research was funded by Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego (DS-3263 and DS 3266)