1. Why is Chinchilla particularly afraid of heat?
Because the origin of chinchillas is the Andes Mountains of South America, these areas are relatively high above sea level and the temperature difference between day and night is large, and chinchillas are nocturnal animals, in order to adapt to the night In the low temperature environment, they grow thick hair that can resist the low temperature of about 0 ℃.
Secondly, chinchillas have very few sweat glands and a poor heat dissipation and perspiration system. If the ambient temperature is too high, chinchillas are very prone to heatstroke symptoms, and the mortality rate after heatstroke is high. Therefore, in summer, pet chinchillas should pay special attention to heatstroke prevention to avoid death of chinchillas from heat stroke.
2. Common causes of chinchilla heatstroke
1. Excessive temperature and humidity
High temperature is only the cause of chinchilla heatstroke On the one hand, high humidity will also affect the heat dissipation of Chinchilla.
Because chinchillas need to take away body heat through sweat, but if the humidity of the air is too high, chinchillas’ sweat will evaporate very slowly, so chinchillas’ body temperature cannot drop, resulting in symptoms of heat stroke .
2. Strenuous exercise
If chinchillas do strenuous exercise in a short period of time, the body temperature rises rapidly, and it is also prone to heat stroke.
3. Insufficient drinking water
In summer, chinchillas drink a lot of water. If the pet owner does not prepare enough water for it, it will affect the chinchilla’s perspiration and heat dissipation, and it is also prone to heat stroke. Case.
4. Direct sunlight
Chinchillas can bask in the sun properly, but they need to avoid direct sunlight in high temperature seasons, so the pet owner chooses the location of the chinchilla cage, otherwise it will be ten times under high temperature. A few minutes of direct sun exposure can cause a chinchilla to die from heat stroke.
Third, how to deal with chinchilla heatstroke?
1. Emergency cooling: wrap ice cubes with a dry towel and place it on the chinchilla to help it dissipate heat. If there is no ice cubes, you can use some frozen ingredients. In addition, turn on the air conditioner or fan to reduce the ambient temperature, but be careful not to face the chinchilla.
2. Auxiliary heat dissipation: Rub the chinchilla’s ears, palms and other places with less hair with alcohol or balsamic oil to further help the chinchilla to dissipate heat.
3. Medication treatment: you can feed a small amount of Huoxiangzhengqi water to chinchillas, or you can also use Rendan to grind it into pieces, mix it with the same amount of water, and then drop it into chinchillas with a syringe. mouth.
4. Timely replenishment of water: When chinchillas suffer from heat stroke, special attention should be paid to replenishing water to avoid dehydration and death. If the chinchilla can’t drink water on its own, you can squeeze a little bit into its mouth with a syringe.
