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[Rachael29]

Hi guys

So I'm quite worried about my chin onyx we just had them out for play time a little later than usual. Everything was fine but suddenly onyx started limping and tapping his front paw and cuddling right close to the ground I swear he died he went limp I screamed for my fiancé when he came in the room he perked up the slightest little bit it was like he couldn't use all his legs at once but he was moving .... Slow but he was moving he went into his cage ... Then up a level and ate some food then slowly he was ok .... He came out the cage another couple of times just a wee walk round then back in .... Back out and then was jumping in and out the cage not like normal but more than looking dead and has the use of all of his legs back.

Please if anyone has experienced this get in touch or know what I'm talking about. Any help or advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks
From very emotional chin parents tonight!

[Rachael29]

I will now correct myself he is jumping around the cage like a loony. Put my hand in to let him sniff n he of he was ok and he ran out had a cheeky sand bath and eventually went back in. However I would still like any information relating to his episode shall we call it.

[GrayRodent]

I can't say for sure what happened but it sounds like a seizure and I'm going to guess that that it was due to overheating considering it was activity that brought it on. The temperature of the room should not exceed 75F when your pets are being very active, it should really be closer to 70F. If this happened it was very dangerous and first aid is to dip your pet in lukewarm water for a minute or two and then blow dry it off with no heat. This can cause permanent brain damage that can make your pet prone to more seizures.

Second likely explanation for seizures after activity is low glucose levels. Some chinchillas are prone to this and it can be managed with diet. You may want to have some blood work done and check glucose and electrolytes and check for vitamin deficiencies if it occurs again without explanation.

As always I do not claim to be a veterinary expert. If in doubt consult your vet.

[BLS Chins]

Sounds like a seizure. How old is your pet? How warm is the room where he is kept? There are a few things that can trigger an episode like what you are describing. One is a young chin under 6 months old getting play time. Young chins can not regulate body temperature and can over heat quickly and they also can not regulate blood sugar which can cause them to collapse when it gets too low. If you chin is 7 months or younger do not allow any play time. Over heating (if your room is over 70  degrees) can also trigger a similar result. You have to watch that very closely. Seizures can also be genetic, which means if you see it again without any reason you need to see a vet asap. They can put them on medication if the seizures are too frequent.

[Rachael29]

Onyx is just a year old it's Scotland so the room is rarely rarely above 20 degrees which is the bottom end of the minimum temp. After he ate some peltes he was fine again but both were acting a bit weard this morning coco was biting me not hard or soar but more than a test nibble so I left him to it (my other chin) so we will see how we go tonight letting them out. I think it was a blood sugar thing as we have been trying a new thing.

We tried giving them 2 means as when we were getting up their food bowl was empty so one after play time and one when we get up. So it's maybe been that so we will go back to feeding them their pellets once a day again.

[GrayRodent]

Chinchillas ought to have constant access to pelleted diet and loose hay. I check my bowls when I get up and again when I go to sleep. I also recommend witholding all treats if you have been feeding them. This may completely solve your problem.

[Rachael29]

They always have access to pellets however due to our shifts they could be 8 hours without pellets if they eat them all this was our concern hence we tried splitting it. We have went back to just a big portion after play time and a top up if needed. They usually get a quarter of a shredded wheat (a healthy breakfast cereal) which my chin breeder recommended. The night it happened I gave onyx a raisen as the pellets seemed to help however raisens are a rare treat instead of a shreddy. I will withhold treats until I am sure this is not the issue.

[kageri]

The feeder should be big enough they don't run out of pellets between feedings.  There should be no doubt they will have food 24/7.  You should also be feeding unlimited hay so they should have 2 possible food sources 24/7.  I'm am not certain if hay has enough sugar sources to maintain blood sugar very well and how long it might delay things.

I do not agree with keeping young chins inactive.  Maybe there is something different that makes it necessary for some people.    I have found mine gain weight twice as fast having big cages, levels, and out of cage time from the day they are born.  We have lost 1 since starting this and it was in the smallest of cage sizes we are still using with the fewest obstacles.  Ours bound about entire rooms and have wheels as soon as they are steady enough on their feet.  No seizures, no overheating symptoms, none of these supposed blood sugar problems, no injuries....  They are highly athletic quite early, well muscled, fluffy, and like I said gain weight twice as fast as those raised without as many exercise opportunities.  If I was having lots of seizures due to something so simple as basic exercise and there was not an obvious fix like diet changes I would remove those and the related chins from breeding.

[Rachael29]

Ok I don't breed chinchillas so I wouldn't be removing anyone from anywhere.  Also they do have access to pellets however you can't have unlimited access surly I mean I'm sure I read something on here that said a tablespoon of pellets per chinchilla??? They have unlimited access to hay all day every day and it's changed every day. However the pellet situation is the same as it has always been they get a  good handful after play time and a top up if needed in the morning.
If this is wrong then please tell us so we know but I don't want to overfeed my chins.   

[BLS Chins]

Your can't over feed pellets. The average chin eats about a table spoon a day but they should have access to it constantly. Do you mean 20 Celsius or F?

[Rachael29]

20 degrees Celsius it is ... I am fearful of over feeding them though. So is it not possible to over feed them?

[GrayRodent]

Yes it is true you should keep your food bowl full of pellets. The average chinchilla will eat around 2 tablespoons of pellets but that can vary depending on their size and activity level. It's better they get whatever they feel the need for. Pellets should not a mixture. Some diets marketed for chinchillas are and they are extremely unhealthy.

The shredded wheat thing I think is problematic. I don't think is good for your chinchilla and if it's a breakfast cereal it probably has added sugar which can also account for your problem. By changing their diet to the basic hay and pellets only this will allow you to isolate the problem and you will better off in the long run anyway because varying a chinchilla's diet can have dangerous consequences.

Once your diet is straightened out after a week or so you should not be seeing those kinds of seizures. If you do you'll have a better chance of getting an accurate diagnosis with diet being ruled out. Seizures in chinchillas do not always have known causes, like epilepsy, can occur spontaneously and is a genetic defect that reputable breeders do their best to eliminate from their blood lines.

If you have high quality chinchilla pellets and loose hay your pet will not tend to overeat them. It is best practice to provide constant access to both and very bad practice to vary their diet in any significant way.

[kageri]

Chinchillas will not overeat quality pellets.  There are various mentions of how much chinchillas usually or may eat but these are guidelines to help calculate pellet usage and monitor chinchillas.  Not meant as the restricted amount that should be put in front of them.  The main thing is that it's a quality pellet.  Which is usually oxbow and a couple other possibilities less commonly found in pet stores.  Most pet store pellets are full of sugary junk, especially mixes.  Do not ever feed mixes no matter what you do to try to make them healthier.  Chins will overeat on junk food.  With full pellet dishes all the time we do not have fat chins.  We have some rounder chins and lankier chins but that's a combination of their body type and their coat.  Not fat production.

We easily find no sugar added wheat cereal and give a piece per chin every day without them changing other food intake a noticeable amount.  They get their nightly wheat cereal when we are checking them before bed, partially to test behavior and response time, and then other things without the carb load like a rosehip or a dried flower and sticks throughout the day.

[BLS Chins]

20 is not the low end of the minimum. Thats the max temp for your chinchilla. It should never get over 23. they can handle extremely low temps all the way down to freezing.

[Rachael29]

That's good to know as I said we live in Scotland and our home has maybe been over 20 a hand full of times in a year (not while we have had our chins). I was also wondering if there was a minimum temp so that's really handy to know. Thanks 😃