Is Head Shaking when Nervous Normal?

Grey · Nov 12, 2012

Hello,

I took my boy to the vet the other day. He hated it, was nervous, and shaking his head (almost like vibrating, so fast).

My vet said it worried her that he's shaking his head like that, and that it could be another sign of respiratory problems.

(She heard something with the stethoscope & put him on antibiotics. I've never heard anything, and he only sneezes every once in a great while, like sometimes after dusting).

In my experience, he just shakes when he's scared, nervous, or is being taken somewhere he doesn't want to go, etc. Thought it was normal? Not sure how I feel about this vet.

I looked around the forums, but want to get some opinions about this & make a thread for future reference.

ArmyWife · Nov 12, 2012

My one chin will shake his whole body sometimes when I hold him because he's scared. He's always done this. I never heard anything about a shaking head being related to respiratory problems. What do others think?

Spoof · Nov 12, 2012

I've never heard of it being from respiratory problems either. I'd say 80% of my herd would do this with someone new, and I've got half a dozen that do it with me.

As much as I try to socialize my babies some of them shake like this when they meet new people, especially in a strange area. It does not surprise me at all that your chin shook when he went to the vet. Not only does he go there under duress but it's probably because he is sick and needs medicated = bad experiences.

Also, IMO treating with antibiotics when nothing is wrong is worse than not treating something. If he was so scared he was shaking he could have been not breathing well from that. If you can afford it I'd get a second opinion.

JessieVictoria · Nov 12, 2012

My daisy will shake her head back and forth like she's saying "no!" Haha!
It's so funny and sad. That's my 2cents

Grey · Nov 12, 2012

Spoof said:
I've never heard of it being from respiratory problems either.
...

Also, IMO treating with antibiotics when nothing is wrong is worse than not treating something. If he was so scared he was shaking he could have been not breathing well from that. If you can afford it I'd get a second opinion.

Oh my god

I didn't think of that! :banghead:

He has an eye problem for sure, but I don't know what the 2 oral antibiotics are for — one is respiratory for sure. I will post the names later.

It's too much for me to see another vet right now; just a normal checkup costs $95 where I am, for any exotic vet. But I don't want him to develop issues!

So worried...

Grey · Nov 12, 2012

RE: Antibiotics, this is what he's on currently:

Oral: Baytril 2x /day, Cisapride 2x /day
Eye Gel: Triple AB Ophthalmic Ointment 2x/day
Feet: Conofite Lotion 1x /day

Don't know what the Cisapride is for; forgot to ask and haven't looked it up yet. Assumed it's either infection- or respiratory-related.

Read some bad stuff about Baytril though. :/ RE: the nervous breathing — I just really really hope I'm not doing this to him for no reason.

addictedtochins · Nov 12, 2012

Sammy used to shake like that when being handled.....I hadn't thought about it...but he hasn't done that in a long time

Riven · Nov 13, 2012

Head shaking or tilting can be due to ear infections, nervousness can make it worse. If the vet heard something then I'd like to think they know the difference between hearing something ( rattling, etc) and just irregular breathing.

Pikaia · Nov 13, 2012

Tribble has done this off and on all his life. I think it's because he is nervous and doesn't want to be handled at times. He doesn't do it all the time, but when he runs from me, doesn't want to be picked up and I have to for some reason (playtime, etc) he will start vibrating like what you describe.

I'm not sure if this could correlate to something else in your case, but I know my chin has been doing this since he was a baby and no symptoms of any illness.

Maggie:-) · Nov 13, 2012

Maggie also shakes when nervous.

Cuddlebug · Nov 13, 2012

I have a female that was born here and spoiled rotten. She shakes when being held. With her, I think it is because she is so excited that she shakes. She has never been mistreated and has no reason to be fearful. We call it the "fake shake" and we know that what she wants is to be put down so she can run around the room like the chubby little maniac that she is.

Zoaea · Nov 14, 2012

I wouldn't second guess the vet unless they are prescribing antibiotics on the do not use list. I know i
saw a list of safe antibiotics in C-N-H.

I am a human nurse so I can answer some of your questions from that perspective. The lung sounds she heard will be way different from fearful breathing. Fear only speeds it up. URI can be dangerous so she might prescribe 2 orals that cover different types of bacteria or if a tough to kill variety is suspected. The shaking of the head and not the body seems weird, i'm sure your vet has seen plenty of trembling animals so if she says its strange, it was probably strange.

Grey · Nov 15, 2012

Thank you, everyone, for your input.

Zoaea, you're right about the lungs; I just panicked earlier. I'm sure he has something wrong... he's just so much worse now that he's on the meds. Not only the Baytril affecting him, but I feel like it's bringing the sickness out, almost like it's making him too weak to hide it any more? Is this possible?

Having done some research, I found that the 2nd oral, Cisapride, is to keep his gut moving since Baytril tends to slow it. (They didn't tell me this at the vet.)

But I am a skeptic and it is healthy to question authoritative sources. Wasn't meant to be insulting to my new vet; she's a very nice lady. She seems to specialize in birds, so of course it's helpful to get the input of the chin community as well.

Spoof · Nov 15, 2012

he's just so much worse now that he's on the meds. Not only the Baytril affecting him, but I feel like it's bringing the sickness out, almost like it's making him too weak to hide it any more? Is this possible?

He could be having a reaction to the baytril. I would contact your vet and ask asap. Back when I started I had one that crashed 24 hours after I started using it so we tried cefa drops. As soon as I started that he visibly picked up and recovered. That's when I found out that some chins have a reaction to it.

I didn't think you were insulting your vet and you are dead on about healthy questioning. She doesn't have the relationship you do with your chinchilla to know how he acts or doesn't act when he is healthy. She can only go off of the few minutes she sees him.

As someone who has handled too many chins over the years I can tell you that the isolated head shaking is completely normal for a timid chinchilla meeting a new person.

Etherite · Nov 29, 2012

As someone who's been yanked around by a vet over this, I think everyone should know it can be extremely common in chinchillas. My guy shakes his head when I pick him up and he's an excitable momma's boy. My old vet saw this and said "He has head tremors, we'll need a 400 dollar brain scan done." Don't ALWAYS trust your vet, but.. okay, for the most part.. do! Just make sure they know what they're doing first. Some really, really don't.

Try not to rely on heavy meds to cover up the damage of other meds. If he's on baytril, that'll slow down his gut. He got worse because it's so harsh on their stomachs. I won't tell you to take him off anything because I'm not a vet, and I don't even know if he's still on anything because this thread is old-ish, but he should be on a natural probiotic.

Your vet sounds kind of hazardly clueless, (Just like mine!) so it's not surprising they'd give you a hardcore gutmotility drug before a probiotic, but try something like critical care and/or acidophilus too. Even if this has been a while, he would definitely benefit from using these after an illness.

I'm still trying to stabilize my own chinchilla's gut from a vet using baytril on him for a MONTH straight, it can take a real toll on them.

Is Head Shaking when Nervous Normal?

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