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[Dex21]

Hey GrayRodent, I was hoping to get some advice on what the best course of action will be for some upcoming apartment maintenance.  Here's some background:

Last night, I turned my heat on in my new apt for the first time, and it was blowing out this strange smelling odor (sort of like a burning plastic smell).  I called maintenance and they are coming out in a couple of days to repair it.  I shut it off for the time being, but shortly after my little guy started to do his alarm call.  But this time, the alarm call was very loud (louder than usual) and he seemed really scared (shaking, kept running away if I tried to comfort him, etc.).  I even tried to give him a dust bath (his favorite treat), but he wanted nothing to do with it.

I almost took him to the ER because I feared he had some type of respiratory issue, because he was bobbing his head forward every 10 seconds, though there was no nasal discharge or open mouth breathing seen.  I explained the situation to the vet, and she said that it was most likely just a stress-induced episode from either the heater smell or some external noise.  I monitored him all night and he is doing much better now (more social, took a bath, finally ate food, etc.).

The thing I'm worried about is maintenance coming to repair my heater (specifically the strange smell).  When they come, they will be turning the heat back on, and while I'm not 100% sure this was the cause of my little guy's alarm call, I am worried it will happen again.  I have pondered 2 options:
1) I could either transfer him to his carry cage and place him in my car with the AC on while maintenance works on the heat (but this might take a couple of hours, so I am unsure how good of an idea this is).
2) I can keep him in his cage, and place a fan facing away from his cage to try and blow as much of the smell away from his cage as possible.

If you have any suggestions as to the best way to approach this maintenance issue, I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you for the help!

[GrayRodent]

That's an interesting problem. Although I don't know exactly what's going on. If you're using a heat pump it is normal for it to smell strongly once it is run for the first time of the year. Because the unit is no longer blowing when it's turned off its fan cannot mask other noises that your pet would normally hear. This would make your pet uneasy until it gets used to the new noises it can hear. Chinchillas can make sounds that are inaudible to us. The same bobbing of the head you see when it makes audible calls can also be seen when it makes inaudible calls.

Running a fan in the room is probably your best solution. If it really is a problem with something burning or smoking in the unit it could be dangerous. If your unit is working properly the smell should dissipate after a couple hours of running. You could put your pet in another apartment while the unit is being tested.