Resting After Exercise?

[lovespekes]

After playing outside of his cage for 30-45 minutes, Andie always ends up in the front corner of his cage, passed out. I find this unnerving since it looks like he is dead! He lays there for a good 5 minutes then he is up and ready to play in his cage.

Is this normal? Is he getting too much exercise time?

 

[JessieVictoria]

Aww he's just pooped

 

[hownowbrowncow]

My chin would do that after a good run around as well. We always let him out for an hour or so every night, but we also made sure that he had access to his cage, food, and water, so that if he got tuckered out he could go have a rest. Often he would rest after about 20mins of playtime and then after 10 mins or so he'd be bounding out of his cage again to popcorn around the room I know there are sometimes limitations that are imposed on young chins in terms of length of exercise, but I haven't heard of similar concerns regarding adult chin play time (although maybe others will chime in?).

 

[hownowbrowncow]

I agree though, totally unnerving when they rest like they're dead! Although chinchillas will sleep on their sides naturally at times, part of it shows that they are comfortable being vulnerable in their surroundings and feel safe.

 

[Claire D]

How old is this chinchilla? If he is young then I'd split his play times into shorter periods so that he rests and does not over exert himself. I'd also only let him out every other day rather than every day.

If he is an adult chin and he's not used to exercising then I'd do the same - split up his play times. Think of it like having a couch potato chin - you start with little bits of exercise and build up over time.

The other thing to check is how warm/hot the room is - if it's warm you may also need to split/restrict his play time.

 

[hownowbrowncow]

Or if it's warm, cool the room down

 

[mgonya]

:hilarious:My little girl does the exact same thing. It's the only time she lays out flat like that. All that exercise poops them out. Not literally, of course

 

[Mystic]

My chinchillas will do the same thing especially when running around in the basement for 30-45mins (which is kept at about 60 degrees.) I think they just tire themselves out, of course the possibility of the room being too warm is another factor too.