FITS

Anyone who has ever seen a chinchilla having a 'seizure' of one form or another - can be quite disturbed at the sight
But what is even more disturbing, is the lack of articles that cover this subject!

Many pet owners at one time or another have had this experience with their own chinchilla(s)
which shows it is quite common in the 'pet' chinchilla and not just in the 'breeding' chinchilla by and large
I have only come across just one pet book that covers this subject - and in very little detail
not enough to explain the reasons and the cause
I certainly recommend vets with certain incidents, but chinchilla owners need to know all types and all causes of such happenings and most important of all - what do you do for preventative measures? certainly making sure it never happens again

Very little on seizure are mentioned in most pet and breeder books I have ever come across
One thing for sure though, is that when mentioned at all, every Author recommends similar, if not the same - treatment

First of all we have to distinguish what kind of seizure/fit your chinchilla has experienced
Some are reasonably harmless, some that need immediate attention and others that need to have definite diet improvements made

to make for easy reading - each subject and material covering that subject are colour coded

The classic seizure type would be the low calcium deficiency, although any chinchilla can experience this type, it is generally found in pregnant females and lactating mothers - it is definitely recommended that pregnant females have extra calcium in their diet
SYMPTOMS: tonic rigid bowed body with the nose curled towards the tail / head turning towards the shoulder blade or hip bone
CURE: definitely take to a vet who will administer calcium Gluconate intervenously
PREVENTION: pregnant females should have extra calcium, good sources are low sugar soy milk, calf manna, crushed ®Tums (vitamins from the chemist), yoghurt, calcium ascorbate, calcium blocks (especially the ones with seaweed) - take your pick
*********
For the non-pregnant chinchilla - make sure they have sufficient calcium and thiamine in the diet - I find cuttlebone (generally used for budgies are an excellent source along with calcium blocks) It's generally caused at meal times when chinchillas have this type of fit, they look as if they are in agony in extreme cases, but if your chinchilla has a well balanced diet this may be also a 'metabolism' deficiency instead, do not confuse the two - one lacks diet essentials - the other doesn't - but giving the one that is eating properly a jab may not hurt them, but might cause trauma that need not be!
If your chinchilla has only been eating the 'right' food for a short period of time in it's life, a thiamine deficiency may be apparent - but continuous good food with extra vitamins should clear this up in time (it may take months to solve) but if your chinchilla has eaten well all it's life, then a 'metabolism' fit is and probably more likely the cause - this has been known to be harmless but not to be ignored, one chinchilla may experience one or two at meal time - then no more, that is fine, but if it continues then something is wrong somewhere, even eating the right food does not solve 'other' hidden problems that may need a good check out at your veterinary surgeon
*********
SYMPTOMS of THIAMINE deficiency: Pre-meal trembling (just as they start to eat) paralysis, circling and then seizure activity
CURE for continuous incidents: Immediate vitamin B complex, although it has not been know that diabetic chinchillas have seizures because of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) diabetic ferrets have been know to have such seizures
PREVENTION: Thiamine (vitamin b1) - supplied already in a good pellet and your chinchilla should not need any extra vitamins after injections, a good pellet provides all vitamins needed - but, of course, if you continue to give your chinchilla an un-balanced diet (you-know-who-Charlie rubbish and any other so called chinchilla mixes) then a dead furball could be your next shock when you peek through their cage one sunny morning
prevention is better than cure - make sure your chinchilla is eating the correct balanced diet!
(for more on the correct nutrition for chinchillas - check my nutrition article on the information pages)
Although some say yeast, brown rice, nuts, bran and wheatgerm are a good source of thiamine - too much of these can be harmful
along with the probability of your chinchilla having too much fat in the nuts - yeast, rice and bran can cause bloat if overdone
*********
TOXIC/FOOD seizures

This is where keeping an eye on your pet is recommended at playtimes, unless they are in a 'chinnie-safe' environment, then supervision is recommended all the time they are out - if your walls and skirting board have lead paint - it can poison your chinchilla
cases have been found of toxic poisoning in chinchillas - so always be aware of this danger
SYMPTOMS: shaking head to toe
CURE: treatment by veterinary immediately
PREVENTION: avoid your pet entertaining itself on lead items (curtain weights - heavy lead in water supply areas)
Bleach, detergent bottles and paints - especially older houses where the skirting board may be painted with the old toxic paints
Although luckily nowadays, most items are environmentally safe for humans and chinchilla alike - still be aware
*********
Food seizure are obvious - eating feed that is deficient will cause this
Mycotoxins, Aflatoxins, mouldy feeds can cause massive biochemical changes in your chinchilla and cause such seizures
Some chinchillas may have food tolerances and allergies - so check out the type of food they previously may have eaten
Also, chinchillas are 'strict routine guys', leaving their food too late, if they haven't eaten for some time, they can get 'over excited' when you come along with their food - some people experience their pet going into a 'fit' as soon as they eat - be aware that you must not leave your pet, especially if it's the excitable kind, without food for too long and beyond their usual time table
********
THE 'RED EYE' seizures

