please help, new chin owner
SBRTy
post here about my new chin. I bought him today from PetCo,
he's about 4-6 months old. He's been active most of today,
and I took him out of his cage to run around in our kitchen
area (no carpet, easy to clean up droppings, no wires). He
ran around and jumped off walls as expected, however, he soon
became lethargic and sort of leaned a little this way or that.
He had no problem with me touching him then or even picking
him up (before, he'd scamper away) and would just basically
lay in my hand. I've noticed that he hasn't been drinking any
water or eating any of his food, and so perhaps he's
dehydrated or hungry; however, he might just not be hungry b/c
perhaps he ate earlier at the pet store (I bought him around
noon). I've been reading online that chins might get like
this from having experienced head trauma - he doesn't seem as
attentive, he hardly responds when someone gets close to him.
I hope that it's just that he's worn out and maybe stressed
b/c it's been a busy day for him. But if not, what should I
do? I'm going to be seaching for vets tomorrow b/c right now
it's 11pm here and nobody is open. Any suggestions? What
about if he continues not to eat or drink? Also, I did have a
seperate concern with water bottles; are the typical water
bottles used for rabbits or ferrets good to use? I was
wondering b/c water comes out when contact is made with the
tip, but what if my chin rubs against it? Won't that get him
wet, something that is supposed to be avoided?
Thank you so much for reading this and I hope somebody can help me!!
Tyler
alasdair
"SBRTy" <saun...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159327131.4...@d34g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
chins are mainly nocturnal mine start wandering about at about 5-6pm and goo
back to sleep about 4-5am, having him out and about during the day might be
stressfull. as to the water bottle put it so that it is above head height so
he has to sort of reach up. him not feeding might be down to him being
stressed, you could try a raisin or dried bread or old toasted bread my two
go nuts for that
hope this helps good luck
Alasdair
www.digitalmystic.co.uk
John Jung
SBRTy wrote:
> I've been reading online that chins might get like
> this from having experienced head trauma - he doesn't seem as
> attentive, he hardly responds when someone gets close to him.
Once your chin has gotten used to you, he'll hardly respond to someone
getting close when he's asleep. (My chin used to hide whenever I turned on
the vacuum cleaner. Now he sleeps through it. :)
> I hope that it's just that he's worn out and maybe stressed
> b/c it's been a busy day for him. But if not, what should I
> do? I'm going to be seaching for vets tomorrow b/c right now
> it's 11pm here and nobody is open. Any suggestions? What
> about if he continues not to eat or drink?
The vet is always the best place for these types of situations,
particularly for someone new to owning a chin. Also, you might want to check
emergency animal hospitals and see which ones near you handle chins.
There've been more than a few times when I got home from work and saw that my
chin needed medical attention. But being after work, my regular vet was
closed, so I had to go to an emergency animal hospital.
> Also, I did have a
> seperate concern with water bottles; are the typical water
> bottles used for rabbits or ferrets good to use?
Yeah, the typical rabbit/ferret water bottle is fine. And it's okay if
the chin comes in contact with some water. He won't like it, and obviously
too much of it can be dangerous, but if his fur gets a little wet from the
water bottle, it's no big deal.
John
--
--------------------+--------------------------------------------------------
John Jung | "Cigarette?" "Yes, it is." -- Police Squad!
E-mail: | "The Lord's our shepherd, says the psalm,
jcub...@yahoo.com | But just in case, we better get a bomb." -- Tom Lehrer
Betti Cogswell
suggest you read up on it under seizures [this is NOT a seizure]
under www.cachins.org under health/seizures
SBRTy wrote:
--
Betti [chinmom]
www.cachins.org
home.comcast.net/~chinmom
Johney Shade
him. I have a few rules that I follow for new chins.
1> On the first few time I let my newest chins out, I never feed them
anything before opening the cage
2> I only let them out for a few minutes at a time (15 minutes max).
3> I don't approach them initially. When its time to get them I try to
entice them with a treat into a small carrier, and if that doesn't work I
throw small blanket over them.
4> I keep the room cool and I watch their ears closely. If I notice their
ears turn red I quick cool them off. I found the best way to cool them off
quickly is using those ice-packs from a fridge. I wrap them with towels and
put the around the chins in a small cage.
Hope this helps.
John
"SBRTy" <saun...@gmail.com> wrote in message
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