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Author Topic: Heat Stroke here! Good out come  (Read 13601 times)

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Debbie.nl.ca

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Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« on: July 13, 2006, 04:22:43 PM »

Well I never thought it would/could happen here, but last night my prized chinchilla Dakota, tov homo hunk had a heat stroke.
I guess it was the humidity and the fact he had a long run,temp. was 65 humidity was 75 %.
He was chasing his cage mate around, she’d turn and chase him as he was getting on her nerves. Once I had to stomped my foot and tell them to knock it off.
I was doing a major clean on their cage, and as it had been so hot for the past week they didn’t get a good run. It was cooler last night so I left them running around the room for a good 20 minutes. I never left the room, and I was finishing up when I heard a barking
I couldn’t see the 2 that were out. They seemed a little too quiet all of a sudden. Again came the barking , so I got down on all fours to find Dakota sitting beside a cage barking away. I picked him up and he continued to bark. That’s never happened before.
I cuddled him, he seemed fine. I put him in the dust bath so I could fine the other one.
I quickly found her,put her back in the cage, to return and find Dakota slumped in the dust bottle. Picking him up I could feel the heat in his body. I ran for a cold damp cloth and took him out side, as it was very cool last night. Good thing.
He lay there for about 10 minutes and he seemed to be slipping away right in my arms.
I talked to him and stroked him with the cloth letting it sit in his ears for the most part.
My hubby and I just watched as his eyes seem to flicker and roll back in his head, then he had a seizure{stiffened, tail whipping in circles, and limbs out straight} and went limp. He made a little whimper, and I was sure he was gone.
I felt for his heart and nothing. I was just about to put him to my ear, when he made a jerk.
Hubby thought it was a good sign while I was afraid it was the end.
I kept stroking him, and talking, thinking I was saying goodbye, when he made another little jerk, then blinked his eyes. He seemed to be showing some kind of life, but was still very limp.
It seemed like for ever but he seemed to be coming back. I tried sitting him on the cold concrete floor but he would just fall to his side. I went back to the cold cloth on his ears and walking around the garden. I was freezing but he seemed to be responding, and was showing signs of fatigue like he was falling asleep.
I still had a few cages to do so I kept him in my arms and quickly filled the last few feed dishes. Still with the cloth on his ears, and sometimes I would even let him sit on it, as his feet were hot.
The more he started coming out of it the less he would sit on the cloth, but he was grateful still for it on his ears and stroking is face. I’d fill a food dish and go back out side, another food dish and back outside.
I tried him with a drink of cranberry juice that he lapped down.
After a good 2 hours I placed him in a small cage and gave him his treat, well maybe two lots. I sat with him for another couple hours. When he was all dried off from the damp cloth and seemed to be doing OK I put him in a cage by himself for the night.
First thing this morning I went down, and got good and barked at when I tried to take him out. I was tickled, and he seemed like he just didn’t want to leave his new cage.
Maybe they did have a fight and she upset him as well as getting over heated?

I had one die like that before, and I always thought if I had of kept him in my arms, and comforted he would not have lived.
I’m sure they suffer from shock as well with the heat stroke, sounds logical.
After going through it this time with much better results, I’m convinced with me and my chins I’d better keep them up in my arms, it’s the only place they feel truly safe when things are not right.

Those who have had chins come through things like this could you please tell me if they suffer any lasting side effects from heat stroke?

I’m just so happy he got through this, and can hardly wait until tonight to see if he’s back to his normal self, I’ll let him rest today.
« Last Edit: July 13, 2006, 04:27:25 PM by Debbie.nl.ca »
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2006, 07:33:55 AM »