If your chinchilla is a ruby eyed animal, the pink white, brown velvet and especially the beige in particular
The ruby eye is a diluted factor for the beige, apricot, cream and brown colours in chinchillas and other small rodents
In beige and other ruby eyed chinchilla mutations, the seizures are of a simple partial type. The animal may display signs that only one side of the brain is affected where only one part is 'shivering'. It can also be the generalized where the whole body is engaged in twitching or shaking movements. The symptoms can be mild like a gentle shivering/shaking of the whole body or of one limb, there may also be a 'spinner' where an animal just turns around and around in an aimless circle
The animal may show a pre-seizure frenzy of activity but then again, may not show any indications at all. The seizure may last just seconds, or minutes, they may show no ill effects afterwards, or they may display lethargy, drowsiness and exhaustion.
Make sure your chinchilla does not fall off shelves or injure itself at this time, do not grab at him and try to calm him down until after their 'ordeal'; just make sure they are safely away from any danger points until their 'fit' has stopped.

seizures CAN be the sign of ILLNESS - a cause of TOXINS, INJURY, METAL POISONING, or FOOD ALLERGY

High fevers, toxic poisoning, and other illnesses can cause seizures and also permanent brain damage.
ALWAYS observe your chinchilla and it's play area - anything that you feel is not safe to 'chew' - keep away from your pet
EAR INFECTIONS - If your chinchilla is leaning to one side, staggers and circles around in one direction, they more than likely will have an ear infection, this is rare but does happen and is usually an advanced infection if the chinchilla is like this, the vet will need to give them antibiotics to clear infections, time and patience and love of the owner is needed to keep your chinchillas spirits up as infections are usually caused by 'run down' conditions of the animal

What is know as 'Traumatic seizure' due to head trauma - like falling off the cage at height, jumping and missing the shelf or branch, things that be easy done if you have not designed your cage and play area to be safe, chinchillas can jump up and down quite safely at 2 foot high, any more and they can hurt themselves if there is not a soft landing, big cages have to be 'partitioned' into sections if they are higher than 2foot, branches positioned across or another 'floor' can prevent accidents like this happening
Some chinchillas can be unconscious, or may be drowsy afterwards, there is no need to rush to a vet afterwards if he recovers well, but if he does not recover 100% then understandably a vet must be seen.

