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Author Topic: not using chin chiller?  (Read 1691 times)

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notanotherxerox

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not using chin chiller?
« on: May 30, 2013, 04:08:46 PM »

Hi! I provide my chinchilla with a chin chiller every time the temperature gets near 70 (I keep a thermometer attached to her cage) but she never uses it even on hotter days. I put it under her house during the day while she sleeps but she always stays off to the side and at night I attach it to one of her shelves and again she never sits on it. I know chinchillas are sensitive to the heat and it worries me that she wont cool herself off if it gets too hot. Do i just have to trust her instincts? Does anyone elss's chins do this? 
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GrayRodent

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Re: not using chin chiller?
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2013, 07:44:09 PM »

I've had two chins in a row and neither of them spent a lot of time on the chin-chiller. I used to refrigerate them but neither of them liked it cold. My new chin does sleep on it occasionally. Ultimately the chiller doesn't do that much to the animal's core temperature. That is regulated mostly by the ears, which as you can see on a live chin, are loaded with blood vessels. The ambient room temperature is the most important. Typically if the temp is high they will be less active but not always. 70 is a good temperature. 75 is considered the maximum safe temperature you want to keep a chinchilla. I do speak from experience, living in a warmer climate, that some individuals can become accustomed to higher temperatures although it is not good practice to go above 75 and there is a heightened risk of potentially fatal conditions. My first chin was kept in a room that was probably 85-90 degrees during the day before I got him but I am also aware of chins that have actually died at lower temps.
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cuculet

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Re: not using chin chiller?
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2013, 07:16:40 AM »

My chin is 2 years old and the room temperature in the summer (from May till September) in around 27 C (80.6 F). He is very active. The maximum temperature he got was 30 C. He is fine.
In the winter he does something quite strange for a chin. He climbs the radiator (water radiator) and just sits there like a cat. The radiator is very hot so whenever i see him doing that i take him off the radiator.

My opinion is that the chins are getting used to the climate they are born into and what is deadly hot for one chin may be ok for another.
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Snickerdoodlesmom

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Re: not using chin chiller?
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2013, 07:54:47 AM »

Cuculet, I agree. Some people say not to keep chins in a place above 70 degrees. My chinchilla is often kept in 75 degrees and he's fine. I think that it does depend on the chin :)
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