Chin too thin?? Please help!

[Swool17]

Okay so I have a lot of chinchillas. Backstory, we adopted two chinchillas who had not been cared for properly by either sets of previous owners. (Yes, these poor babies have had two different sets of bad past owners. This is why I took them immediately) All we knew about them was that 1 of them was 1 year-old, the other was almost 2 years old. They were not related, and they were both males and caged together.

Two weeks later. One of my "males" popped out two babies while we were asleep. I woke up to baby chinchillas, and frantically read how to care for them, the mother and what to do with the father.

We bought a second cage and removed the dad (he has since remained removed) The mom was fine, the babies were fine. Everything was great.

Flash forward 4 months.
The mom had another two babies, which we assumed might happen, because we had no idea she was pregnant the first time, and didn't remove the male until she gave birth. (Because we were told by BOTH previous owners that that were both MALES and we'd never had a chinchilla before to even know how to gender them. But this time we were prepared cuz we knew there was a chance of this happening)

So now heres where I'm at. My mother chinchilla is super active, her second set of babies are 5 weeks old to the day, and both healthy. Everyone is eating pellets. Momma drinks lots of water. Mommas poops are normal. Not super hard, not super soft, no runny poos. No runny nose. No coughing. No wheezing or sneezing. Her and her babies Get fed 2 times daily, 1/4 a cup of pellets. Taking regular dust baths happily, coming out for snuggles, climbing all over her cage. But I noticed today momma seemed like she had kind of a.. Well.. A humpback? When she sat up on her back feets to eat a treat, I kinda saw it. And I thought that was a little strange. So I picked her up (she loves snuggles so she didn't object to that) and felt her, and she feels kinda skinny? Not like RIDICULOUS skinny. And she's eating twice a day (I sit and WATCH them eat because I'm an overprotective momma) and she's eating as much as she always has. But upon feeling her back and her bones and sides to see if she was swollen or losing weight or if she seemed to be "different" in any way since I last picked her up a couple days ago, I noticed that I could feel her spine up on her kneck pretty defined.

And like a good mom (or an idiot, not sure which) I started googling like crazy to see if this is normal. And what "normal" is. And of course, I saw all kinds of horror stories of chins being too thin and it turns out to be a crazy disease and they die, and I just need some real good advice and a point in the right direction before Google gets my anxiety in a knott.

I put her on a gram scale, but she was NOT fond of it, and kept hopping off before it could get a good reading of her actual weight. But I did manage to get some pics of the "hump" I'm talking about when she sits up, and her body weight.

Also, she's never been HUGE except when she was pregnant. So that's why I'm not sure what to think. Any info would be greatly appreciated! (Also a peep at her babies)

 

[Amethyst]

The humped back is a common sign of malnutrition, it's very likely caused by having back to back litters, assuming you are feeding a proper diet. She is literally giving everything her body has to give to her kits. You didn't mention what kind of hay you are feeding or how much they are eating. Are you feeding alfalfa hay or any hay at all in addition to the pellets? Kits under 6 months, as well as pregnant and nursing females need to have unlimited alfalfa based pellets and unlimited alfalfa hay. You should feed some timothy hay too, but the alfalfa hay has the extra calcium and protein the mother needs for making milk and the kits need for growing. If you are already feeding alfalfa, adding doesn't help, or she starts showing any signs of illness I would get her to the vet to make sure nothing else is wrong.

One trick to getting a weight on chins is to put them in a bowl on the scale, and hand them a treat to get them to stand still for a second. You can even get a small box, tare the weight of the box, and then put the chin inside and close it up so you can weigh. Digital scales are also best to use if you aren't already, since they give you a number right away.

 

[Swool17]

Thank you for the info! What all signs should I be watching for that are illness? Im aware of watching for runny poos, sneezing, wheezing, coughing, laying down on the side, bumblefoot signs, and the other normal signs. But is there anything else I should watch for?

She gets the Timothy hay on the side besides her chinchilla pellets, and she gets her treats once every day too. (A craisin or an apple wood stick because those are the only two treats she likes. She's a picky eater) but in can switch to alfalfa if that's better for her? These are the first chinchillas I've ever had and we only took them on the rescue situation because we knew we would at least provide more attention, and would look into how to care for them better than their past owners, as we have way more time for them in our daily lives than the past owners did.

Also, is there a quick trick to getting chinnys to gain weight? Or is there anything else I can/should feed them specifically besides the alfalfa/Timothy hay, and pellets? Also, another big question, once I start adding alfalfa unlimited to her cage.. How long should I wait to see results before I should take her to a vet? Her and both litters of kits have all been VERY active and healthy up until she started showing the hump back this week. So I'd have to assume you're probably right about the back to back litters causing the malnutrition from nursing. So is there a time frame for when I should see results or take her in to a vet?

Thank you so much for responding! I really want to learn as much as possible to give all our chins the best lives they can have!

