Sick chinchilla!!!😭

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Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Messages
8
My Chinchilla is breathing very heavy, I nocitced about 2 weeks ago that he was breathing faster then normal, but the next day he was breathing fine so I just thought maybe it was from running around. Now the past 2-3 days his been breathing heavy again but this time he's breathing hard all the time, and it seems to be getting worse. I'm almost certain it's some kind of lung infection. So I haven't gave him his dust bath cause I didn't want to make it worse before I could see a vet. He's acting completely normal still bouncing around eating and drinking, etc. I don't know what caused him to get sick. He's only a year old, he's eats Oxbow pellets and Timothy hay. He gets a dust bath every 2-3 days.He gets lots of exercise, and he runs on his wheel all night. The room temperature is about 20-25 degrees Celsius. He has a appointment tomorrow at 4 o'clock. But I'm so scared. I feel like I have to constantly watch him to make sure he's ok. Can someone please let me know if this happened to anyone's else's chin. And what help it.😭😭
 
Is there any draft in the room? or fans blowing on the cage? They don't sweat so air blowing on them is only going to make them sick. Also do you have any other animals? Some animals like rabbits, cats, and dogs can all carry things that can make the chin sick, even if they don't show symptoms themselves. Another thing is you really want to keep the temp around 20C or below, 25C is too hot for chins and they shouldn't be out to play if it's above 20 in the room. Chins can over heat quickly and easily, more then a couple hours in a hot room (25 or above) will cause issues like heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Also what is the humidity like in the room? Chins need to be kept in below 50% (ideally below 40%) humidity, and the higher the humidity the lower the temp needs to be. Has it been hot and humid out lately? That could be the cause right there, but going on for a few days unless it's been hot and humid the whole time, doesn't sound good.

As for acting normal, chins hide illness until they physically can't, so when you do see symptoms, like heavy breathing, the chin could be pretty sick.
 
25 celcius is way to hot for them. You chin is probably over heating which is causing the breathing problems. This can cause long term health problems for you chin, or just flat out kill him.

You want to keep them at 22.2c or lower. I personally would go past 20/21 if i could avoid it. Chinchillas are not animals that can handle heat. They love the cold. Also chins dont sweat like we do. So they have a much harder time cooling down. Its also why fans dont work with them. Since they dont sweat, they just feel hot air being blown at them which can make it work.
Also worth noting that a draft, or a fan, on them can also cause upper respiratory infections.

25 is to hot for them just laying around. If you chin is being active to any degree, running around and such, then they are only getting even more hot.
 
The room is not constantly 25 Degres, like ever. I said 25 Degrees because one day a few weeks ago the ac cut out while I was gone out and it was 24 when I got home so we moved him to a different room and he was ok. I should of said that in the beginning. Sorry about that. He also plays In a different room that's 10-15 degrees. He has 2 granite slabs that I rotate from the freezer to his cage. Anyways, I went to the vet and she said that it seems to be a cold, she couldnt find anything on his lungs or heart. She said it was just like a stuffy nose. She have me antibiots to give to him once a day. Just to be safe. After 2 doses of medication he seem to be doing much better.
 
Chinchillas have very delicate respiratory systems and are very susceptible to catching respiratory illnesses from humans. You should not handle your chin or let anyone else handle him if they are sick. It's also a good idea to always wash your hands before handling your chin or your chins food and toys.

I hope your chinchilla is doing better!
 
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