HI Debbie,
I'm so glad to hear that he pulled through it!!  A few summers ago when we were still in our old chinchilla building the a/c went out.  We were so unprepared for it at the time.  By the time we got into town, bought a new one, got home, and got it installed it was pushing 85 degrees in the building.  Once we got the room cooled down I did a check of all of the chinchillas.  The only one affected was a female in the back upper corner of the room, which would have been the hottest part of the room for the longest.  At first I thought she was just cooling down as most of the chinchillas had pushed all of the pine away and were stretched out flat on the metal pans.  She appeared to be doing the same.  I didn't realize there was a problem until the next day.  She seemed to have an ear infection as she kept her head tilted to one side and seemed disoriented.  We had our vet look her over and for all appearances she was fine. We even tried a round of antibiotics just be sure there wasn't some inner ear infection we couldn't detect. We finally came to the conclusion that the heat stoke had affected her brain.  She lived for another 2 years with these symptoms.  Her head was always cocked to one side and she lost all direction if you picked her up. She would just try to roll in your arms.  We took her out of breeding and put her in her own 2 story cage.  As long as she was in her own cage and wasn't picked up, her quality of life was just like any other chinchilla. In fact to look at her you almost couldn't tell anything was wrong.  If she was taken out of the cage and put on the floor she seems lost and confused and would often have a hard time walking a straight line for any real distance.  Inside her cage she played, ate, and drank, like any chinchilla.  She would still come to the cage door and rattle the bars when she saw me coming for hay.  I felt so guilty about her that I spoiled her rotten.  She passed away with no warning last month...

She was the main reason we started building our new chinchilla barn which is huge and has 12 foot ceilings.  It has 4 a/c units running all the time and 2 backup a/c units just in case.  This building takes so long to change temperatures all of the a/cs would have to be down for hours before the temp would even begin to rise down at chinchilla cage level.

I don't really think that your chinchilla had anything so serious.  He didn't get as hot as she did and for such a long period of time.  I just thought I would share my experiences.

If your chinchilla is acting fine the next day I'm sure he is fine.  :)
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2006, 10:32:05 AM »

Thanks so much for sharing her story Jamie.
Dakota had a small seizure when I first got started last night.
It's pretty cold here now, down to about 12C today, :doh: I do hope it's just a spurt, but the chins are happy.
I did not let him out, just a quick tumble in the bath.
I wonder too if his size had some to do with it, and I think his cage mate is in heat, good reason for the chasing.
I wonder now if he will have seizures from the stroke. We can live with that.
He still gives me kisses, and seems himself, but you can feel a sense of caution with him.
Never a dull moment that's for sure.
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2006, 10:53:24 AM »

That is such a sweet picture. :)
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2006, 03:50:02 AM »

::silly:: Hi Debbie,

     I've been very lucky and never had one with a heat stroke.

     I have seen the seizure, the vet told me that if the kit did not have another one inside of 2 weeks, he would probably never have them again.  The seizure my little one had was due to a head injury caused by a fall.  Don't know if that would apply to Dakota, too or not. But, we'll keep our fingers crossed for Dakota.   ::nod::

     Maybe the adrenalin got going from the hormones and that contributed to the heat stroke.  Men ....  :::((( can't live with them or with out them.  :::grins:: rofl 
     
     Keep us posted on how he is doing!  He looks like he's a real sweetie.   :blush2:

 ::wave::
Jo Ann
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2006, 06:14:34 PM »