Heatstroke can cause seizures, this is absolutely a veterinary emergency, try to keep the animal cool with lukewarm water - especially on the ears, wrap in a towel and go to the vet. keep the chinchilla in a cool environment (below 80)ice cubes in a plastic bottle or cold water next to the chinchilla helps, some even hold their pet in front of the fridge door for a while just to help bring their temperature down to some degree before veterinary attention - heat stroke that causes seizures are not to be taken lightly and need quick attention - milder heat stroke can sometimes be improved on by an alert owner, but the best way is not to let your chinchilla get into the unfortunate circumstances of creating a heat stroke in the first place
PREVENTION: keep the chinchilla room below 80F (27C) any higher and they can start gasping for breath and go into a coma that you cannot sometimes make them recover from - warm climate countries have to be aware of this if keeping their animals in huts, in the UK this is less likely the case, but it only needs a good warm spell to cause problems, keep fans at hand and ice cubes nearby or whatever you can to keep the air cool for your chinchilla, DO NOT let them play for longer than 15-20 minutes in such warm rooms - like KITCHENS! - after 15 minutes - feel their ears or see if they are pink, if they are warm/hot - then they have to be prevented from activity and put into a cool cage environment to cool down, prolonging 'pink ears' is only going to create problems.
STRESS: chinchillas that 'over play' - some people think that the more playtime a chinchilla has outside the cage the better - that's true in some cases - but it depends on your pet and their character!
1. THE SENSITIVE CHINCHILLA - Some chinchillas are 'slow' at playing and will sit quietly in a corner or under/behind the sofa for ages before coming out to play, after a while playing, they will go back and stay there - these are the sensible ones that you can safely let out for quite some time, Garbo my grey chinchilla is like this, she is very sensitive and when I first handled her for just 2 minutes she started to tremble, so I then put her on the floor and she 'wobbled' across the floor shaking and 'sidling' up against the wall with shock - she was not used to been held and this lasted for a couple of minutes, after she had settled down she was her usual self again, I had to build up my 'holding' time with Garbo until she could fully trust me, although even now, odd occasions after nearly 5 years she may sometimes tremble her head when been held - so I try my best to not over do it and talk to her softly. Some chinchillas have heart conditions that cause a seizure - if continuous holding, cuddling and petting of a nervous chinchilla with a heart condition - this can prove fatal to them and even death - if your chinchilla is continually having fits after small stress situations - then check with your vet
2. THE ADVENTURER - Others are quite adventurous - they will find anything and eat anything and will cause havoc around the place, types that you have to keep an eye on all the time, eventually they get a bit bored and may 'cool' out in a dark place like behind the sofa - these are safe to let out as well - but never have the chance much as you have to keep your eye on them! Toffi-nut my beige (and red eyed as noted above) is like this, she is quite a strong type though and stress wise - well - she is highly strung so I try not to 'encourage' running after her and picking her up too much, she remembers like an elephant and she 'avoids' the cage entrance if you are near - but is 'dying' to come out at 'playtime' and will quickly dive passed you if there's a gap!
3. THE HYPERACTIVE CHINCHILLA - Gemma, was one of my first and obviously a pet shop quality, she was what I would call a rather weak little thing when I first saw her, had not eaten properly in her early days because she had been taken away from mum too early. And extremely hyper when she realised there was more than just a cage to run around in! she's the type that 'protests' when put back into the cage (and she lives in a very big cage at that with two others) she will run and run and...well...run! always on the move, finding escape routes, looking, searching non stop, she is quite slim and has not very plush fur but 'over heating' is one thing - over active is another way of causing fits - I let her out for 2 hours in the kitchen one day, and after putting her back into her cage she 'protested' by standing on her haunches and turning around like a ballerina (this she does a lot and is rather funny to view - quite harmless! - see the little picture at the bottom of this page) but this time she 'collapsed' then she started to quiver and shake, she tried to get up and just wobbled across the shelf she was on, she hasn't the 'sense' to settle down and she tried to 'protest' in her usual fashion again - but once again shook all over, this was for a few seconds and after a minute she had calmed down and rather exhausted stayed 'put' for a while
I never let her out for that amount of time anymore - the most she ever be given is 1 hour - and definitely not in a warm room either
4. THE 'NERVOUS TWITCHING' CHINCHILLA - All chinchillas are nervous little furballs, don't think that the calm exterior they show outside means they are - the nervous twitching - this is not really a seizure but more of a trembling nature
Generally in the black velvet genes, Zeebee my own black velvet is a classic case of this kind, she look's very calm on the exterior, can be a little madam with plenty of confidence at naughty tricks, but if I hold her in certain rooms (where there may be one or more people in the room - and it doesn't have to be a noisy room) she will have a 'little tremor' - it's like a body vibration, at first, I thought she was been 'annoyed' at me because her whiskers trembled too (one way chinchillas have of 'telling you off' silently is to 'chatter' at you and the whiskers move!) but realised it was more than that when I talked to a breeder, the black and white crosses I have - one does this slightly too (they have black velvet in their genes) and my ebony does this (she doesn't have black velvet in her genes) I feel black velvets are a strong candidate for this type, but other mutations may have similar tremors too - harmless but not to be encouraged, build up a good relationship with your chinchilla is the cure for this I would say - slowly does it!

Quotation from the book 'Raising chinchillas for profit' by G. R. Schwab ( edition -1952)
'Shortly after taking delivery of our first animals we noticed one day a large male, it's ears in a downward position, crawling towards it's nest box and apparently incapable of standing on it's feet. before reaching it, he fell on his side in a trembling spasm, his limbs alternately shaking and twisting as under the tortures of an unbearable pain. The antics of the animal suggested it to be in the throes of agony, which greatly distressed us for we were certain it would be dead in a few minutes. Unable to contact a veterinarian at once, we were trying frantically to imagine a way of relieving the animal when suddenly, we saw it shake it's head, cock up it's ears, take a lightning run around the sides of the pen and settle beside it's feed dish and nibble at a peanut, as naturally as nothing unusual had ever happened. That was our first case of 'Chilamastix' and while it only lasted about fifteen minutes, it certainly gave us a bad case of the jitters. We have since observed a few more instances of this ailment which we had classified as an access of violent colics before we could obtain any information on the subject. It appears to be an intestinal disorder, seldom fatal, but judging by the animals unmistakable expressions of suffering, it must be distressingly painful. The attacks last from ten to twenty minutes and have been observed more frequently at our ranch during winter time than when greens are fed regularly to the animals. So far, no treatment has been recommended to relive a stricken animal.'

Book sources (along with searching many other sources of material)
'Chinchilla Diseases and Ailments' by A.H.Kennedy
'Practical Chinchilla keeping' by Jean C. Coulton
''The joy of chinchillas' by Ritchie, Cogswell and Beeman