AH, an oxymoronic chinchilla!

[Gemma]

I love my one female dearly, and I am experiencing new things with her since I had to move her into a new environment.

This is unique - I haven't taken her out for playtime yet - but I couldn't because she was showing signs of overheating in a 66 degree room! Why!? She laid out, ears bright red, it was to the point where I had called the vet and laid out frozen tiles despite her being in an already freezing room. Its winter time over here. She came to the door and I had placed an icebag covered in fleece behind her neck for several minutes and she finally had releif. One ear went back to normal, and the other remained red. I watched her until the other ear lost the redness. I did not take her into the vet, and wondering if maybe I should still? How could this happen?

All help is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Gabby88]

Is there a wheel in her cage? She could've ran so hard she got overheated.

 

[Gemma]

No, I only let them use the wheel when their out for playtime.

 

[menagerie]

Was she sleeping? Chins often tuck their ears against their heads while they sleep and wake up with pink ears.

 

[addictedtochins]

Idk, is it possible she has heart problems? (asking the chin pros)

 

[ticklechin]

Idk, is it possible she has heart problems? (asking the chin pros)

Heart symptoms include extreme tiredness, rapid breathing, poor appetite, an enlarged tummy, pale or bluish gums and ears, and a rapid, weak pulse.

 

[Tillygizmo]

What about blood sugar issues? What are the symptoms?

 

[Gemma]

Gemma is extremely active. I was not sure about the average size of a chinchilla - but her abdomen area is extremely large - where I thought she was pregnant because of an incident she was left out with my male...

But she is not, she is way past the gestation period from when the incident happened. I was advised to set up a vet appointment when they reached a year old, if it is advised that I should do it sooner i will.

She flew out of the cage, and burrowed into my arms while I was just fixing a few things in the cage. I noticed when I put her back her ears were pinned to her head and red only afew a few moments of being back in the cage.

When she leaped out of the cage - that was the most strenuous thing she has done, could she be releasing heat that she got from sticking herself in my arms?