Clues indicating good nutrition?

[Asha]

About two weeks ago, I met a lady at the pet store who wanted me to adopt her chin because she had developed severe allergies. Long story short, I ended up taking him home of course! His name is Mr. Poe. Upon first visiting Mr. Poe, I noticed how big he seemed to be! Very blocky build and robust. He seemed sooo much bigger than any of my other chins. I weighed him just the other day to find that he actually only weighs about 770g. When I first saw him I was like "whoa, that's the biggest chin I've ever seen in real life!". He was just so round! I've had him for a full week now.

Here is my problem.....When I look at his body build, and I look at my other chins' bodies, my other chins now look, well, kind of "scrawny"? I'm not quite sure how to describe it. Two of my chins have always been kind of small (around 450g), but now they look very small and almost malnourished to me. Almost on the "bone-y" side compared to big Mr. Poe.

I have fed Mazuri feed for over a year's time now. Before that, I was using Purina but had to stop because my local feed stores would not order it for me. It was getting more difficult to find and I did not want to rely on ordering it though other people. I chose Mazuri because its recommended on here and was more cost effective for me compared to other brands. I also liked that I could order directly from them. I know alot of our members like Mazuri, but some do not.

What I would like to know is what other clues can I look for in my chins that will indicate that they are getting adequate nutrition besides weight? None of my chins have had any major weight fluctuations, poos are normal, drinking is normal, activity levels all normal. What confuses me is that Mr. Poe looks so blocky and healthy yet he came with a low quality pellet complete with unsafe treats, and had been fed that his entire life so far. He looks big and healthy, but has been essentially eating junk food. Then, I have the rest of my chins, who have been fed good quality food and yet some of them look kinda small. Perhaps I am totally over thinking this matter, and that some of my chins are just naturally smaller? Maybe I'm just not used to seeing a chubby chin like Mr. Poe?

Thoughts?

 

[Amethyst]

From what I've seen and also read on this forum size, weight, and body type varies from chinchilla line to chinchilla line. As I've told people before it's kind of like asking what is the normal size for a human, or in your case why is this one bigger then these ones. It all comes down to genetics, some weigh as little as 400g others over 1,000g, average is 500-800 I think. I'd say so long as the others are acting normal, eating, pooping, aren't being restricted on food, you can't easily feel or see bones and not loosing weight then they are probably just naturally smaller. If you want to see some really large bulky chins take a look at some of the show chinchillas some have fat rolls, lol.

 

[Asha]

Thank you for the info! Mostly I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't a nutritional issue since that was the only common denominator that I could think of. I free feed and give fresh hay each day which made things even more puzzling to me as to why they might look smaller because they eat alot!

I do have another question though. Two of my chins, one male and one female both seem to have that humpback thing going on. This was that kinda "bone-y" look I was referring to. The male I received from a girl who had originally obtained him from a local pet store here. The female I received from these two college guys who bought her as an impulse buy. I think its probably safe to say both of these chins genetic origins aren't likely from a quality source breeding wise. So, my question is, is humpback genetic in any way? I've read here that it can be corrected through nutrition. Mostly, I see this bump on their backs when they are sitting at a certain angle. You can feel it a bit on both of them if you pay attention. They both eat alot though, and I have kept an eye on it for the last couple years that I've had them. Its never really gone away, perhaps this is their natural bone structure due to poor nutrition as kits? Both came to me with a full bag of junk food and raisins.

Mostly I'm glad to know that chins come in a wide range of body types! Most of my chins are similar in size/weight so seeing Mr. Poe was a surprise. Just wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything I was doing incorrectly here.

 

[AZChins]

I agree, he's probably just a bigger chin. Also, he may be a more overweight chin. Sometimes I have some very obese chins come into rescue. People assume that they are healthy, but you can have a chin that is round and robust looking be as malnourished as a scrawny one. He may not have gotten a lot of exercise, he may have been given way too many treats. Then again, he could just be that way.

You may be surprised to see how he may gain or lose weight in the next month or two. Sometimes chins that are really fat will start to gain muscle and not really lose much fat and actually go up in weight...this is not a bad thing. Of course, some chins will lose weight on a healthy diet without as many treats. I wonder what will happen with Mr. Poe!

I wouldn't worry about your other two chins. Sometimes they are just smaller or their fur isn't as dense, it doesn't mean much regarding health. You want nice bright orange teeth and good droppings. It's good when they are more attractive looking and round and a little pudgy and pretty, but health is more about what's on the inside.

I have this little rescue guy that is now over 16 years old. If you looked at him, you would think that he was unhealthy. He's scrawny, his fur isn't great at all. He has looked the same for the last five years since he came here! Not all that many chins make it to 16 years of age...when they do, especially when they haven't been cared for very well, it shows that there are some very robust little critters there! Beauty is one thing, but health and longevity can be much more important to pet owners.

 

[Asha]

Thank you Amethyst and Susan! I feel much better now! I will definitely be interested to see how Mr. Poe does over the next couple of months.

So glad my two chins I was concerned about are ok. Def helpful to know/be reminded that health is more about what's on the inside and not based on appearances. I love my chinnies the way they are, but of course want to do whats best for them!

 

[becky12883]

If your chins were people, Mr.Poe would likely be obese and your others probably a healthy weight. Someone once compared the junk food that chins get (like Kaytee) to eating McDonald's everyday, where healthy food (like Mazuri) is a well balanced meal everyday. If people eat McDonald's everyday they would get fat, have clogged arteries, high blood pressure and would be generally unhealthy.

I'll be looking forward to updates to see how Mr. Poe progresses. I'm going to guess he'll lose weight.