At what point should you be concerned about gram loss in a chinchilla? I know some fluctuation can be normal but I am a bit concerned about Trixie. I weighed both girls on a nondigital scale on Monday and the weights came out to be 350 grams for Pixie and 325 grams for Trixie. Since this is a nondigital scale but rather one with a little line that moves... it's not completely accurate. However I was having trouble with the digital scale I bought so I have been using this one temporarily.
The issue is today I weighed both girls again. On the nondigital scale I got 325 grams for Pixie and only 275 grams for Trixie. The weight for Pixie makes me wonder if Monday's amount was off or if the time of day is playing a factor. I believe I weighed them in the early afternoon on Monday and this evening I weighed them more like at 10 PM. Trixie's weight concerned me as she feels significantly lighter when I pick her up than she did before. I weighed her several times to double check the scale.
I managed to get what I feel are fairly accurate digital weights for both of them now (at about 1 am) and Pixie weighed 328 grams and Trixie was only 273 grams. This means at the very least she's lost 25 grams in less than a week or 50 grams if Monday's weight was accurate. Should I watch her like a hawk for a few days? Supplement her diet? Take her to the vet? I have seen her eating both hay and pellets as well as drinking water. As far as I can tell from the few 'samples' she left me when crawling on me this evening her poops look good. This is the first time I have cared for chinchillas this young and I worry about them. I rearranged a little this evening to make sure there was easier access to hay and pellets incase her sister is hogging them all.
Feedback of any kind would be wonderful. The girls have been doing really well and I may just be getting paranoid. I think taking care of a malo chin makes you fear the worst at every sneeze.
The issue is today I weighed both girls again. On the nondigital scale I got 325 grams for Pixie and only 275 grams for Trixie. The weight for Pixie makes me wonder if Monday's amount was off or if the time of day is playing a factor. I believe I weighed them in the early afternoon on Monday and this evening I weighed them more like at 10 PM. Trixie's weight concerned me as she feels significantly lighter when I pick her up than she did before. I weighed her several times to double check the scale.
I managed to get what I feel are fairly accurate digital weights for both of them now (at about 1 am) and Pixie weighed 328 grams and Trixie was only 273 grams. This means at the very least she's lost 25 grams in less than a week or 50 grams if Monday's weight was accurate. Should I watch her like a hawk for a few days? Supplement her diet? Take her to the vet? I have seen her eating both hay and pellets as well as drinking water. As far as I can tell from the few 'samples' she left me when crawling on me this evening her poops look good. This is the first time I have cared for chinchillas this young and I worry about them. I rearranged a little this evening to make sure there was easier access to hay and pellets incase her sister is hogging them all.
Feedback of any kind would be wonderful. The girls have been doing really well and I may just be getting paranoid. I think taking care of a malo chin makes you fear the worst at every sneeze.