kiltbunny
Active member
I swear chinchillas will be the death of me.
Friday night we had Tifa out for some playtime. The neighbors were doing some early 4th celebrating and shooting off some bottle rockets. Tifa was obviously nervous about the noise and would pause every time one went off. I kept telling her very softly that it was ok, she was fine. Tifa was always a bit "nervous" with big storms and would hide behind/under Izzy. She suddenly went very still, looked very panicked and began running around the room - first running to her cage. She went in, sat on the top shelf and before I could get over to the cage to look she ran back out and began flinging herself madly in the cage then ran out and ran throughout the room. It was the same display she had when she had shocked herself chewing through a radio cord. She ran around the room, slamming HARD into walls, the chair, etc before I finally managed to toss a towel over her. She was breathing very hard and fast, had her ears completely tucked back and a wild look in her eyes. She was so limp. I held her in the towel for a minute until I felt she was a bit calmer and then put her into the small pet carrier. She sat there quietly - off balance a few times, breathing hard, and looking panicked. I tried to give her a bit of raisin after about 45 minutes (fearing her blood sugar was low/she was in shock) and she didnt take anything, just sat there, staring blindly. After an hour, she seemed more stable. I put her back in her cage and she took her perch in her tube and sat. I checked her probably 30 times during the night... she was fine. She ate, pooped, and hopped around like nothing happened. She took a plain cheerio and an apple stick no problem. She even gained a couple of grams as of today.
What in the heck? Has anyone ever had an experience like this?? Can fear grip them that badly - I've seen horses flail around til they kill themselves from fear... but a chinchilla? She had been fine before and fine after - I think I came out worse than she did. Do I take her to the vet and then what do I tell them to look for? She looks/acts completely normal.
Friday night we had Tifa out for some playtime. The neighbors were doing some early 4th celebrating and shooting off some bottle rockets. Tifa was obviously nervous about the noise and would pause every time one went off. I kept telling her very softly that it was ok, she was fine. Tifa was always a bit "nervous" with big storms and would hide behind/under Izzy. She suddenly went very still, looked very panicked and began running around the room - first running to her cage. She went in, sat on the top shelf and before I could get over to the cage to look she ran back out and began flinging herself madly in the cage then ran out and ran throughout the room. It was the same display she had when she had shocked herself chewing through a radio cord. She ran around the room, slamming HARD into walls, the chair, etc before I finally managed to toss a towel over her. She was breathing very hard and fast, had her ears completely tucked back and a wild look in her eyes. She was so limp. I held her in the towel for a minute until I felt she was a bit calmer and then put her into the small pet carrier. She sat there quietly - off balance a few times, breathing hard, and looking panicked. I tried to give her a bit of raisin after about 45 minutes (fearing her blood sugar was low/she was in shock) and she didnt take anything, just sat there, staring blindly. After an hour, she seemed more stable. I put her back in her cage and she took her perch in her tube and sat. I checked her probably 30 times during the night... she was fine. She ate, pooped, and hopped around like nothing happened. She took a plain cheerio and an apple stick no problem. She even gained a couple of grams as of today.
What in the heck? Has anyone ever had an experience like this?? Can fear grip them that badly - I've seen horses flail around til they kill themselves from fear... but a chinchilla? She had been fine before and fine after - I think I came out worse than she did. Do I take her to the vet and then what do I tell them to look for? She looks/acts completely normal.
