I just returned from a 5 day vacation this morning. I had left my air on due to the fact that I am in Milw. WI, and it was supposed to be very warm while I was gone. I left it on so that my exotic pet, a grey chinchilla wouldn't overheat. I came home and the air was off, and it won't come back on. I have called a service repair company but they cannot come and work on it for a couple days, will putting a fan in front of the cage keep my chinchilla happy? Please help! They have so much hair and overheat so easily I don't want to have to take him to the vet for any heat conditions! Thanks SO MUCH for all of your answers! : )
Answers:
Do you have a basement where it might be a little cooler to keep him in the meantime. fan will just blow hot air around - might help a little, but cool basement would help more
it is probly cause you might have to keep it in a cage and not let it out if it dose that would probly mess it up cause they are very teritoral and it really dosent like to stay in so if yyyou keep it in a cage then let it out a few times a day it will be fine and get there hsir replaced
What I do for my bunny on hot days is take a 2 liter soda bottle and fill it with water. I let it freeze then put it in his cage... instant air conditioner! I wouldn't put a fan directly in fornt of your chin's cage as he may not like that but try putting it around 20ft away and aim it towards the cage until you can get something cold in there. Also try filling a squirt bottle with cold water and spritzing him every hour.
i'm not an expert on chinchillas, but I think you should go to the vets office and ask. maybe you should let a friend pet sit it just to be safe!
have you got a friend who you trust enough to watch him until your air is fixed? if not it seems the only option you have is to put him somewhere the heat from the sun can't reach him and put a fan on him.
1) My long haired rabbit likes it when I put a fan on her, so I'm sure a chin would love one too.
2) Freeze a bottle of water and put it in your chins cage. It will act as a mini air conditoner.
3) Make sure that your baby has plenty of cold water, and she'll be fine!
if it has a big cage a frozen soda or milk bottle of water can work . A moist rag hung on the side of the cage will also cool the air , especially if there is a breeze or fan blowing over it .
I'd think from a distance it may help.
I'd also imagine a deep bowl of cold water would help, as he could wash in it to keep himself cool.
On a hot day, the ambient temperature of the room or unit that the chinchillas are kept in should be lowered or maintained at an acceptable level. This can be achieved by keeping curtains closed, or in the case of outside units, any windows can be whitewashed using a greenhouse paint to obscure much of the sunlight. Outside sheds and units can also benefit from having their roof painted white, to help reflect some heat or even have a secondary roof fitted to reflect almost all the heat of the sun.
Good air-circulation and ventilation are absolutely essential, and a simple desktop fan can assist with this, but should not be aimed directly into the cages.
Many chinchilla breeders, including myself, use air-conditioners (non-evaporative) in their units to maintain cooler temperatures. They are extremely effective and are highly recommended.
However, this may be a rather expensive option for the average chinchilla owner with only one or two chinchillas - but there are other solutions ...
Cheap ceramic or terracotta tiles can be purchased from garden centres and DIY stores. These can then be placed in a refrigerator or freezer and can then be placed in or around the chinchilla cages. Jam jars filled with water and then frozen will also provide cool spots for the chinchilla to sit up against or close to.
In fact, anything that is non-toxic and chew-proof can be used in this manner. But I don鈥檛 recommend using plastic cool-blocks, unless they are placed inside a metal biscuit tin for protection.
Items removed straight from the freezer should be wiped down to remove any "frost" before use, to prevent freezer-burns from the ultra-cooled surfaces coming into contact with skin (both animal and human).
Anything that may stress or increase the chinchilla鈥檚 heart rate during the hot weather should be avoided. This includes both exercise and the stress of transportation (although this can be limited by the use of car air-conditioning these days). Even sandbathing should be left to the cooler parts of the day (a useful hint is to put the sandbath into the fridge for a while, so the chinchillas can bathe in cool sand).
Allowing a chinchilla out of its cage for exercise should also be restricted to the cooler hours of the day and for much shorter periods of time than usual. On very hot days exercise should be restricted completely in order to prevent overheating.
