Can chinchillas sleep or drowse sideways?

[petran79]

I had to wake up the chins to guide them to their cage.. One of them after some running and hoping here and there, stood still looking at me and then he closed his eyes and lied sideways with his feet sideways on the floor too, kinda like rabbits do when they lie down. Just for a short moment though. Then he resumed his normal stance and left.

Was this because he was tired or still sleepy?

 

[Amethyst]

It sounds like he may have been over doing it, you might need to cut the playtime a bit shorter. Some chins are good for long periods of time out, but others just go, go, go and need to be told when to stop, for some as little as about half an hour is good. It's not a good idea to let them run until they drop.

I would keep a close eye on him, chins can have seizures that just look like they are spacing out, often caused by a sudden drop in blood sugar from over exerting themselves. They just kind of sit there completely out of it and may even fall over, it only lasts a minute or so then they seem back to normal.

 

[petran79]

Yes I figured, especially now that cold days are over and temp rose by 3-4 degrees, same with humidity. One reason that instead of having them run all over the living room, now I let them slip under the cage as their only hiding place. I put the cage in the corner. Then I put 2 wooden shelves around the cage, blocking them from leaving. They can step in or under the cage and have some spare space near the wall too this way.

 

[petran79]

I noticed that he repeated it again but this time while he was cuddling with the other one, without getting tired. Though this time he seems to have done it out of affection and the other pushed him to his normal stance. I'll have an appointment with the vet on Tuesday so I'll ask about it for more details.