Could she be overheating?

[Mandy]

Hi,
My newer chin, Momma has been acting rather odd lately.*
I know the signs of over heating like laying on their side, red ears, etc.
Well, momma has been hanging out in her hut pretty much 24/7. She doesn't really want to come out other than to sit on her chinchiller. Don't get me wrong, by no means is she acting utterly lethargic, but she only seems interested in sleep, water, the chiller, and nose kissies. I see her eat pellets, just not a lot of hay. She accepts a cherrio happily as well. Today I saw her ears having the red lines in them and looked a bit red. (used my other grey as a ref on how they should look.) I got her some cooler water and a pan that I set in the freezer for a bit-she showed no interest in it. I don't see how she could be overheating. I keep the room very cool and misty has never had any problems. Ive also seen LM lays on her 'side' (really just her top half goes down and to the side-I'll post a pic) all the time. I can't give much info on her poops as she is still new to me and I have yet to gain the knowing of what her normal would be. The only reason I'm worried is because misty didn't act like this when she was new. Momma is also on kit watch-could this have something to do with this? Should I see about getting her to a vet, wait and see if it gets worse, or let her be? *

Sorry if the post is organized odd. It's 3am (can't sleep with my fur baby on my mind) and I'm on my ipod.*

Thank you kindly, everyone.

 

[tunes]

My first thought was that she's pregnant, even before I reached the part where you said she's on kit-watch. The hiding in the house, laying on the side, etc., can be signs of a female "nesting" before birth. I have several here who act just like that.

Some chins prefer cubed hay over loose, and some chins don't seem to care for hay at all, so that would not be of a huge concern to me at this point. I would be more concerned about her eating and drinking, which she appears to be doing. As far as her poop, whether she's new to you or not, you can get a pretty good idea of if they are normal just by picking one up and looking at it. Does it squish wetly between your fingers? Does it crumble as though it's too dry? Or does it seem pretty much the same consisstency as your other chin's poop, even though it may not be the exact same size? (Contrary to popular belief, not all chins poop perfect tic tac shaped poop every time.)

The red lines in her ears can simply be from being in the house and laying on them while she's resting. Quite a few chins get those red lines when they sleep, even though the room is quite cool.

My main concerns would be eating, drinking, pooping, urinating. If all of those things are occurring, she just may be a laid back chin who isn't all that active, especially if she's pregnant. There are a couple things you can try, but if she is pregnant, I prefer not to mess with my females. Handling them roughly, disturbing their cage, etc., can upset them and even be a danger to the kits. If it was me, I would watch her closely, monitor the things I listed, and see what happens. If she shows ANY signs of true lethargy (limpness, not moving at all), if her intake changes, if her peeing and pooping changes from what you can see now, then I would seek veterinary care.

 

[starleomach]

I agree with Peggy (tunes)

 

[Mandy]

Thank you so much! I was getting annoyed that I couldn't figure out what was going on, but now it makes perfect sense.
Her poops are a tad small, but other than that..yeah they're ok then. She IS pooping like a normal chin. (mad super ninja pooper)
My mother called her previous owner. (I think she's getting worried about her..awh) The woman said 'she never lost her plug, so there's no way she's pregnant.' not that I'd go by anything shed have to say..I don't even know which plug she was referring to. Heat plug? Though this -was- from a person who didn't think a 1 year old would mate, thought grate-like wheels are ok, and loved that roll-around ball. Haha.

 

[Riven]

I agree with Peggy that I was thinking newer female chin, probably babies on the way.

A plug she was probably refering was a mating plug, but they often eat it before you find it.

If she's tame enough you can gently put her your hand on her belly and feel for movement, from the signs she's showing it could be anywhere from a week to a month, different chins go into the nesting stage at different times, some hardly have any nesting signs... it's just one of those per individual things.

I would separate her and make sure she is in a one level baby safe cage.

 

[Mandy]

I'm not too comfortable in trying to get too close to her belly. She pushes my hand away when I'm just trying to get mess out from around her cage and hut. I'll be leaving her in her baby safe cage for now
(moved her)..though I do sit by the cage and softly talk to her and give her her nose kisses.

As far as movements go I'm not sure if what I've been seeing her do are things moving around in there. Sometimes she goes with this and moves her body when it happens. (Like she did in the clip I'm going to post) Other times she'll just be sitting there still and at random you'll see it happen, but she doesn't even open her eyes.

If it's ok for me to put this..here you go.



Thanks