Debbie,
So sorry to hear about Dakota's experience. I haven't had experience with heatstroke with my chins but I do have some feedback for you concerning holding a chin that's seizing...
I nursed one of my chins, Cody, thru 2 years of epilepsy(of unknown origin - they call it idiopathic). It's a long story that I won't go into here, but due to that, I did sit out many seizures with Cody. Some of his seizures were quite severe, others were milder. At that time I wasn't working, and I was able to keep a real close eye on him, and usually could see the signs of a seizure coming on. He was quite smart about it, as well, and would always leave his sleeping ledge and come down to the bottom level of the cage before a seizure. The minute I saw something wasn't right with him, I would bring him out of the cage and wrap him loosely in a soft towel, and we'd go snuggle til it was over. If he was starting to convulse when I found him, holding him actually decreased the convulsing. It's like each convulsion would start another convulsion, unless he was being held. And I was not holding or restraining him tightly - but apparently it was enough to calm his muscles.
This is in direct contrast of any advice I'd ever seen concerning how to care for a chin that's having a seizure (ie don't touch them - let them go thru it and come out of it naturally). But time and time again, I went thru this with Cody and holding him was what worked best at calming him down. Trying to treat his epilepsy was done totally by the seat of my(and my vet's) pants, and I had to learn to trust my instincts. We actually found a teeny amount of phenobarbitol very helpful, and it reduced his seizures to about 1/ month. He was a truly great chin, and was probobaly one of the most playful chins I've ever had. He passed away about a year ago and we still miss his antics in the animal room...I would definately recommend holding a chin during an episode like Dakota had. If there was anything wrong or inappropriate about it, you would know right off. Anyway, this is long winded after all, but feel free to email me if you want more details. One of these days I'll write an article about it, as I never really found anyone else who had a chin with idiopathic epilepsy. I do hope Dakota doesn't have any more. PS, he looks like a good kisser!
Lori
« Last Edit: July 15, 2006, 06:18:45 PM by Lori Earle »
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2006, 10:13:10 AM »

Quote
That is such a sweet picture
Tanx grl :blush2:

Quote
This is in direct contrast of any advice I'd ever seen concerning how to care for a chin that's having a seizure (ie don't touch them - let them go thru it and come out of it naturally). But time and time again, I went thru this with Cody and holding him was what worked best at calming him down.
I have to agree Lori. He only lived 2 years with seizures?
I have one with a head injury that has had seizures from day2 and he's 8years now.I have always held him during them, a mothers instinct.
I choose not to treat him as I have heard stories of it changing their personalities, and while they say it could lengthen his life most I've read about don't get more than a few years.

Quote
probably never have them again.  The seizure my little one had was due to a head injury caused by a fall.  Don't know if that would apply to Dakota, too or not. But, we'll keep our fingers crossed for Dakota.

I'm not sure either Jo Ann, he was on the floor and could have ran into something. Though he was so hot to the touch, just like  kid with a fever.

I put Dakota's cage mate in his cage last night and he was so excited to see her.
I let them both in the bath and just let them out in their regular cage.
I was expecting him to want to go back to the other cage, and put my hands right there to take him out. He just sniffed me looking for his treat. I gave it to him and left them their together. To look at him now you'd never know anything happened, and he hasn't had another seizure. I even tried yesterday afternoon, taking him out reluctantly to see if it would trigger one.
He was back to his normal self,a bit of barking but came out of his cage into my hands, a little love and a treat. He went right back to sleep.
I'm so elated, and a little more confident that I can handle another problem my chins could face.

On a loving note my Husband, Chris has gotten so attached to the chins it's almost scary ;D He never left my side while I was dealing with this, and showed such emotion.
I was so touched when he wanted to give Dakota mouth to mouth. Chris has never been an animal person, and in the beginning kind of tolerated it all because it brought me such joy. He's just a whoosh dressed up as a man when it comes to the chins. He'll never clean a cage or fill a dish, but his support now a days when it comes to dealing with the sad side of breeding and keeping chins is immeasurable.
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2006, 12:52:12 PM »

::silly:: Hi Debbie,
   My little one with a seizure due to a head injury was Evil Knievel (that's where he got his name) ... he jumped out of a cage door 5' off the floor, when he was just over 24 hours old.  At first I thought he was dead,  I had to do the mouth-to-mouth ... when he started breathing he went straight into a severe seizure and I held him for the longest time and kept him on the bed beside me with his mom and brother for hours after that ... it seemed to help.  :) He never had another seizure that I know of, he is now 4 years old.   

Those hubbies can be wonderful when you really need them the most!   ::nod::  Mine had to take over doing everything for our 200 chins when I fell in November and ended up in the hospital, then in a nursing facility for a while.  He is still very active in helping me care for them (I am just now weaning my self off of my cane.)  You gotta love 'em! ::wub::  He's a 6' 8" teadybear  :blush2:


Lori, so sorry to hear you lost your Cody, but I am sure he was a great pleasure while you did have him.  Isn't it strange how animals can sense these things and humans usually don't?  And we call them dumb.  :doh:


 ::wave::
Jo Ann
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2006, 10:00:51 AM »

Yes Lori it's always so sad losing a friend.

