Mini seizures?

[lolanu]

I have a female chinchilla named Caboose, she's roughly 5 months old. I got her from a pet store three weeks ago. She is very happy and seems to be healthy, but when she gets very excited and jumps around, she has these weird uncontrollable "head twitches". Her head just bobs up and down like she has hiccups. I'm not sure if they bother her or not, but when she has them she tends to jump without looking and run into things more often. She also can't jump more than a foot vertically, most of the time less.

 

[caiti]

No idea. Try to get a video of it so you can show us or at least your vet. That's always the best with seizures, as they can be very hard to describe.

Do they happen at particular times, like when she's playing/active? How long have they been happening?

 

[lolanu]

They usually happen when she gets exited by socialization, such as when she gets a treat or we play around with her. Sometimes they happen when a lot is happening in the room. Not sure if she's just REALLY excited or actually has a problem. I'll try to get a video, only have my crummy phone.

 

[Gabby88]

Sounds like maybe it's popcorning to me. Look up YouTube videos of "chinchilla popcorning" and you'll get an idea if it's the same thing or not.