Flushed ears upon returning to cage

[Llittlebllonde]

Hi! New chin owner. Sprocket is aprox. 4 years old, she was given to me about a month ago. Things seem to be going well. She takes treats from my hand and will let me pet and scratch her. She is not interested in being held. At all. But does not avoid me during playa time and will jump on both me and the cat. Don't worry about the cat he is petrified and runs. He will not raise a paw to her. She will stay out as long as I will let her and never shows signs of over heating.

I have developed a routine of giving a treat before playtime and after playtime. Once I have decided she is in the cage for the night I close the doors and give her the treat. Only then does she press her ears down and lie down. Then her ears get Bright Pink. It seems if I pet her and give her another treat she perks up her ears return to normal and she starts to run around her cage again.

So the QUESTION is, is she just ticked off about returning to her cage for the night or should I be concerned? Do chins show emotion in their ears?

 

[Godofgods]

Some times the ears on my beige seem to get red anyway, but some times its because of heat issues. You could try putting a chinchiller down in the cage when she goes back in. If shes hot she could just lay on that to help cool off form the run.

And i feel obligated to add, even one single accidental swipe form a cat can be catastrophic to a chin. Scared or not, it is in a cats nature to be a predator.

 

[Llittlebllonde]

My cat is broken. He will not swipe at anything or anyone.

 

[Newt]

I wouldn't let the cat in the room while the chin is out, if I were you. Even if he doesn't act like a predator, he could still get annoyed at your chin and give it a bite or scratch.
Also your cat could carry in bacteria/parasites that might be harmful for your chin. If they are playing together then it could get transferred.

 

[Lexie L.]

I say about the cat, you know your cat best, sorry to anyone who gets offended no hard feelings, but these people have no idea what temperament your cat has. My dogs, a 120 pound German Shepherd and a English Mastiff are the sweetest to my chinchillas and would never dream about hurting them. They always check where the chillys are before they sit or lay down.

 

[Llittlebllonde]

While the cat and chin don't play they do have to coexist in my small apt. The cat tries to keep his distance but my chin will chase him down and spray wherever she finds him. He usually retreats to the cabinet in the bathroom where the chin is not allowed.

 

[chiaismypet]

It's probably just because she was out and exercising. It happens to mine to.

 

[Llittlebllonde]

Thanks for your input everyone.

 

[Airyn]

It sounds like a bit of overexertion. If she's out for playtime longer than 30 minutes, you can decrease the time until you figure out what works best for her. If the room is over 70 degrees, try dropping the temp down to 67-68 before playtime as well. That will help her to cool down faster. The extra chinchiller mentioned above is always a good idea, moreso if you leave it in the freezer beforehand. My four are big fans of licking ice too. Just don't leave it in the cage unattended or you'll come back to a mess.

Keep in mind that chasing off a natural predator causes more emotional and physical stress on your chin than a standard playtime. If you can, I would definitely try it a few times without the cat in the room to see if you notice any improvement.

Lastly, cats (and rabbits) can carry pasteurellla in their salivary glands, which is untreatable and fatal to chinchillas. They can also carry it on their paws from scratching in the litterbox, which in turn can be passed to the chin via a scratch or a swipe. I don't see anything wrong with them sharing the same space. I just wouldn't be at all comfortable letting them play together.