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[msladya]

I have a female chinchilla that went through heat stroke about 2 weeks ago. Power went out and luckily my kid got home in time and knew just what to do, she got her to the freezer and was calling me. I rushed home and instantly proceeded to take her to the vet. The vet did a check up and said my daughter caught it fairly quick prescribed some reglan and critical care.

 Since then Izzy acts like her old self but only sometimes. I went out and bought her a whole new cage and every chew toy you can imagine. She seems to love her new 3 story cage. I let her out for about 2 hours sometimes longer and she hops around and runs and jumps like normal. But then I put her back in tonight and she was still setting on the same ledge 3 hours later.. What am I doing wrong? I don't give her treats except a half raisin I do not even give her a whole one, that way when she goes back to her cage or something good like that I can reward her.. But she just seems unhappy.. What can i do ? Please help, I'm at a loss

[GrayRodent]

I recommend that you watch your chinchilla's food and water intake every day. If there is something internally wrong it will usually show up there first. If your chinchilla is pooping and eating I wouldn't worry too much about it. If Izzy has gone off her food (has not eaten for a day or has cut back to about half her food) it is time for another vet visit. If her fecal output is smaller than normal or abnormally formed or colored then there could be a problem. If it is absent over the course of 24 hours that is an emergency.

The medication, reglan, can effect the digestive system and digestive issues in chins can be quite dangerous. You might want to weigh her on a gram scale and compare her weight to what it was at the vet. If it is 15% or more lower chances are she is not eating enough and you may need to have her diagnosed and possibly start her back on critical care. Sadly heat stroke can cause lasting brain damage. It is is possible that she is otherwise healthy but may act differently than before the incident. If her intake and output are otherwise normal I would wait another day and see if there is a pattern of depression which can indicate a health issue. Considering that giving medications and syringe feeding is traumatic for chinchillas and sometimes they will act differently for a few weeks after all that.

As always - if in doubt talk to your vet.

[msladya]

Her food intake seems to be normal as well as her water,, I have noticed she has not been eating as much hay since I changed her feeder, She previously had the hanging ball with the bell but one day I noticed she got her head into it and almost seemed as if it was stuck or at least having a hard time getting it out, So i wasted no time going to pet store and getting one of the wooden bins that hang on the cage wall. When it came to giving her the critical care, I was so so blessed and I know that sounds bad but I really was because I knew if it came down to me having to force that thing in her mouth I would have lost my mind, To the point I was looking to hire someone to come feed her, But she actually came up and started nibbling on the end and made feeding her very easy, the reglan she loves it never had problem giving it to her, But I was not aware it affects digesting, The vet said feed critical care until she is eating on her own but the reglan I am supposed to give for 14 days, Should I contact the vet about stopping the reglan?

Also I have been watching her fecal and it to seems to be normal,,,I just do not understand the fact I leave and am gone for 3 hours and come home she is on same ledge she was when I left, And taking naps through the night , She played for about 2 hours and then returned to her cage on her own and laid down, she was not hot cause she now has her own bedroom playroom and airconditioniner, I think I will watch her closely today , I weighed her and she was 46 at vet she is 49 now, ,, She is my first chin and I don't care what the cost I want to know she is healthy

[GrayRodent]

If she was 460g at the vet and 490g today I think that's a little abnormal and you probably want to ask the vet about that but I know that the diet has been abnormal as well. I know what's like to have to force food and meds and it's not fun but it's not impossible either. It's also better to have two people if one day you ever have to do that. The fact she is off her hay a little doesn't surprise me considering that her diet is being supplimented with critical care.

If it's been almost two weeks since you started the reglan and you see there are no neurological symptoms it may be about time to get her off of it so you might ask about that. I suspect the reason you are prescribed the critical care is to offset the potential side effects caused by the reglan. Medicines typically cause chinchillas to go off their food and if they don't eat for a couple of days it causes potentially fatal complications. It's always good to routinely check their food intake and fecal output each day and have critical care on hand through the course of giving any antibiotics just in case.

Also your experience with the wire hay ball is not too uncommon. I try to warn new owners about those. You were blessed it wasn't worse than that. For everyone reading this: WIRE HAY BALLS CAN KILL CHINCHILLAS. Chins get their heads trapped in them and can also off a shelf like that and get hanged.

As far as activity levels are I'm sure you know your chinchilla best. However, it's my experience that chinchillas have their up times and down times and that you're not going to be able to make any definitive conclusions with just one day of observation. My chinchilla doesn't move around much at all during the day in his cage but is very active at night. But anytime I take him out he'll be pretty active. Chinchillas are hard wired to sleep through the middle of the night and be active at the morning and evening hours but individuals will vary.

[Morrigancharm]

What is the weather like where you are? I keep a Barometric Gauge beside my chin's cage so I can monitor the humidity levels along with the temperature. It has been my experience that the higher the humidity levels, the more my chins just want to stretch out and lay around. I have found that a certain formula works to keep the temp/humidity level right where they like it: If you add the numbers from the temp and humidity and it exceeds 150, then one or the other needs to come down. Example: temp is 80 degrees F and humidity is 80% then that is 160. Too high. One or the other would need to decrease.

I have one chin that when it is really humid, that is all he does is lay on one shelf. He will switch it up occasionally, but for a week or two he will only lounge on one shelf. The only thing I can figure is that he will choose a "favorite" spot for awhile and then switch for variety.

But this is just a suggestion! I am not a vet, only a lover of chinchillas who loves to research.

I agree with GrayRodent, the increase in weight between vet visits is abnormal and I would ask about it.

[msladya]

I can not begin to describe how much i thank you for all your responses.. I did check her weight again. and even called the vet and her weight there was .48 kg her weight on my scale (now that I purchased a new one) is .49 kg... I feel a little dumb putting grams so I apologize. I think Izzy is just a little sneaky. After speaking to the vet and telling her my concern about the hey (after clearing up the weight issue) the vet said I could try putting a few drops of apple cider vinegar, in her water.. I decided after hearing how the reglan throws off everything I really did not want to risk throwing it off more. So I went to the pet feed place and bought a different hay. During this time stopped and picked up a camera. I placed the new hay in her bin and set up the camera.

 I know this next part will sound really crazy but i am telling exactly how it happened. I set the camera up and proceeded to grab my keys which hang on a peg about 4 ft from Izzy's cage.. I never noticed it before but I did this time. As she heard my keys she raced off to the same ledge. I was gone about 2 hours. I came home and sure enough she was on the same ledge, I hung up my keys and went to speak to her and she got down and started playing, Later I reviewed the tape. Izzy did not stay  in the same spot as soon as I closed the door leaving she was playing for alot of the time I was gone.. She went back to the ledge when she heard me come in.. And she really likes the hay from the feed store. So I will not buy the stuff from petco anymore..

I have heard suggestions about making their food but I not sure if I trust myself enough to do it right to be healthy for her ... Thank you all so much. She has truly became my best friend and keeps me laughing constantly .. 

[GrayRodent]

Excellent. I think you did everything right there. Typically if the timothy hay is not a nice green color it is not fresh and if it's moldy or wet it will have a sour smell and that is dangerous. The best place to get hay is going to be the place that has the highest turnover. Sounds like all is well.

Pelleted diet from the store is not always bad but there are certain ones you will want to avoid. Making it yourself can be risky because you need to have a certain calcium to phosphorus ratio or you can cause damage. The good thing about pellets is they will keep your pets calcium and weight higher than without which can be beneficial. However some owners feed hay only without having problems.