Little Floppy One Eared Man

[LeoMonster]

Curious.

After playtime has gone on for a bit Leo starts to slow down and one of his ears flops flat to his head while the other one still sticks up. It's always the same ear too!

I'm always been taking this as a sign that he's tired, and ended playtime. As soon as hes in his cage he goes to his special corner for his nap. Is this the right assumption? I find it quite adorable when he does this, as at this time he usually just lets me pick him up and flops in my hands. Normally he fights me holding him.

On a side note, now that I'm thinking of it today he got the floppy ear so I took him out of the pen, but he fought me a bit so I guess he wasn't as tired. Upon entering the cage he went to his corner to take a nap, but then started shaking. It lasted about 10 seconds, and then he stopped. Granted i kind of nudged him a little to make sure he was okay. Now he's fine and munching on his hay. Was he just scared from being held?

I have only had him for about 2 months.

 

[addictedtochins]

How long is playtime, does he run/play most of the time or is he more chill, what is the temp of the room/s he plays in? It could possible be low blood sugar, overheating or normal for him. Sammy and Joey both shake and shiver sometimes for no reason while been held and getting scritches

 

[LeoMonster]

Playtime ranges between 30-45 minutes, depending upon when he seems to get tired. His paws get a little warm towards the end of playtime. This is the only time he's shaken though, most of the time it's just his ear.

The temperature of the room is between 65/70, and in the beginning he bounces off the walls and climbs all over me. As time wears on he slows down, and when he starts cuddling up in a corner I know its time for his nap.

 

[addictedtochins]

He's still young right? How old is he? I think his playtimes might be to long. Their little hearts and lungs are very tiny and how long and hard could you play in a full length thick fur coat. 15-20 minutes is more then enough, it's not needed every day or needed at all realy.

 

[LeoMonster]

I'm approximating he's between 8-10months. When I got him form the pet store 2 months ago They said he was 6months.

I don't play with him every day, as I have too much schoolwork and don't always have time for it. But I try to get him out every 2 or 3 days, as he gets very restless in his cage if left in there for days on end.

 

[addictedtochins]

Ok, sure. I think I would do shorter playtimes. If he was shaking from low blood sugar due to to much exercise that could be very bad and possibly lead to coma and death. Or he could have a heart murmur sp?

 

[LeoMonster]

Ahhhh okay. How can I tell if it was either too long playtimes/low blood sugar/heart murmur? Is a heart murmur serious? Or is it like it is in humans (I actually have one) where everythig's fine and you don't have to change your lifestyle. And if it's low blood sugar is there something I could give him to bump it up a little? Would he have low blood sugar all the time?

Is his floppy ear a warning sign of anything?

 

[Godofgods]

Ok, sure. I think I would do shorter playtimes. If he was shaking from low blood sugar due to to much exercise that could be very bad and possibly lead to coma and death. Or he could have a heart murmur sp?

My male has those problems. He had an attack one day right as i was trying to get him into his cage from play time. It looked so bad, and i was scared to death. He wasnt able to move at all and jsut laying their helpless on one side. Fourtionitly my friend was home and i was able to take him to the vet right away. And as soon as we were nearing his office, my boy started to come around. When we got in their, he was up and moveing around again.

Vet checked him out and mentioned that he had a heart murmur on one side and that blood wasnt getting through for a while. (My boy is also prone to seizures if he gets to excited and anxious iv since found out)

That was a few years back. He is still doing great today. I dont wanna scare you or anything, but i also wouldnt want you to have a sudden bad suprise one day like i did. Of course it doesnt sound like your boy has any of these problems but i figured id mention my experence anyway.



As for the floopy ear, a few of mine do that quite often. I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[addictedtochins]

I don't know much about the medical issues, I only had some possible ideas for what you described. No you do not want to alter his blood sugar by giving him treats, if he had a real bad spell you could give him a raisin once, but what you just need to do is give him shorter play times. A diagnoses needs to come from a vet and testing. Please keep us updated on him. I think he will be fine

 

[ticklechin]

I have never had a murmur chin have a seizure, even the class 5 never had them during play. Murmurs can be benign or serious, depending on the class and valve involved. Chins can lead a long life with them, can drop dead from a heart attack or go into congestive heart failure. Symptoms vary from tiring easy, to blue lips and ears, to heaving, fluid retention and excesss urination and drinking.

