Losing Weight

Ok so I'm worried.
When I first got Apollo, he was a happy, normal sized chin. He was previously fed alfalfa and pellets. Now he is fed meadow hay and the same pellets as before. He is still happy but he has lost weight. A few months ago I weighed him and he was about 450g. The other day I weighed him and he was 435g. I weighed him today and he was 428g. I'm really worried that he may have teeth problems. He is eating his pellets normally, he rarely gets treats but he gets excited when I produce one. He still gets excited (I only gave him a shreddie just to see if he still got excited about it) His poops are normal. He's drinking fine. He is still happy and bouncy but the problem is his hay. He has never really warmed up to it. When I first got him he refused to touch it. Then he started eating most of it (not all) Now he eats a tiny amount and throws the rest out of the rack. I am getting some alfalfa in about a week. Should I continue to weigh him every couple of days and after he's started on the alfalfa, if there is no improvement, should I take him to the vet? Luckily I live about 5-10 minutes away from a decent exotic vet so that shouldn't be a problem. Just don't want any unnecessary stress for him.

Weight loss is always a worry with chins. I would suggest you get your chinchilla checked by your vet even if only for your own peace of mind. You mention feeding your chinchilla alfalfa. Are you feeding this as a staple hay, or as a treat hay. Try feeding Apollo a good quality timothy hay as staple, and give alfalfa as a treat no more than a couple of times a week. What type of pellets are you feeding? These can vary in quality and nutritional value. I notice you're in the North East of England. You can give me a PM if you have any further concerns with your chinchilla. Always happy to help .

Hi,
I feed meadow hay currently. I was going to use alfalfa as a stable hay however was recommended by the breeder we got him off to only feed him it 2 or 3 times a week. I was planning on taking him to the vets after we got the alfalfa just to see if that was the problem. I am unsure of the brand of pellets however I could probably find out. We get them from a warehouse near us he has had this all his life and we were recommended them pellets from the breeder. Thank you for your help

If he was feed exclusively alfalfa and pellets, than he's probably just losing the weight that he'd gained in the alfalfa. It's much richer than other hays, and therefor should be a treat. My chins GORGE on it when they get it (I buy a bag once in a great while because of that). They'll eat it instead of their pellets when they get it. So it's usually Timothy or Orchard grass.

I would guess your little guy is just pining for his old favorite and if he is eating normally, pooping well and not drooling, I would try not to worry.

That being said, when one gets a new pet of any kind, it's probably best to get a vet check.


Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

Hi, thanks for your help.
He was fed alfalfa as his "main" hay however he only got it 2-3 times a week. He was fed a raisin/shreddie after being held and pellets daily. So he never had constant hay.
I switched him to timothy 2 days ago and I am happy to say he has gained almost all of his weight back (440g). I believe the problem was the hay. He despised the meadow hay but I went and bought a huge bag of it when I first got it so thats all going to waste :/

Can you donate it to a shelter? Just because he doesn't like it doesn't mean other chins or buns might not. That way at least it doesn't go to waste.

Thats a great idea! I'll have to see though because there is only one near me and they only have cats, dogs and ferrets (unless ferrets eat hay)

Make sure you are weighing at the same time during the day. Morning weight and evening weights will vary. How old is your chin?

Hi, thank you for the tip! I did weigh him at the same time (about 3pm)
He is nearly 6 months old and he is a tan chinchilla (I was told by the breeder that since he has ebony in him he will not grow as quickly as other chins)

Does he have a wheel and did he have one at the breeder's. If he has one now and did not at the breeder's, he may just be running on it too much. take out out if that is the case and give it back in a few months.