Chin sizes/weights?

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Chinzilla

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When is a chinchilla full grown? (generally speaking)

Also, I see a lot of people posting about different weights of chinchillas. Does anyone have a list of standard weights chinchillas (particularly females since thats what I have) should weigh at different ages or based on their size?

I'm just curious...I kinda want to know how much more growth I should expect out of my 10-11 month old chin (if any) and my 4 month old chin...the 4 month is definitely much smaller.

I don't currently have a scale I can use, but I'd like to get one for my kitchen and as another tool of tracking the general health of my fuzzy wuzzies. Other than it measuring in grams, are there any other recommendations regarding scales?
 
I'm curious about this too.

As far as scales a lot of people like to get them with some sort of bowl/bucket part so you can just place the chin in there. Make sure you get one that goes higher weightwise than you'd need (I have one that goes up to 15lbs, haha), some kitchen scales don't go up very far cause they assume you'll only be measuring small amounts.
 
It all really depends on the chin itself, and sometimes the mutation can play a role in the overall size of the animal (if I am wrong please correct me).
 
ChinchillasByDesign said:
It all really depends on the chin itself, and sometimes the mutation can play a role in the overall size of the animal (if I am wrong please correct me).
Click to expand...

If mutations play a role, then factor in that the older of the two is a mosaic and the 4 month old is a homo beige.
 
No, you are correct. Take ebonies. They are going to generally grow a lot slower and not be as large. Don't get me wrong, there can be some nice ebs, but generally speaking they are going to be thinner.

That being said, any chin can really be any weight. If you aren't breeding, it isn't really too big of a concern. As long as you know their weight and are checking it's fluctuations, that is fine. It can be 400g or 800g. 400 grams, however, I would consider very small.

For your scale, I recommend digital and don't keep it in your chinchilla room where it will collect dust.

I believe beige chinchillas generally are on the larger side, but don't quote me on that.
 
From what I have always heard is 600+ grams is average if there is such a thing.

From personal experience I do not have any in breeding less than 600 grams and my largest in breeding is over 1300+ grams however ,she is a very very slow breeder where as her 1100+ gram siblings (4 of them) are prolific breeders. If you break it down by color these are my sizes based on the average sizes of all the chins that color in my room.. Largest to smallest, so if mutation plays a factor I am not seeing it except in my sapphires.

Largest
1) Ebony ( Largest is a 3 yr old female All black Ebony )
2) Whites ( Largest is a Mosaic female possible sapphire carrier)
3) Greys and Blacks ( Largest is a 7 month old Black velvet male)
4) Sapphire ebony/white crosse and sapphire carriers ( Largest is a ebony/sapphire female 9 months old)
5) Tans ( Largest is a Dark Star Dark Tan female 3 almost 4 years old)
6) Sapphires ( All of them are between 600-700 grams nothing large and nothing small)
 
I've always wanted to know myself, great question. Does anyone have any "average" weights for kits (when do they stop being referred to as kits?). I also have a 3 1/2 month old.
 
Each chin is a little different. I have one that is fully grown and only 450 grams. I've seen a friends chin who is 1200 grams. Some colors take longer to grow and may never reach such large size. Usually the more mutes in the chin the slower and smaller they wind up.
 
My two mosaic boys seem to be smaller boned and more delicate.

My two dark standard boys seem more solid and sturdier. One of them is a beast and I'm sure he weighs close to 1000 grams.

I guess they come in all shapes and sizes just like people but I'm sure genetics play a big role in how fast they grow and how big they get.
 
I have two beige and two standards. My latest beige (female who came to me as a rescue at about 530) is up to about 575. Stolie on the other hand is about 825. My two standards are also between the 750-850 weight, the son being closer to I think I remember (have it written somewhere) 775 and my Mama at 830. These are all rescues who have had weight put on them so I'm guessing that with breeders kept in good condition since birth weight might be different, but those are the numbers I have found. All very different and all in perfect health. They are too skinny when you can feel their ribs and backbone through their coat...then you know it's an issue.
 
There's not really any one weight that is right for all chins...just like with people, dogs, and any other animal.

As far as averages go, adults typically range from 550g-800g, but can weigh as little as 450g or as much as 1300g. Those that weigh over 1000g are usually on the chubby side.

The birth weight for kits typically ranges from 40g-65g. They can be as low as 20g (chances of survival at that size is not good, but possible) or as high as 90g (larger kits increase risk of birthing complications). Kits typically gain 2-6g a day and can nearly double in size during their first week. Weight and size vary greatly among growing chins of the same age. Some will be nearly done growing at 12-18 months, while others will keep growing until they're 3 years old.
 
Out of my 12 my smallest is 430gms @ 2 years old and the biggest is 900gms @ 2 years old. My oldest, 5yrs old, is about 600gms.
 
My two oldest chins didn't stop growing until they were 2 years old (white eb and hetero eb). Different feed can affect weights as well (when I switched feeds I noted a weight gain).
 
Althought mutation does play a factor you can't say "sapphires are smaller than beiges", because it's not true.

It's like asking if a chocolate lab gets bigger than a yellow lab or a black lab. It's all about genetics and environment/feed.

I have a HUGE homo eb male who was full grown by a year, and a hugantic white female who was over 800 grams by 9 months.

I used to believe the saying that "most white/ebs/etc. didn't fully grow until they were two, but I've found personally for that to not be correct, or necessarily the norm.
 
Riven said:
Althought mutation does play a factor you can't say "sapphires are smaller than beiges", because it's not true.
Click to expand...

I'm just wondering if this statement is commonly made because sapphires are a more recessive gene, and thus it often takes a 'weaker' animal to produce? I mean, from my understanding sapphires only tend to be smaller because they're still in the process of being bred 'stronger'... Would you say it is why people make that generalization?

I mean, I'm no chinchilla expert but I do know a little bit about geneology, and that would be my assumption based on it, anyway...
 
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I have always heard that the violets and the sapphires were on the smaller end. I do not own any sapphires myself but all my violets are at least 650 and go up so I have not experienced that but that is what I had read.
 
My female, Chloe, stayed 450 grams for over 2 years. All of a sudden last year she started gaining. She's now about 550g.
 
Riven said:
Althought mutation does play a factor you can't say "sapphires are smaller than beiges", because it's not true.

It's like asking if a chocolate lab gets bigger than a yellow lab or a black lab. It's all about genetics and environment/feed.

I have a HUGE homo eb male who was full grown by a year, and a hugantic white female who was over 800 grams by 9 months.

I used to believe the saying that "most white/ebs/etc. didn't fully grow until they were two, but I've found personally for that to not be correct, or necessarily the norm.
Click to expand...



Do you think that it is just the weaker genes of a certain strand being used a lot??? Is it still more common for them to be smaller, even if it isn't correct to label them as the smallest???
 
I'm happy that Idgie is at 555g, which is about 100g heavier than when I adopted her.

I use a digital postage scale to weigh her b/c that is what I had. If she won't sit still on it long enough, I can just put her in a box on top of it. It has a hold button and will beep when it has the weight so that you can take her off and read it. It does grams and ounces, up to 5 pounds. If I recall, it was about $15 at the store.
 
I think the sapphires and violets USED TO BE smaller. However, with proper breeding and pairing, breeders of today can get larger violets and sapphires. If a breeder were to breed whatever and not take care in choosing a proper breeding, they will definitely be smaller.
 
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