This does not sound like your case, you may be dealing with a hypoglycemic seizure. Cut down on play first, if it persists give the chin a bit of shredded wheat with a bit of honey on it prior to playtime, if the problem goes away then you know what you are dealing with.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I am leaning to blood sugar issues, too. The floppiness at the end of playtime worries me as much as the shaking. Chins should not be floppy. Ticklechin has some good advice. I would follow it.

 

[ticklechin]

This is a short article I wrote awhile back on seizures- causes and symptoms.



Calcium seizure symptoms-tonic rigid bowed body with the nose curled towards the tail.

Low thiamine seizures-You will see trembling and paralysis, circling and then seizure activity. The main symptoms are the tremors, staggering, shakes, twitching types.

Low blood sugar seizure-The main symptom of this type of seizure is when the chin has been active and then collapses with mild shakes. The collapse and mild shakes are sudden and then the chin is limp.


Toxic seizures can be due to lead poisoning, mercury poisoning, carbon monoxide, or toxic fumes from just about any toxic-type, volatile substance. These seizures are violent and long lasting.


Mycotoxins and Aflatoxins from moldy hay or feed also can cause seizures due to liver damage. Those seizures look like the staggering seizures of low thiamine.


Heat stroke and head trauma also cause violent seizures.

Herpes simplex 1 will cause constant seizures then death.

The unknown cause type, called idiopathic, these type are from no known cause and are considered epilepsy type seizures. The problem is due to electrical activity across the cortex of the brain. It causes rigid posturing and spasms usually of the feet and mouth. The chinchilla is usually groggy afterwards. There is no known cause and no cure. You need to really get to know and trust your vet if you have one of these since treatment requires daily meds such as phenobarbital and oral valium during seizures. Euthanasia IMO may be the humane thing to do if the seizures are frequent and not being maintained by meds. One level cages with low perches are also recommended.





Read more: http://chinsnfriends.proboards.com/index.cgi#ixzz1e0wDFBhg

 

[LeoMonster]

Oh god, If anyone's noticed my posts before I worry about the littlest things about my baby, and they always turn out to be something stupid (like the time I thought his testicle was a tumor) I guess I just figured I was overreacting with this one too.

Ill definitely cut down on his playtime and keep an eye on him. I got rid of all my raisins so I don't have that as an option in case of another attack, but I know I at least have honey in my house somewhere.

I'll keep an eye on him for the next few playtimes. I'm assuming if there's no attacks then no vet? and if there is another attack and the honey doesn't help then I should bring him to a vet?

 

[ticklechin]

If there is another attack and the honey does not help then I would take the chin to the vet. Also, during the attack if it is prolonged, dip a q-tip into the honey and rub it on the gums, if its blood sugar it will bring the chin around quicker.

 

[LeoMonster]

Okay thank you so much! If this is happening because of low blood sugar how serious is it?

 

[LeoMonster]

Alright so today I came downstairs and went up to Leo's cage. He was sitting on his shelf and both ears were back against his head and his ear that always flops after playtime was REALLY floppy. Like, I put my finger under it and it like draped over my finger.

I freaked out and got a TINY drop of honey on my finger and had him lick it off. 5 second later his ears perked up and he was lively again. Does this support the blood sugar issue theory?

 

[addictedtochins]

I don't think so.....Sounds like normal sleepy ear to me.

 

[Godofgods]

I don't think so.....Sounds like normal sleepy ear to me.

My girl does that all the time. One ear is always floopy when she wakes up. Itll stay up noraml if you perk it back up tho.

 

[LeoMonster]

Okay idk. I'm just freaking out a little about this whole issue. Now since it seems to be sleepy ear, will the fact that I gave him honey hurt him? It was a drop the size of about half a pea.

 

[addictedtochins]

No, really all you need to do is shorten his playtimes to about 20 minutes. I'm not sure there is anything wrong with him....You just need to realize he is a young chinchilla which happens to have a thick fur coat. In other words when you were 6 years old and say you had gotten stranded and had to walk 3 miles in the Summer you would have been sick too. You are his Mom now and have to learn how to take care of him. You are doing a good job by learning and asking questions!