Overheating..

[ridebmx413]

Just in case, I want to be ready for any problems and try to not let this happen to my chin. What are the best techniques you can do to keep a chin from over heating? Also, what are the symptoms of an overheated chinchilla?


And is the veins in a chinchilla's ears being visible, a normal thing?

 

[tunes]

Air conditioning. That is THE very best thing you can do to keep your chin from over heating. Anything else is temporary and mostly for an emergency situation, i.e., ceramic tiles, frozen water bottles, etc.

If your house tends to get warmer at a certain time of day, don't let your chin have play time during that warmer period. Keep him out of direct sunlight. Blow a fan at the floor to disperse humidity. Don't blow it at him, it won't help as chins don't sweat. But if you break up the humidity, it helps to keep the room cooler.

Yes, it can be normal for the chin to have veins visible. Some pink eared chins do, especially if they tuck their ears next to their body while sleeping. If the ear is a deeper pink or red, that can be a sign of overheating.

 

[ridebmx413]

Okay, I have a Standard Grey chin though, and his veins are visible. But he is usually sleeping or laying in his house. I just want to make sure, he is my first and I want to take good care of him. Thanks

 

[tinkerbell2002]

Definitely air conditioned room or a room where you know it's always cold. And if you have a beige chin where his ears are white and it's easier to see their veins in the the ear it's better for you so you know if you see the veins and they are red and the ear is a bit red and looks hot than you know they're getting hot. But if you keep em cool you'll only see the veins but it doesn't look like it's burning hot red. =) but yes it's normal for their veins to show.

 

[DramaMama]

I don't have air conditioning...

I've been having some of the same worries lately, particularly since I just moved into a new apartment with no air conditioning (they have their own room for their cage which, luckily, does not have a hot air vent in it and is windowless which seems to suit them just fine as long as I let them run around in my living room when I'm home- the one likes to sit on the sill of my balcony door). I find my chins seem to be okay if I keep the lights off (it keeps the temp. down), and keep the door open to allow air to circulate. I also keep a thermometer in the room so I can ensure that the temperature never spikes over about 22 celsuis. One of my friends found some tiles in her basement left over from rennovations that the landlord did so I rotate those in the freezer and the cage so they can lay on those to keep themselves cool, and I also bought a couple of small ceramic hamster-sized food bowls which I fill with water and freeze into essentially big ice cubes, which I then put into my chin's cage one at a time. They like to lick the ice as it cools them down and will also sometimes curl up right beside the bowl as it cools them off. I also have been giving them refridgerated water lately, as well as occasionally cooling their pellet food off in the fridge.
Unfortunately I can't install an air conditioner (it's against the terms of my lease), but I do have a back up plan were it to get too hot because I knew as soon as I moved into my current place that it would be imperative. I have several friends (as well as my boyfriend) who have central air conditioning and have volunteered to temporarily take the chins in, and if worse comes to worse I'll move them back into the house that I grew up in for the summer (only 2 hours away, I moved away for university), and my sister (their half-mommy) will take care of them while I have to work during the week and I can go home and take care of them Friday through Sunday.

 

[DramaMama]

oh, and to add onto what tinkerbell was saying, the best way to check your chin's body heat is through their feet. If their feet are hot then chances are their bodies are too.