Heatstroke
Chinchillas have fur for a reason. In the wild they live in the Andes mountains where it gets cold. Their fur is what keeps them warm. However, domestic chinchillas are prone to over-heating since most people's homes are much warmer than the Andes.
The ambient temperature where chinchillas are kept shouldn't rise above 80 degrees. But temperature is not the only consideration as humidity also plays a role. A good rule of thumb is to add the temperature and the relative humidity together. If this number exceeds 150, you should take action to reduce both.
Failing to maintain a proper temperature can result in heatstroke. This is a dangerous situation and one that can be fatal. Warning signs include panting and lying down stretched out on one side.
If your chinchilla is suffering from heatstroke you should seek the attention of a vet. However, to bring the chinchilla's body temperature down consider offering some cool water to drink, wrapping a cold wet towel around the body, or submerging the chinchilla in cool (not freezing) water. As you undoubtedly know, getting a chinchilla wet is generally a bad idea, but heatstroke is a particularly dangerous situation that needs immediate attention.
Sources:
Bettina's
A New Owner's Guide to Chinchillas by Audrey Pavia
I ended up buying a cooling tile for my chinchilla because in michigan it gets warm. on extremly hot days i put her tile in the fridge for about an hour and then put it in her cage and she lays on it which lowers her temperature and the cages temprature. you dont have to go out and buy a speciall tile if you have clean tiles at home. perferrably marble iles are the bast. i hope this helps anyone who lives in a warm cliamte. you NEVER put a chinchilla in water beacause if tha happens a mold will foprm on the fur. If you get it wet a little bit on accedent whipe it off with a towel immediatly untill it is dry.
you should get and ac unit. (window or portable) a cooling tile is only a TEMPORARY solution. if its either the chinchilla dying (because the heat stroke is so severe) or the chinchilla being wet the best answer is getting it wet. just make sure you dry it off and give it a dust bath to make sure it is dry. you can even put the dust bath in the fridge or freezer to make it cool for him.
I´m from Mexico ( sorry about my english) and nobody in pet stores says something about hot weather, I do have air conditioned, but I´m worried about people who don´t. Chins are the best creatures in the world but does need a lot of care. If someone is thinking of getting one, need to know that you need a lot of time to take care of them. Mine came wiht a little fungus from the pet store, at first appeared like fur bitting, but then I realized tha it was fungus, it took more than a month with everyday treatment to get it out, vets and medicine are expensive. Also you should bought a very very large cage and have a playground at your place they need to run and jump free, as well you need to find the way to get thimothy hay, good quality pellets and be able to get the sand for the dust bath. I love her so much, and I´ll do everything to keep her happy, but you need to be sure you have the time, the money, and the right place ( cold weather or air conditioned) before getting one. A chinchilla is the best thing could happen to me, but once when I didnt know about hot weather se suffered a heat stroke, I almost sufferd a heart attack when a I saw her lying ont he floor, I call the vet and I was able to cool her down. Now she lives all day in the air conditioned like a Diva chinchilla , but i never want to see her like that in my entire life.
umm for one thing NEVER put a wet cloth on your chinchilla or put your chinchilla in water!!! Chinchillas are not supposed to get wet at all! And fans do not help, all a fan does is circulate hot air. You need to get you chinchilla to an air conditioned area asap whether it be in your home or even in your car (car ac gets the coldest the fastest) and if you do not have an air conditioned home a chinchilla is not the pet for you. And place your chinchilla on their chin-chiller. If you do not have one i reccomend getting one (i keep one in their cage at all times to help them stay cool and one in my freezer in case they overheat it will be very cooled).
Look whats more fatal? putting your chinchilla in water or watching your favorite little pet die from heatstroke. You choose. I certainly would use different methods before putting them in water, but i'd rather break the rules a little before letting them die.
you can always dry her off and give her a dust bath after, her being wet is something she can recover from, she cant recover from dying from a heat stroke. you are right about the fan, if you need some air circulation point the fan at the ground or at a wall away from the chinchilla. if you have the fan pointing at the chinchilla then the chinchilla can develope resperatory problems.
Hi im getting a chinchilla on December 5, and i was woundering what degree of tempature my house should be at?
Maeve,
If you do not know what temperature your home should be for a chinchilla to live happily and comfortably than I would recommend before you purchase an animal that needs a lot of care and has special needs (like temperature) you need to read books written about chins. Also, you may be able to find other chinchilla owners in your area that have experience and can give you advice. Not everything on the internet is accurate. Be aware that you should not purchase an animal like a chinchilla before you have had the chance to get as much information as you can. I have a friend that wanted one because we have a few in my home, I tried to tell her that she needed to read up on chinchilla care. Needless to say she did not and she got a chinchilla and he had a heat stroke and he died - he was barley 4-5 months old. Please people before you buy such an animal make sure you know everything you can!!!
i know this is a little late but the best temperatures for chinchillas are between 50-70 degrees F. if it gets above 70 he/she will be uncomfortable and if it gets above 75-80 your chinchilla can get heat stroke and quickly die. hope this helps.
oohhh and to misty: she was trying to learn and get information, instead of lecturing her and telling her to do something that she was already doing you shouldve answered her.
Misty is right. The o.p. is at best a juvenile who thinks chinchillas are the next cool toy. Better to put her off than to have a dead chinchilla.
