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[Merebel]

After being home for a few days our chin started sleeping on top of the house for her we have.
for the first two days or so she slept in it but now she just sleeps on top of it
we keep the house cool around 67ish all the time

thanks
keith

[GrayRodent]

That's actually a good thing. It feels safe enough that it is not hiding all the time. Your chinchilla will be good up to 73F.

[Merebel]

yea that is what we where figuring but it never hurts to ask

[kageri]

My chins are weird.  2 of them have started flipping their houses.  They can only do it with the cheap petstore houses and not the ones we order from chin sites.  one sleeps in it upside down when he's not sleep on his clam perch/calcium chew and the other sleeps in it turned sideways.  Then I have a few that get under the fleece liner to sleep even when it's rather warm.  We kept pulling them out yesterday because it got a bit too hot (person is coming to look at ac) but they always looked fine and annoyed they were removed from their fleece.  They returned to sleeping between the layers when released again.

[Jasonred79]

Then I have a few that get under the fleece liner to sleep even when it's rather warm.  We kept pulling them out yesterday because it got a bit too hot (person is coming to look at ac) but they always looked fine and annoyed they were removed from their fleece.  They returned to sleeping between the layers when released again.

AFAIK, the way fleece's and blankets work for humans is because we're not hairy, and thus lose a lot of body heat to the outside environment. Blanket's don't actually CREATE heat, they're just insulators, that TRAP heat.
Maybe chins, being so fluffy, don't find any difference between blanket and non-blanket, in terms of heat insulation?

In fact, I once kept a pack of ice frozen by wrapping it in blankets and stuff on a hot day... some non-physics minded friends were confused by this though lol! (sadly I goofed cause I forgot the blankets would get wet from condensation)

[kageri]

They still produce body heat though.  Hair can actually help in cooling by pulling heat form the body to the ends of the hair.  Of course in chinchillas the hair is so thick (rather than 1 or 2 hairs per follicle like humans they have around 60) that it doesn't really remove heat well.  Things are still going to trap heat further though.  If you feel their feet after they've been sitting out in the open they will be very cool to the touch usually even if it's rather warm out and even colder if they've been on metal, ceramic tiles, or granite chillers.  If you feel them after they've been under fleece or human blankets they will be at least equal to your skin temperature and possibly warmer.  I've found I can roughly judge their body heat state by their foot pads, and a few other things like activity level, since it's the only place you can get to their skin.

[GrayRodent]

Their ears are another good indicator for those whose ears are not densely furred as some. This is where most of the cooling takes place. The body makes the heat and it needs a place to radiate out once the animal reaches a certain level of activity. The blood vessels in their ears are good at that and when they are hot you can see the blood vessels bulging in them. Although the blanket does not generate heat it may prevent your chinchilla from adequate cooling so still be careful.