New Owner

[Akunaferret]

Heyllo ^_^ I recently received my friends chinchilla a couple weeks ago and I have a question. My bf and I were just playing with my 2-year old chinchilla and I don't know if he was falling asleep or not while we were playing with him. He went over to the wall and his eyes were slowly closing. While transporting him down stairs, he wouldn't get out of carrier for a couple minutes. Is he ok?

 

[lauralynne]

He could have been taking a break. How long had he been playing? They can get overheated, so you may want to shorten playtime a bit.

 

[Akunaferret]

Well, it was cold here last night so we didn't have a fan turned on, and he was playing for about 15-20min. Because of the heat we are playing with him at night when it's cooler.

 

[Stackie]

Do you know what the temperature in the room is/was? Chins can get warm even when the room is cool if they exert themselves too much. I try to keep the chins' playroom at around 67 when they are playing.

 

[lauralynne]

A fan isn't going to cool him down. Chins don't sweat. If you've changed his playtime, it could just be that its a time when he was usually asleep and just isn't used to the change in schedule yet.

 

[Akunaferret]

I have no idea how cold it was I need to get a thermometer to put it in the play room for this very occasion. Checked on him this morning and he came to the cage like normal for a good morning cheek scratch I read that a fan won't cool them down, so i use it to at least keep the room temperature down. but since i was shivering in a pair of boxers and a shirt, i figured he'd be fine. Next time I'll have a fan run to cool the room down even more.

 

[Stackie]

See, the fan doesn't actually cool the room down. It makes it feel cooler to us because the air circulates and hits our skin & sweat, creating the sensation of coolness. All a fan really does is blow air around...so if the room is hot, it's just blowing hot air around. It doesn't help the chin cool off or stay cool at all. That's why air conditioners are a must with chins. )

It would really be a good idea to get a thermometer so you know that the room temp is good for your chin. I bought a nice one at Walmart for under $10 that tells both the temp and the humidity..both are important to know for your chin's safety.

 

[Akunaferret]

He stays down stairs where there is an AC unit that for some reason doesn't work upstairs, and it's always the coldest place in the apartment town home. On really hot days I never bring him upstairs.

I want to get two thermometers one for his play room and one for down stairs. Thank you so much for helping me. I've wanted a Chin for so long and now that I have my little one, I never want to lose him. I could have a bad day and a simple play time will brighten my mood with him.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

I want to get two thermometers one for his play room and one for down stairs. Thank you so much for helping me. I've wanted a Chin for so long and now that I have my little one, I never want to lose him. I could have a bad day and a simple play time will brighten my mood with him.

I totally know what you mean! Much like dogs and cats can lower stress levels in humans, my chins do this for me, as well! Nothing can make you let go of stress like a chin making begging faces at you or watching them popcorning around the play area!

 

[Akunaferret]

Was funny, I went down stairs to clean the windows and he got on top of his water bottle and just watched me the entire time. was so darn cute!

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Mine love to run back and forth when I am vacuuming! And I have one that will let me vacuum her cage with her in it, and she tries to hop onto the nozzle when I am vacuuming her shelves!

 

[Akunaferret]

hahha how cute!

 

[addictedtochins]

Since he's new to you I think he may have been out of shape and not used to 15-20 minutes of free play. If he is used to it he may have been tired, stressed and not sleeping. They are extremely intelligence and sensitive to big changes