Chi attempted Hibernation

poor girl. what an stressful week for her.

This morning I woke up at around 5:30 am central time to being really freaking cold. we had the heater on in our room, but the windows were super drafty. At first I cuddled up to my husband to keep warm, but thought I should check on Chi to see if she was alright because i had not checked on her the day before. She was also in our room because the house was colder. I did not hear her run on her wheel at all, so i was curious.

I took her out and she very very faintly hissed at me, but when i picked her up, she would not uncurl from her ball. I was pretty freaked out! Usually she sleeps in a fleece blanket, but this time she was half exposed to the cold air.

I took her to the bathroom and ran some warm water in the sink and held her face upwards in the water - yeah she was still in a ball in the water. I could see her breathing so i knew she could be saved. it took me about 10-15 minutes to get her fully uncurled. when she did get uncurled, she was frantic and wobbly. her tummy was cold, so i kept her in the water a little longer. she did poop a few times, so this was a positive sign. After while she stopped being frantic and would just sit. she is now wrapped up by my stomach under a few layers of sweaters. not moving much, but at least i know shes in a warm spot. now when i try to touch her she huffs at me. yay!

I'll be putting plastic coverings on the windows today. And we'll get a microwave so that we can heat her snugglesafe disk.

wow. I just noticed that the whole ground outside is covered by a thick layer of frost. First frost of the season!

Scooping her up and putting her on your tummy underneath your shirt is the best way to go. Skip the bath idea entirely - they can get chilled when drying.

Keep her toasty under your shirt for as long as you can.

One hibernation attempt puts her at higher risk for future attempts. You'll need to keep her warmer than usual over the course of the week.

Be careful with the snugglesafe. It'll last for several hours, then she'll just get cold again if that's her primary heat source.

Other than the whole-room heater and insulating the windows, do you have an independent heating system for your little one? -- Like a ceramic heat emitter?

I dont have a heater for her, but I will be looking into it. thanks!

right...well we have a ceramic heater for our room. thats what was heating our bedroom. the reason that we aren't using central heating at the moment is because our thermostat is broken. Hubby should be replacing it this weekend. I just put plastic over the windows and turned on the ceramic heater to full blast, and also have the oven on /door open. We have a small 2 bedroom apt. its only getting to 57 F outside today...so right now im doing my best to heat the house. Chi is still in my shirt. I have a rope tied on the outside of the sweater around my waist so she doesnt fall out. this way i can get things done and keep her warm. (its funny because it makes me look pregnant. lol.

How is Chi doing today?

Keeping the temperature in an adequate range is very important. What type of cage are you using with Chi and where is it located? You may need to change her cage a bit to help hold the heat in her cage. Also if it is on the floor, you may want to look at putting it on a table. It can be amazing how much warmer you can keep their cage even 2 feet off of the floor.

She is doing well today thanks I had her sleeping in my sweater all day yesterday. so she was awake half the time moving around. I put her to bed around 11 pm and made she she was under a few layers of her fleece blanket. she stayed in the same position for most of the night and didnt really move. she did go potty yesterday, and I also woke her up a couple of times purposely to make her eat and drink so her metabolism speeds up. This morning I woke her up around noon so that she could eat and go potty. Snoozed most of the day. Just fed her some waxworms. she gobbeled them right up I'll be waking her up again to make she she eats and to play with her for awhile.

Her "cage" is a large rubbermaid container lined with papertowels, fleece, and her wood chips, with an extra fleece blanket to sleep in. She slept in our room last night, and it was a LOT warmer with the plastic on the windows. My husband did have the idea to put her "cage" on a chair, so we did that. She was off the floor last night and well covered with her blanket. I woke up in the middle of the night to check on her and she was radiating a lot of heat. haha.

Yesterday I realized that she had not been playing on her wheel much at all for the last few days-week. I generally have to clean her poo off every day, but I havnt had to clean it recently. When I found her attempting to hibernate, it was freezing in our room, and she was not under her fleece blanket. I think she is doing much better now.