Baby Chin Not Growing... PLEASE HELP!

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EmilyLiliLove

EmilyLiliLove

SassyChinchillasRescue
Joined
Oct 27, 2014
Messages
145
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
I got my Sassy at 10 weeks old and she is now 5 months. She hasn't seemed to have grown much and is half the size of all my other full grown chins. I do notice she isn't the size of other 5 month old chins either. There is a smaller breed of chinchillas, the costina. She does have shorter fur than my others.

The Costina is the smallest size of the chinchillidae family... They have short fur, which is not as compact as the Lanigera or Brevicaudata breeds due to them not needing the extra warmth living in the lowest regions of the Andes Mountains of 3,000 feet about sea level. Costinas have a 'pointy' head shape leading to a 'rat-like' nose and have longer ears and tail than the other breeds. They are slightly more 'highly-strung' than their cousins and rarely found within the pet industry.
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This is where i read it :
http://www.chinchillachronicles.com/the_chinchilla.html


I feed her oxbow brand pellets and alfalfa to try to get her to grow but she simply isn't. I was even wondering if there may be something wrong. Does anyone know?

You can see pictures of her here:

~http://www.pinterest.com/pin/316659417524052134/

~http://www.pinterest.com/pin/316659417524199115/
 
Some chins are just smaller than others. Do you have a scale to weigh her? Is she caged with other chins?
 
Narcissus said:
Some chins are just smaller than others. Do you have a scale to weigh her? Is she caged with other chins?
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i unfortunately haven't gotten a scale yet. No she isn't with other chins i cage her separately. I am just worried there is something wrong. i took her to a reputable exotic vet and they said she was fine but i know they get it wrong sometimes. Do you think she may be that breed?
 
Like Narcissus said, chins come in all shapes and sizes. Genetics, environment, etc can all factor in to a chin's size. You really should get a scale and keep a track of her weight. As long as she isn't losing weight I wouldn't worry. Can you easily feel her bones? An intestinal parasite exam could be done to check for parasites, but I really wouldn't worry if she has no other symptoms other than just being small. I have had a healthy adult chin weigh 450 grams and a chin younger than him that weighed 1,000 grams.
 
I agree with everyone else. Get a scale and KNOW if she is growing or not. You can't tell by looking at her. Chins vary quite a bit in adult size and shape. I'm assuming she is eating and acting well? Measure her pellets to help moniter her eating.
 
Dreamlite said:
I agree with everyone else. Get a scale and KNOW if she is growing or not. You can't tell by looking at her. Chins vary quite a bit in adult size and shape. I'm assuming she is eating and acting well? Measure her pellets to help moniter her eating.
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i give the recommended 2 tablespoons daily and she eats it all. She is in a "bratty" behavior stage but i have read that it is normal for her age.
 
If she is only 5 months old i would give her as many pellets as she wants. Free feed her. Young chins eat almost double what the adults do. Give her as much as she we eat.
 
As said at 5 months she is still growing so she'll need as much food as she can eat, and the 2 tbs is just an average for what a chin should eat, some eat more, some a little less. Most chins don't over eat so if the bowl is empty fill it, but measure so you know how much your chin eats, so for example if you put 2 tbs in and give her another 2 tbs later then you know she eats 4 tbs a day so the next day you can give her 4 tbs. Also that way you know if she is eating more or less then normal later on.

I doubt your chin is a different species, unless you specifically bought one, the chinchilla lanigera is the one that is the foundation of the pet ones, I think I read somewhere that the chinchilla brevicaudata was mix in to to try to get a denser fur and larger size. In the end though some chins just grow slower (ebonies for example can take up to 2 years to be full grown) or are just smaller, chinchillas vary in size from about 400g to over 1,000g so there can be a big difference between chins of different breeding lines.
 
Agreed. That is why ive always measured the food i give them. Not to make sure they have a specific amount, but to help monitor how much they are eating. It makes it easier to notice if there appetite is increasing or decreasing.
 
EmilyLiliLove said:
I feed her oxbow brand pellets and alfalfa to try to get her to grow but she simply isn't.
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i will also point out that oxbow chin food (like most chin foods ive seen at least) are alfalfa based pellets. Thats the reason many ppl use western timothy hay, to make sure they are getting the wider variety of nutrition.
 
Recently, the scientific community has decided that chinchilla costina is just a smaller variety from a different locale of chinchilla lanigaera. In other words, they are the exact same animal. At 5 months the chinchilla is at best 1/2 grown. Just free feed her and she should be fine.
 
just like anything chinchillas will have growth spurts and lulls. and some are just small animals if she is healthy and eating I would not worry about size
 
Also, I wouldn't give her a wheel until you feel she is pretty much well grown and limit out of cage roaming time as this uses up lots of calories that should be put toward growing.
 
Is she an ebony or related to the ebony chinchilla? My chin is a tan and very small but I was told that since he is related to ebony he will be small. Ebony chins are smaller than other chins :)
 
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