Chinchilla Ears

Question
I noticed that the back of my chinchilla's ears look very dry.  I compared them against my roommate's chinchilla's ears, and there is a marked difference.  Not only do his ears look dry, but it appears the light grey skin on his ears is peeling or chafing and it is completely missing in some places...it is just bare pink.  He doesn't appear to be in any pain, and I am planning on taking him to the vet ASAP, but as a working college student, I'm trying to get an idea of what is wrong so I can know what to expect to pay at the vet's office.

Answer
Hi there, its great that you are taking him to a vet. It's hard to say what it is without looking at it but it could be parasites or a fungal infection. It's unlikely though but best to get it checked to be sure. More likely it is just dry skin and the vet will be able to give you something to put on it. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing serious. Good luck