baby chinchilla weight problem

[ccChalieAndSpruce99chins]

hi i was just wondering what is the healthy or right weight for an almost 2 months old baby chinchilla

my bb chinchilla is going to be 2months old in 2 days
and she weights 291grams.

i was a bit shocked cuz i thought she was suppose to be 250-260 grams at her age. she eats a lot and she grows really fast.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Baby weights aren't always the same. Usually my single litter babies are closer to 300g at 2 months because they get ALL of mom's milk to themselves. My babies from multiple litters usually average 200-240g when I wean them.

Lea is a healthy weight for her age.

 

[ccChalieAndSpruce99chins]

whewww.. relieved

i thought my scale was broken!

i feel so much better now

thanks Tabitha

 

[ccChalieAndSpruce99chins]

 

[EMSChins]

Every chinchilla grows at their own rate - there is no set weight for a two month old chinchilla. It depends on diet, genetics, environment, treats, stress, activity level and many other factors.

I keep weights on all of my chins and my "average" for an 8 week old baby is 279 gms, but I have everything ranging from 220 gms as my smallest handfed baby from a set of triplets to a 375 gm whopper single birth. They were all healthy, happy chinchillas. As long as your baby is steadily gaining and not being fed a junk diet, it is probably doing just fine.

 

[Snickers]

Like everyone already said they grow at their own rate. I have a 3 month old that is
465 grs but his dad is large.

 

[addictedtochins]

She is beautiful!

 

[ccChalieAndSpruce99chins]

Hi. EMSchins
what do you mean by junk diet?
i used to feed my chinchillas mazuri, but they were losing weight
so i asked a lady at the chin show and she told me she fed her chins purina rabbit show she said it was a rabbit diet but its okay for chinchillas,
so i bought 15 pounds of purina rabbit show mix from a lady named Pam.
my chinchillas gained a lot of weight and they really loveeeeee it

i also give them treats, i use to give my baby chinchilla papaya daily but someone on this forum told me i wasnt suppose to give them treats until they are 6 months old
but they are just too cute, so i give them treats weekly.

fresh timothy hay(oxbow brand) 24/7 for sure

 

[EMSChins]

Purina Rabbit is fine for chins as is Manna Pro and Sho, many chin owners and breeders feed rabbit pellets to their chins without any problems. Mazuri, Tradition and Oxbow are the more widely used chinchilla pellets. Everyone has their own favorite for their own reason.

By junk diet I mean a pellet with a lot of treats mixed into it (thinking Charlie Chin at the moment but there are many) and a lot of side treats. Any fruit is a definite no-no as it contains sugar and chins have trouble processing sugars. Nuts are also a no-no as they cannot process fats and are damaging to the liver and cause weight gain. Generally accepted treats are half of a small shredded wheat (no sugar), a cheerio or a pinch of whole oats (not quick cooking), also rosehips or safe wood chews, apple twigs are generally a favorite.

You were correct in being told that no chin under the age of 6 months should not be fed treats as they need all of their calories to be come from a high quality pellet. Playtime also should be limited for chins under 6 months of age to conserve energy for growing as they generally do not know when to limit themselves.

 

[Snickers]

I'm the one that she asked and I also gave her some to try out. I'm glad your chin is gaining weight on it.