How often to weigh

[winknfox]

How often should a chinchilla be weighed? How often do you(the breeders) weigh your chins?

 

[Stackie]

I weigh mine once a month. If I notice a loss in weight or if someone is sick, I'll weigh once a week or every day depending on the situation.

 

[starleomach]

I weigh once a month unless their is an issue with someone...in fact that is what I will be doing tomorrow or saturday

 

[ticklechin]

I, as a pet owner, weigh once a month along with a hair ring check and health check-looking at feet, ears, feeling up the chin for lumps or such. Dental chins are weighed weekly if not daily.

 

[bnrchins]

I weigh once a week, right before I offer a dust bath. I zero out my scale with the dust house.

I worry that a couple aren't gaining right. Like a 4 month old male that weighs 142g. It's scary when my 5 week old violet weighs 167g.
Also, I got a new scale for Christmas, and I really like using it. )

 

[tunes]

I worry that a couple aren't gaining right. Like a 4 month old male that weighs 142g. It's scary when my 5 week old violet weighs 167g.

By 5 weeks, almost all of my offspring are at or over the 200 mark. The 4 month old has something seriously wrong with it if it weighs only 142 gm.

 

[Stackie]

By 5 weeks, almost all of my offspring are at or over the 200 mark. The 4 month old has something seriously wrong with it if it weighs only 142 gm.

I agree. There is definitely something going on there...

 

[bnrchins]

He has always been small. He stayed with mom for 10 weeks, seeing if he needed help with anything, but nothing.

He eats all the hay you give him, no matter the amount. and tons of pellets. He probably eats more than anyone else, really. I also have been giving him oats and wheat germ. Eats everything, no growth. drinks about 4 oz a day, and poos like a monster.

His mom weighed 850, and his dad 720. He is a puzzle. I was going to place him with one of my standards, but I think is just going to stay a pet.

Attached is my little Blaize. )

Edit: I heard Nutri-Cal for puppies is supposed to help gain weight, but I'm nervous to use it on him.

 

[ticklechin]

Nutrical is not used on chinchillas.

 

[Claire D]

Nutrical is not used on chinchillas.

It is if you're a ChinWorld customer, Dawn - they highly recommend it.

Nutri-Cal is a "high calorie palatable dietary supplement in a low volume form." Nutri-Cal is widely used for pregnant females, youngsters and almost any time a chinchilla is ill.
Nutri-Cal is a clear golden brown substance that has about the same consistency as toothpaste. You can put a small glob on the end of a spoon and a chin will lick it off or you can even feed a chin directly from the tube.

If a chinchilla becomes ill, one of the first things that will happen is that it stops eating. Nutri-Cal is very useful in these situations to help prevent weight loss and weakening referred to as "failure to thrive." Nutri-Cal can be given to smaller "runt" kits to help them catch up with their larger siblings. Basically, it's a very good supplement anytime a chin requires quick nutritional help.

We recommend that Nutri-Cal be included in every chin owner's "chinchilla first aid kit." It keeps very well and is very palatable to chins.

Hint: We know of some chin owners who feed a bit of Nutri-Cal to all of their baby chins. After the babies are grown, if they ever require Nutri-Cal, they will have already developed a taste for it. We don't know whether or not this really works, but it does seem to make sense.

bnrchins I would not use Nutrical. People did give it to poorly chins years ago (as well as Enervite) but that was before better, more specific herbivore products were widely available.



OP does your kit exercise much or use a wheel at all? :hmm:

 

[mishalaa]

I weigh mine once a week when I clean cages. I put them in a show cage, set it on the scale, clean the chin's cage, check the number on the scale and subtract the weight of the show cage, write the weight down in my book, then let the chin back into its cage.

As for the 142g 4 month old, that number is way too low, even if it were a dwarf. 4oz of water per day is a lot for one chin as well. How big of a cage is he in? Is he running around/hyperactive all the time?

 

[starleomach]

The thing with nutrical or other colorie suppliments is it will not fix something that is an underlying problem. Stuffing a chinchilla or any anial with calories because they are small is counter productive it is like saying a skinny person should eat more fries.....Calorie suppliments are more for keeping an animal going while they recover not fattening them up

 

[bnrchins]

I weighed him last night, and he now weighs 183grams. I have no idea what he is doing.

He seems healthy in all aspects. His teeth are good, no gas in his system. He doesn't have a wheel, but has two shelves. He isn't lethargic, but not hyper, either. He is eating everything we feed him.

 

[Stackie]

Just curious..what do his poos look like? What kind of water do you give? Tap, filtered, bottled, etc.?

 

[bnrchins]

They look normal. Not incredibly tiny or odd. I have a Brita filter for the water.

 

[Stackie]

Well just throwing this out there... Brita filters do not filter out microbial cysts (giardia, etc.) that cause parasitic infections in chins. You need at least a PUR stage 2 filter if you want a filter that does in fact filter microbial cysts.

Parasites can cause no symptoms but still be affecting him- if he has an infestation of parasites, they could be robbing him of his nutrients. So, he could be eating all he wants (and even more than what's normal), but not getting the nutrition he needs to grow.

IMO it would be worth taking fresh stool samples to the vet to be tested.

 

[bnrchins]

I'll take him and samples to the vet on my next days off. (four on, four off. switch day and night shift.) Actually, I could just take him. lol.

And with my next day off, also comes a new filter. ) Thank you. I know there has been a lot of debate on which water is best for chins, so I wasn't completely sure.

 

[Whimsy]

If it makes you feel any better...I have a chin that was born here from a rescue who was paired with her brother and pregnant by the time she was only 5 months old. When her kit was finally born, he was very, very tiny and always has been. He's 23 weeks old now and only weighs 375 grams. At 11 weeks, was just barely 200 grams. Little guy is very healthy, just very small.

As for the OP question: I weigh chins monthly, pregnant or suspected pregnant weekly, newborn chins daily until they are 2 weeks old, then weekly thereafter.

 

[Megan]

I do not weigh my chins. I do have a scale, but it is only used if I am handfeeding a kit and need to keep a close eye. Or if someone just makes me curious to see what they weigh, I my plop them on the scale.

Kits I can tell if they are doing well just by observation and knowing what to look for, and the same for my adults. I have a very good understanding of what each cage eats per night, and if the feed is off I know to keep a close eye.

 

[greychins]

Typically, I weigh once a month. If one of the chins is sick or there's a cause for concern, I weigh weekly, or daily if the chin is undergoing treatment or not eating and being handfed.