Any unnecessary journeys and even trips to the vet should also be left to the cooler early morning or evening hours, if possible.
It goes without saying that chinchilla cages should not be positioned in direct sunlight by a window or kept in hot conservatories. Neither should the chinchilla cages be placed on a sunny patio to enjoy the sunshine on a hot day (yes - I have heard of this happening, with fatal results sadly).
Heat exhaustion can set in very quickly and unless action is taken the chinchilla can lapse into a coma and die.
Here are some helpful tips on spotting the signs and how to deal with them in an emergency.
Signs of Over-Heating
Ears may flush bright red as the capillaries dilate.
Chinchillas tend to lie down on their sides in the heat of the day, but should always be responsive. Any chinchilla lying down that is not responsive should be checked immediately.
Breathing may become shallow and rapid.
In severe cases, the chinchilla may lose consciousness and be limp and floppy when handled. Or it may be convulsing.
Emergency Treatment
As a last resort, you can attempt the following if a chinchilla has become severely over-heated.
Immerse the chinchilla up to the neck in tepid (NOT COLD) water, to bring down its core-temperature.
When the chinchilla regains consciousness and becomes more coherent, remove it from the water, and wrap it in a towel to remove some excess water and leave it in a secure, cool and dark place with minimal disturbance to get over the shock and stress.
You can offer some rehydration solution (such as Diaoralyte - available from chemists and mixed according to the instructions on the packet) either from a syringe or water bottle. But do not force the chinchilla to drink, as this will only cause further stress.
Seek veterinary advice via telephone, before risking a stressful journey.
We are often caught out, one way or another, by our fickle weather, and because of this it is a good idea for the chinchilla owner to keep one eye on the weather forecasts and to be prepared for that sudden, unexpected "heatwave".
As with many things, prevention is far better than any cure. Keeping chinchillas as quiet and cool as possible on those hot summer days will prevent an emergency situation from arising.
I really hope that my info helps, and that your chinchilla is okay!
As long as its not terribly humid I would say put something frozen (and safe to chew...something filled with water at least) and plenty of water and she should be fine. I mean, chinchilla's come from the desert right?
You can freeze water in a shallow dish and put that in the cage. Also, at pet stores or other places, you can buy granite stones, just a slab of granite, and put that in the freezer. You just put that in your cage for your chin to lay on and he will tay cool. You can also put ice cubes in your water bottle, he will keep semi cool, but you need to combine that with other ideas. Also fans won't work as well on chins because all they do is blow the air at them, it doesn't actually do any cooling for a chin. Also fill a 2 liter bottle with water and freeze it. Put that in the cage also and your chin can lay beside it and it cools the whole cage down.
I wouldn't put the fan directly in front of your chinchilla's face. That might bother him, I know that would bother me. Try putting it a few feet away from your chinchilla, far enough so it isn't ruffling his fur like crazy, but close enough so it's giving him a cool breeze. I had a rabbit and my best friend had three, and what she would do would to fill a two liter soda bottle (plastic obviously) with water and freeze it and put it in the cage. The rabbits would lie up against it and it would cool them even more. Try those two things. Also, since you had the air conditioning on for 5 straight days and 4 nights or so, it probably broke because it was on so long.
Also, put your chinchilla in a room with ventilation, if he isn't already in one. Don't put him in a room with no windows, and if there is windows, open them. Don't put him near a place in your home where sunlight comes in very strongly, because that can heat up an area faster than you may think.
I was just doing some research for you, and I found that you should NEVER put a fan or air conditioning vent directly near your chinchilla. It said it could make them sick, because they don't perspire, so it doesn't do any good. I hope this helps, and air conditioners running down in the summer is common because everyone is using theirs at the same time.
Sounds like it will be a couple of days, so make sure to stay alert about when bottles of ice thaw to refill and refreeze them. Always have many handy so you are never empty handed while they are being refrozen. Good luck!
megan d looks like she copied and pasted it!!
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