My chinchilla is sick what am I doing wrong ?

[Violet789]

On April 13 my boyfriend got me a chinchilla when for my birthday , I've never had a chinchilla before only bunnies and hamsters. I read online that they have to stay from 60-70, I ordered an ac online portable, but it was going to come for a week and I checked the whether and figuer it was okay since it wasn't going to pass 73 . She was fine up until the 17 when when it got up to 80 and I was freaking out I was putting ice in Tupperware and kept changing her chinchiller, we finally got pass it and the same night I when to get a another ac at the store though. She was acting weird after that day and it sounded like she couldn't breath up to that point I immediately call to make an appointment with an exotic vet , he told she had an upper respiratory infection, my poor little baby got 2 shot and 7 days of medicine after 2 days later I went for a check up again and they told me whatever your doing keep it up because she much better (p.s the vet told me to keep her at 75 ) she was so much better up until yesterday, however she did have matted fur around her eyes . So yesterday she was fine she took a dust bath and I let out in my living room and she was just trying to get out of the playpen and it was 72 down stair I took her up stair because I felt like it was too hot and went up stairs I cleaned (vinegar/50 and completely dried it) and her cage all of it fixed it and she never wants to go under her house and I figured it's plastic and she feels hot ( I ordered a wooden house waiting for it ) and keep sleeping on top where her food and water were . I would cover up her cage when I would put the ac on but I felt like she was hot since it was 70 and I only left one cover but I think at night she knocked it down, (ac is not directly pointed at her) have her cage connected to her play pen and it's over and chinchilla proofed , I noticed that she didn't get out as much and I just thought she was tried because my mom has a day care center and I feels like she can't sleep that much , but I woke up to being in the corner of her cage and whimpering, I'm going to take her to the vet today but what am I doing wrong , I feel like my poor baby violet is suffering because of me ;(? What temp am I suppose to keep her at ? (By the way the temp on ac last night was 68)I love her so much can stop to think about how she suffering? Please help me out I don't want anything to happen to my poor baby ?

 

[Amethyst]

You want the room to be less then 75F, I try to keep mine around 68 or below. Chins are good to just below freezing, so keeping them cool is much more important then keeping them warm. You also want to keep an eye on humidity, it should be less then 50%. You don't want any plastic in the cage, chins chew plastic and if swallowed it can cause a blockage in the gut. You also don't want to cover the cage, it prevents air flow which can cause the chin to over heat and get sick. You don't want anything blowing on the chin either so no fans or ac blowing on the cage. I'm not sure what you have as a playpen but keep in mind that chins can jump 5 feet if they feel like it, and can squeeze though spaces larger then 1".

Since you are new to chinchillas I suggest you spend some time researching on the forum here. A good place to start is http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=863 and http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=857 I think those cover most of the basics. Chins are very different from any other rodent.

Another thing, do you still have rabbits? if so they can carry a bacteria that can be deadly to chins. They should be kept in a different room and wash between handling.

 

[Cuddlebug]

How is the chin doing?