head shaking

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tails1952

New member
Joined
Apr 1, 2018
Messages
1
Hello...

I created this account to ask a couple of questions about my chinchilla that have been worrying me. I hope somebody can help!

About a week ago, my chinchilla was lying curled up on his side against his nest house (which is round), with his chin/neck pressed against it. I accidentally pushed the house against him, he leaped up and shook his head and since then, I've noticed him shaking his head noticeably more frequently than before this incident. One of his ears was on the ground while he was lying and I was worried the push grazed it against the ground.

He also went to the vet a couple of days before that, and she tried to clean his ears with a Q-tip. He struggled a lot, so perhaps she accidentally poked them... because so far the people I've asked have only suggested it might be a ear infection.

Does anyone know what the head shaking could be a symptom of, besides that? Could it be a neurological or respiratory problem, or head tremors?


Besides that, my chin often presses his belly against the ground and stretches his body. I have fed him bloat medicine, gut motility medicine and Simethicone. Only the Simethicone seemed to work a little but he still does it from time to time. The vet said it's normal (he was diagnosed with GI stasis before but has apparently recovered), but I'm reading differing opinions on the internet. Is it normal for him to do these things if he's no longer bloated?

Thank you to anyone who replies my queries!
 
I'll need a lot more info to answer your questions.

Why was the vet cleaning his ears with a Q-tip? They normally just use cotton balls. You don't want to be putting anything solid too far into the ear canal, just like in humans you can very easily damage the ear drum. Head shaking is a common symptom of ear pain, if it's not infected he could have a damaged or even punctured ear drum from the vet or they could have ended up pushing stuff deeper into his ear. Did the head shaking start before or after the vet visit? Was the vet visit because of his ears?
If the head shaking was from moving the house you could have pinched his ear and caused nerve damage. Is the ear red, swollen, or bruised at all?

Since I can't see the head shaking myself I can't tell you if it's a neurologically problem or not, maybe you could video tape it to show the vet the problem?

My first question for him acting bloated is what are you feeding him? Is he getting enough hay? I mean actually eating it not just having it available. How is his poops? What was the cause of the GI stasis? Did they do any x-rays to see if there is something going on in his gut like a blockage? If it was a particle blockage that wasn't resolved it would only be a matter of time before enough stuff gets backed up again to cause a problem. Does his gut feel squishy or hard, like there is gas?
 
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