This is an area of care that really falls into the realms of common-sense.
Basically chinchillas are extremely heat-sensitive due to their thick, insulating fur coat. This renders them very prone to heat-exhaustion. But it does not have to be scorching-hot for a chinchilla to suffer from heat-exhaustion. Anything stressful that increases the heart-rate can cause their core-temperature to rise to dangerous levels, even on comfortably (for us) warm days.
Please see the parent article on keeping chinchillas cool within their home environment, but here are some hints and tips on keeping a chinchilla cool whilst in transit.
Obviously, IF you can possibly avoid taking a chinchilla anywhere when the temperature exceeds 70-75 degrees plus, then that is the best way of avoiding heat related problems occurring. However, there may be some instances (such as taking a chinchilla to the vets) that may necessitate a journey during a warm spell of weather.
- If you can arrange your journey either as early or as late as possible in the day, when the temperatures have receded a little, then so much the better.
- Limit your journey times.
- If you have it, use the car air-conditioner. It may also be useful to use the shade screens that adhere to car windows, to minimise sun-exposure.
- Limit stress as much as possible (i.e. don’t play loud music that may frighten the chinchilla).
- Use a suitable, well-ventilated travel cage/box.
- If you don’t have a car air-conditioner – open a couple of windows a little to keep the air circulating.
- On very hot days, freezing suitable chew-proof containers of water, wrapping them in a tea-towel and placing them next to or in the travel-cage, can give the chinchilla something cool to lean against which will also help reduce the ambient temperature around the chinchilla. Ensure the frozen containers are secured in some way, so they cannot roll or bump against the chinchilla in transit. Take spare frozen containers in a cool box, if necessary.
- DON’T take a chinchilla on any unnecessary journeys during warm weather, that includes any chinchillas for sale. The new owners can always wait!!!
Signs of over-heating are:
Basic Emergency Cooling Measures Whilst In-Transit:
If any of the above occur, take immediate action and don’t wait until the chin has become critically heat-stressed.
Firstly, take immediate measures to cool the chinchilla …….
- Stop the car somewhere where there is access to water - such as a service station (a shady place to park the car is also ideal).
- Place a towel (or similar) that has been soaked in cool (not cold) water over the chinchilla. If necessary sponge the chinchilla down – as the evaporation of the water will help to bring down the chinchillas core temperature.
- Once the chinchilla is showing signs of improvement, offer the chinchilla a drink of water (don’t force it to drink though), or even a slice of juicy apple, if they refuse to drink (as often happens in transit).
- Get the chinchilla home as safely and as quickly as possible, if necessary stopping frequently at service stations to take steps (as above) to keep the chinchilla cooled.
The above may sound like “over-kill” but I cannot stress highly enough how easily susceptible chinchillas are to the heat. I have known of whole “herds” of chinchillas fatally affected by the heat, even when not in transit. Being aware of this and taking measures to prevent it occurring will mean that your chinchilla will not become another statistic too.
Once again, it goes without saying that complete avoidance of situations that may cause heat-stress is the best prevention of all. |