 

[Swool17]

UPDATE: I bought a big bag of alfalfa hay for them, and a drop feeder for them so they can have access to as much pellets as they want. Plus new stick chews and mineral block for their teeth. Hoping this does good for them! Momma is very excited and has been eating alfalfa hay nonstop for 10 minutes. And babies have discovered that they can climb over and under the feeder of course. Lol!

 

[Amethyst]

I would stop giving crasins, chins should not have any fruits and veggies, they can't handle the sugar so it can lead to liver and kidney failure, and diabetes. The mineral wheel is also not safe, the extra salt can cause issues and the pellets should already contain all the minerals the chins need. Here is a list of safe treats,

Apple Blossom
Bee Pollen (small pinch per week)
Blessed Thistle
Cactus Flower
Calendula
Carnation
Chamomile
Whole Dandelion (flower, stem, leaves, root)
Goji Berry (max 1x per month)
Hawthorne Berry
Hawthorne Leaf
Hibiscus
Honeysuckle
Jasmine
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Mallow
Marigold
Marshmallow Root
Milk Thistle
Mint
Nasturtiums
Oat Grout
Peony
Peppermint
Plain Cheerios (moderation)
Plain Shredded Wheat (moderation)
Poplar Buds
Purple Clover
Raspberry Leaves
Oats (moderation)
Rose Buds
Rose Petals
Rose Hips

It sounds like you already are on the look out for most signs of illness. You might not see much improvement until after the kits are weaned, but if you can keep a weight on her you can at least make sure she isn't losing anymore weight. You don't want to add weight on too fast, so don't expect to see too much change for at least a couple weeks. You can try hand feeding critical care, or even try making "cookies" out of it to give as treats by mixing some up into a thick paste and baking it until it's hardened. It's recovery food, but is also a good way to help increase weight. Fuzzies Kingdom also has a few different supplement forumlas, like one for nursing, as well as one for weight gain if you want to look into those.

 

[Swool17]

Oh okay, I thought from everything I've seen they were allowed to have craisins, but only in tiny moderation. (Only 10% or less of their diet is what everything online said. But. You know how non-helpful google can be sometimes. I'd definitely trust your judgement there) also I had no idea about the mineral wheel. I just was told to get them to help their teeth grind down so they don't have overgrown teeth. Will the sticks do well enough for that? I'll definitely check out the rest of the ideas you mentioned about the baking treats and the fuzzies kingdoms formulas! Also omg thank you SO MUCH for the list of treats. That was something I've been struggling with finding any TRUE info on. I've read SO many conflicting articles and forums on that.

 

[Zahrii]

To help make sure their teeth is ground down well, you can give them natural pumice stone along with the sticks. Most chins I've seen prefer broken up pumice pieces over whole stones, so that's also something to note. Forever Feisty Chinchilla has natural pumice, and you can ask for it to be broken up. (https://www.foreverfeistychinchilla.org/store-toys.html) Just scroll to near the bottom of the page to find the pumice, they have a long list of toys.

 

[Swool17]

Oh wonderful! I'll get some of that after payday tomorrow. Also while I'm on the topic of what all is good for them. I've read on other forums that bagbalm once a week for the feets is good for them correct? To protect against bumblefoot? As well as giving them resting spots in the cage like fleece, granite, cardboard or wood? (Chinchilla friendly wood of course) I have the antipill fleece or whatever was reccomended on that other forum, and granite in for resting spots. And everyone gets bagbalm on their little feet every other week, (or more often if I see their feet cracking or dry at all.)

 

[Zahrii]

I'm honestly not completely sure, but I would say the balm once a week or how often you apply it should be good. It depends on how dry the area they're in is. Be careful about cardboard though, as if it's swallowed it can expand in the chin. Some chins just tear it up, some chins swallow it. I don't give my boys any cardboard even if it comes with a toy just to be safe. Granite is good, but depending on where it is placed the chins may pee on it and it'll start to be absorbed. Ceramic tile is probably better, as it has the same cooling properties of granite, is still chin-safe, and doesn't absorb urine. Adorable profile pic by the way.

 

[Swool17]

Haha thanks about the profile pic! Those are the current babies I have haha! I just love them so much.

I had no idea about the granite. I'll switch to tile for sure. That's easily gotten at lowes or online. Also, I'll be sure not to use the cardboard then. That was told to me by someone who owned them and I figured they'd shred it so I did the fleece and granite instead since I prefer they don't shred things. My two adult chins like to shred things.... And then throw them out the cage and onto the ground
Seriously thanks for all the info. Like. I've been LOST without more experienced chinny owners/breeders. We have hardly anyone in my area who knows anything about them. And Google just isnt the same as talking to actual experienced humans. Lol!

 

[Zahrii]

No problem! If you have anymore questions, there's a chance I'll be able to provide answers. I'm a pretty new chin owner too, only having my two boys for about three months now. I'm also new to exotic pets in general, but if I'm certain about an answer to a question I'll be sure to answer it. I totally understand the Google part, I've spammed this poor forum with multitudes of questions in the beginning of my chinnie adventure, haha.