Jo Ann,  thanks for telling us about Evil Knievel, I have high hope for Dakota. He seem good as new.
That's one big teddy bear. :blush2:
That must have been some fall, I truly feel for what you are going through. :'(
I hope we don't loose you as you get back on your feet. A good side to your fall was we get to have you here a lot more, some selfish eh!. There is always a silver lining  ::nod::
Though I do wish you as quick a recovery as possible, take your time OK ;)
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2006, 11:13:31 AM »

::silly::Hi Debbie,
     Thanks for all the good wishes.  When you're as old as I am you just heal a little slower.   :D

     My "fall" was actually a 'flip' that my 105 pound Great Dane puppy gave me.  She didn't mean to hurt me (my foot got caught up in her lead and she was in a full run). When I came to, she was lying beside me trying to keep me warm (November 30th) and continued to do so for over an hour.  Finally a neighbor heard my calls for help and came to my aid.

      Three cuts on my head (I hit the car as I came down), messed up my left shoulder and low back and left hip, in addition to breaking my leg in two places.  OUCH!  :doh:  But, I'm a tuff ole bird!  :blush2:  Just like the Energizer Bunny  rofl and Timex watches ... "take a lickin and keep on tickin".   :D

       Y'all can't get rid of me that easy ... I've been retired since '96. 
              :D ::fruit:: :D  I'll be around for a l-o-n-g time. ;)

                   May Dakota be just as tough! ::nod::

 ::wave::
Jo Ann

« Last Edit: July 19, 2006, 11:19:27 AM by Jo Ann »
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #10 on: July 19, 2006, 11:32:40 AM »

My goodness JoAnn! Thank god someone heard you. Thats pretty scary.  :o
Glad your okay!
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2006, 01:45:19 PM »

OMG an hour in Nov. you must have been freezing, and in such pain.
Bless that little puppy, I hope he didn't feel too guilty.
You must be getting your calcium Jo Ann, ;)
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I'm a tuff ole bird!

Thankfully ::nod::
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2006, 08:45:05 PM »

::silly::It was a bit cool and wet, but Lady had one side of me toasty warm ... she's like an electric heating pad on High.  You would think she's my shadow ... always right there.   :::grins::  Very protective ... once Bill was playing  ... barely patting me on the rear with a flyswatter ... Lady immediately put her head between the flyswatter and me.  She's my sweetie!   ::nod::  You should see the chinchillas with her ... they crawl all over her! 

But, let's get back to Dakota.  How's Dakota doing now, Debbie?

 ::wave::
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #13 on: July 24, 2006, 05:18:58 PM »

It's unbelievable Jo Ann,
Thanks for asking.
He's back with his non producing female like nothing ever happened.
He kisses me a lot more :blush2: like he knows/ remembers.
It's part of his routine now before he gets out he gives me a little nibble.
I used to be lucky to get one for a treat before. ;D
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Re: Heat Stroke here! Good out come
« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2006, 09:01:45 AM »

::silly::Hi Debbie,

    They have a very good memory and, having all the emotions we have, he's showing his love and appreciation for you for the special love and care you gave him!  Animals bond with humans that help them or that they help, just as two humans will do with each other.

    One of Gidget's quads (the smallest one) got jumped by his big sister at 9 days old and got a sore on his nose and his ear.  I did like I normally would ... give him attention, calm him and put Neosporin on him, returned him to his mom and removed the two larger chins for about half an hour a 3 or 4 of times a day for the next few days.  Now, the little one runs to the door of the cage every time I walk by ... he's not even weaned, but he's showing he loves me.   

    That's what Dakota is doing and he will probably do it from now on.   :::grins::

 ::wave::
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