chins laying on their side

[pikapolonca]

not sure if emergency or not. i got two new chinchillas today, aged six months, a brother and a sister. they were brought to me by a car, and they seemed pretty hot at the arrival. i had my appartment preparred for them, so the a/c was on and it was about 72 F (20°C). they were okay, active and curious about their new enviroment, eating a little bit, pooping normally, drinking water also. but now they are both laying on their side. their ears are not red and they are breathing quite normally and they jump up if i touch them, but go quickly back to sleep(?). do i have to worry or is it possible they are just tired from the trip and sleep like this?

thank you for help

 

[clb]

They could be adjusting or could be overheated. Are they in the same cage? Even a brother and sister will try to mate just as a caution.

 

[The1nOnlyMatty]

I'm no expert so I hope someone else will chime in as well. But if they aren't lethargic (i.e. not really moving at all, even when you touch them), I think you're good. I have four boys who all lounge when they sleep. I freaked out the first time as well, and was told that the more comfortable they look, the more comfortable they are in their environment.

 

[Fauberchinchilla]

Sound like stress from the trip. Probably alittle warm and just cooling themselves off. Should be fine in a day all so.

 

[pikapolonca]

i really dont think they are overheating, because now it's 3am here and the weather is gotten colder here, so i'm freezing while they are nibbling on everything reachable. seems they will be just fine and yes, i gave mating a thought. if necessary, i will put them in separate cages, and after a few months, when the male is fairly grown up, i will probably get him neutered. i really want to keep them in the same cage though because they seem to be best friends also the sister is protecting the bother all the time, since he was born without the right 'hand'.

thank you for helping

 

[Cuddlebug]

First, separate them. Brothers and sisters can and will mate with each other, even at 6 months of age. We have a member here who purchased 2 young, related chinchillas, a male and a female. They are both under a year old and the female is pregnant. She was probably 8 to 10 weeks old when she became pregnant. At 6 months of age, this is actually a lot more likely to happen. This extremely hard and dangerous for the female. It is something you want to avoid.

As far as laying on their sides goes, keep a close eye on them. Like mentioned, since they are jumping up when you touch them, it is not likely that they are suffering from the heat. If they were, they would be lethargic and would not respond when you touch them. Just to be safe, you might want to cool the room down to 70 degrees or less.

 

[Dragonflye]

It is necessary to put them in separate cages. The deed may already be done, but please separate them.

 

[Dreamlite]

Please put them in their own cages! As said before chins can breed as young as 8 weeks. At 6 months old she may already be bred to her brother.chins do great alone. They don't have to have cagemates to be happy.