Chins Both Losing Weight

[Zahrii]

Ever since I got my chins, they've been losing weight. Due to the timing of their vet visits, I noticed that they lost a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 55 grams per month. When I first had them they weighed somewhere in the 700 gram range, probably above 720 but under 780. That was in the beginning of November. Then they just kept dropping grams from there. The first month wasn't too bad though, maybe a 10-20 gram drop. At the vet today, one of them weighed 722 grams, and the other weighed 692. The 722 chin lost 30 something grams in the past couple weeks or so, the 692 chin stayed the same/not a drastic change like it was in the past I'm pretty sure. They recently got off an anti-fungal medication as well, that was a couple weeks ago and the meds lasted 6 weeks. They also eat, drink, and act normally. They also have two food dishes and get 2tbs of pellets in each once a day.

Now, today I thought of something. Since their past owners weren't very good at caring for them, I doubt they gave them a proper diet as well. I know they had Oxbow Essentials, but they also gave them "chinchilla-safe" cookies that were small, but I have no idea what was in them or how much they got. What if they accidentally made the chins overweight, and now that they have a good diet, they're starting to lose weight? Now, this theory is only possible if I know one thing. What is the average/healthy male chin weight? Is this theory possible considering their weight levels when I first got them, or are they just dropping to an unhealthy weight?

I have another vet visit in a week, so this will be checked out nonetheless. Any advice/thoughts on this would be great.

 

[Amethyst]

If they had a poor diet or junk food snacks it's very possible they were overweight as you suggest, it's very common. Unfortunately what the average weight is for a chin is like asking what the average weight for a human male is. A healthy adult weight for chins can be any were from about 400g to over 1,000g depending on body structure, though most pet chins are around 400-800g.

Has the vet said anything about the weight loss? Also a good way to tell is if you can feel them you should be able to feel ribs under a thin layer of fat, but you shouldn't be able to see them or other bones at all. It's hard to tell without being there in person, can't really tell from pics, so if you are concerned ask your vet about it on your next visit. Since they are acting normal they can probably wait a week, but if they start acting abnormal bring them in sooner.

 

[Zahrii]

If they had a poor diet or junk food snacks it's very possible they were overweight as you suggest, it's very common. Unfortunately what the average weight is for a chin is like asking what the average weight for a human male is. A healthy adult weight for chins can be any were from about 400g to over 1,000g depending on body structure, though most pet chins are around 400-800g.

Has the vet said anything about the weight loss? Also a good way to tell is if you can feel them you should be able to feel ribs under a thin layer of fat, but you shouldn't be able to see them or other bones at all. It's hard to tell without being there in person, can't really tell from pics, so if you are concerned ask your vet about it on your next visit. Since they are acting normal they can probably wait a week, but if they start acting abnormal bring them in sooner.

The vet was questioning their weight loss, so we took them off the meds to see if that helped. I'm sure she'll give me advice next week. Would you say it's a good sign that one of them isn't losing weight as much as he used to the past months? Again, he's the 692 gram chin. Maybe his brother will start to slow down at that weight too. Should I be worried if it ever lowers below 600? That would be a 100+ gram loss..