way to get my chin to weigh more?

[Barkingback]

I have a trio of chins, and they have been together all of their lives as far as I know (they were in a neglectful home which is why I have them now), but one seems unusually small. I am not sure how much he weighs, but I was told he was 3 or 4 years old, but I can feel his ribs more than all of my other chinchillas.

I know his teeth are good, and i see him eat, but I am not sure how to get him to gain a little bit because he is so fine boned compared to the others. I have read somewhere that too many grains can make chins loose weight, so I don't give him any treats (I just give a little bit of rolled oats not even once a week to the others). But is there something I can do to make him eat more?

And I am not sure if other information would be helpful to anyone, but I never see my chins argue with each other, and all of the droppings in their cage look normal...hopefully this isn't something I should worry about but he is the littlest chinchilla that I have ever seen so hopefully he's just small boned. I've had him for less than a year, probably about 8 months, and I even put them in a larger cage but he is still pretty small

I thought his neglectful situation might have made him not want to eat much because his cage was on the floor and the owners had two large dogs, but his life is much better but he has not grown...Do you think his growth might have been stunted due to improper nutrition? They didn't give them hay for months, and so they only had rabbit food and cheerios, and no baths.

 

[Chintastic!]

Do you have multiple bowls of food in the cage? Sometimes when there are more than one living together, no matter how long they have been together, they will become territorial of their food. You may want to try adding another bowl or two so they each have their own. What feed are you currently useing?

Have you had his teeth evaluated by a vet? You cannot see the cheek teeth without a scope. It could be that they are overgrown from his neglectful situation and are causing him pain when he eats. Do they get lots of wood and chew toys?

 

[Barkingback]

alright, I will put in another food dish right away! thanks for the advice, I will see if that helps and if not I will take him to see a vet.

and I give them the "kabobs" with pieces of wood on them from the petstore, and apple wood and lava blocks alot and I let them chew on cardboard while they are playing in their playpen, and I am ordering more chinchilla toys that they can chew on (like a variety of fruit tree sticks, and toys made of willow vine i think...its from TJs Chinchilla Supplies).

Thanks again for the advice, I hope that two dishes and even more chew toys will do the trick for him.