Hi Everyone,
I wasn't worried about my chinchilla because my chinchilla is usually pretty bouncy and fine. But then as I read this I got a bit worried because when my chinchilla sleeps she either sleeps normally on her spinning wheel or she lies down flat on her side. They say that it can be a sign of heatstroke if they do that and another thing is that my room is pretty hot to me and I don't even have a thick fur coat on me! I keep her in my room with me but I am not sure how to keep her cool without getting her wet. Any suggestions? Thanks alot!
you should get a cooling stone or a clean perferably marble tile and just keap it in the freezer until it gets hot out than lay it in the cage to keep it cool you can also do that with her dust bath
I just got a Chinchilla 2 wks ago. We have been keeping the AC temp down at 72 degrees. It's freezing. What temp does it have to not exceed in the winter time for the Chin to be comfortable? Our family still needs to stay warm. We have a granet slab that we chill in the freezer for our chin. Any suggestions welcomed. I want to be able to coexsist in the winter time with our chinchilla in the same house.
my son's chinchilla is acting funny.he's lethargic and making funny sounds,we can't afford the vet right now,any tips or suggestions?
GET HIM TO THE VET STAT!!!!!!!!!! My previous chinchilla Puck was acting like that and died the next day he died at the vet
On cooling,
I live in LA, so its real hot out sometimes. So, in addition to A/C, I put a small metal container (from Petco, originally for storing dog treats) filled with freezer packs in the cage. Also, a granite cutting block that I put in the fridge to cool down. My chinchilla loves snuggling the cold objects and licks condensation off of the metal.
Hello Megan,
I've heard that you're supposed to give a chinchilla a dust bath at least 2-3 times a week. So, every other day (or however you want to plan the baths) would be sufficient. Experts have recommended leaving the chinchilla in the bath house for no longer than 15 minutes per bath (although I also heard a few say 30 minutes).
Hi Megan,
I'd be leary about putting a cold water bottle inside a chinchilla's cage only because chinchillas are known to chew through mostly any material especially plastic. Plus frozen water melts fast in the hot weather, so you'd also have a watery mess in the cage to deal with which wouldn't be good. What I'd recommend is to freeze an old bed sheet and place that over the top of the chinchilla's cage. If you have an ice pack, you can place the pack in between the layers of the cold sheet (to prevent the melting residue from dripping directly into the cage).
Hope this helps.
How often should i give my chinchilla dust I just gave him some yesterday and took it out today their was some left over dust in the cage and he was tring to roll around in it I have been giving it to him twice a week should I give it to him some more?
Sorry about that last comment. My chinchilla got on my computer keys. As I was saying, I heard if it gets over 80 degrees in your house and the chinchilla doesn't have heat stroke yet then you can put a cold water bottle in the cage and he should find it and that should help. Is that true?
Ann-Marie,
77 degrees is OK if that's the max and usually the temperature is lower. You want the chinchillas to be able to run around without overheating. Another factor to consider is humidity. If your area is dry, then 77 is safer than if there's 80% humidity.
I'm looking to get a chinchilla in the near future. However, the windows in my house are crank-windows and therefore cannot accommodate an air conditioner. A portable AC unit is too expensive. The room where I plan to keep it (should I make a final decision to purchase a chin) doesn't exceed 77 degrees.
Would this be a safe environment for a chin?
Many thanks for any help or info you can provide.
Bobby,
Around 22 or 23 degrees celsius should be good. Around You also need to keep an eye on humidity as high humidity makes warm temperatures even worse. We highly recommend an air conditioner to keep the temperature cool and constant.
Hi, I was wondering because I'm in Canada can you please tell me the temperature that a chinchilla is supposed to live in, in celsius?
My deepest sympathies to you for the loss of Chu.
Joyce,
Chinchillas can suffer many ailments. It does sound like you need to get to a vet though. We're not really qualified to make medical diagnoses. We really hope that things work out for the better for you and your chinchilla.
Is it possible for a chinchilla to get a kind of cancer? My chinchilla looks as if he is getting a growth on his neck. Unfortunately, my four year old let him out of the cage and I am worried he may have even gotten in to the wall and some old mouse poison or something. I have a call in to the vet, but am really worried. He is a part of our family and the vet says he could have to be put to sleep. Thanks.
No it wasn't in place of food and thank you. Also if anyone knows a good home with someone that KNOWS about chinchillas it would help too since I don't have the funds to take care of her properly. Thanks, Katherine.
Katherine,
Pesticide-free grass shouldn't do your chinchilla any harm. However, it doesn't have the right nutrients to keep your chinchilla healthy. So if the grass is eaten in place of, rather than in addition to the proper hay/pellets then it won't be so good.
I'm just wondering if chinchillas can eat grass. I live in colorado and recently acquired a chinchilla from someone that didn't want it (they had two loud huskies).
I'm actually currently looking for a good home for her but at least here she is safe and in the quiet. She loves running around my office but is only out when I'm in the room so she doesn't get a hold of the chewing items
Any help here would be highly appreciated. Thank you, Katherine.
Brad,
We're sorry to hear about your loss.
Unfortunately Chu didn't make it through, and the vet just called an hour ago to let me know he had passed. It's hard, because he will always be my first chinchilla and it's like a part of me has broken away. If you catch the warning signs of heatstroke, do whatever you can to get the chinchilla to a veterinarian as quick as possible.
Brad,
We're sorry to hear about your chinchilla. It's fortunate thought that you recognized the signs and got in touch with a vet. Hopefully things will take a turn for the better today.
My chinchilla suffered from heat stroke earlier today, and thanks to this site I managed to bring his temperature down a bit more -- he's recuperating at the vet's home now and will hopefully be back to normal... or alive. He hasn't shown signs of improvement since earlier
I never realized the dangers of heat stroke until today, so please be careful and keep your chinchilla cool!!
It is normal, but can also be an indication of problems. Sorry for the wishy-washy answer. It's normal because chinchillas that have been running around sometimes lay on their side. Pregnant chinchillas also do the same.
You'll need to look at other behaviors and assess the environment to help you decide. And if in doubt, consider going to a vet.
Is it normal for a chinchilla to lay on its side?