Fatties...god love 'em

[caiti]

So, after consulting with her previous owner, I've deduced that my Chloe isn't pregnant and just gaining a ton of weight because she's a fatty.

She came to me way in the lower half of the 500's (grams) and she broke 600 grams yesterday (603). I've had her for 2 months. She's gained a good 60-80 grams in the time she's been here apparently and shows no signs of plateauing. She's at a solid 1-2 g/day rate. My god, there's no stopping her.

At the weight she came in (524 or 542, can't remember) I thought it was petite for a chin...is it? She felt skinny and I'm wondering how much weight she will end up putting on...jeeez.

Well, here she is in all her weight-gaining glory.

 

[CJR]

She is GORGEOUS, like seriously. I think she is beautiful.

How old is she? What brand are her pellets? How much of them does she eat daily? How much hay does she eat? What type of treats do you give her? How often?

It is possible that she may be overfed, or it could be that she's just really flourishing in your care. From what I've read and learned here, I've noticed that the more a chin eats, the better they are feeling.

Also I've read on here that, when you hold a chin, you shouldn't be able to feel every vertebrae in their spines and you should just feel their ribs under some padding. If you can feel every bump in their spine and every rib, they need to be fed more. If you can't feel anything, they need to lose some weight.

I have a big girl (780s) and a small girl (low 500s), and they both feel pretty "normal". Chins vary just like people do!

I can't get over how beautiful your Chloe is. I love dark standards.

 

[cindyv3737]

Oh I love your fatty. I want one too! She is lovely.

 

[Olallie]

Aw look she's spilling over the edge!!

 

[caiti]

She is GORGEOUS, like seriously. I think she is beautiful.

How old is she? What brand are her pellets? How much of them does she eat daily? How much hay does she eat? What type of treats do you give her? How often?

It is possible that she may be overfed, or it could be that she's just really flourishing in your care. From what I've read and learned here, I've noticed that the more a chin eats, the better they are feeling.

Also I've read on here that, when you hold a chin, you shouldn't be able to feel every vertebrae in their spines and you should just feel their ribs under some padding. If you can feel every bump in their spine and every rib, they need to be fed more. If you can't feel anything, they need to lose some weight.

I have a big girl (780s) and a small girl (low 500s), and they both feel pretty "normal". Chins vary just like people do!

I can't get over how beautiful your Chloe is. I love dark standards.

She's about 2, maybe a couple months younger (she's a craigslist chin so who really knows). She probably eats about 2 tbsp of Mazuri (she was on Kaytee before) a day. I try not to give her so many treats, probably once every other day. And really that's just to keep her on the scale to weigh her. Oats, a cheerio or two are really her main treats. Some rose hips, if I crush them up. I would like her to eat more hay. She has cubes and loose hay. I find if I give her less pellets, she eats more hay...makes sense.

I may overfeed her, but I know I won't keep doing it. I'm a stickler for people not giving their pets whatever food they want.

I could feel her ribs a lot when I first got her, now she feels a lot better.

Thank you!! I think she's cute, too!!

 

[Stackie]

As long as chins are being fed a high quality chin pellet & timmy hay, they will not become obese from "overeating". I have free-fed my chins in the almost 6 years I've had them and none of them have become overweight. They always have pellets in their bowls and are never limited to what they eat. Many others practice the same feeding procedure. I dump any leftover pellets out in the evening and replace with fresh.

Some chins just hit growing spurts, or she could just still be growing. If you got her and switched her to a better quality chin food, that may be helping her grow more. 524-542 isn't too small for a chin, it's on the smaller side but it's usually not underweight in most cases. Chins are built differently. Some can be 500 grams and be perfectly healthy. I had a chin here who plateaued out at about 480 grams and he was healthy as can be.

Some chins can be 800 grams and look small...some can be 500 and look huge. It is all about their anatomy. I have a 1,000 gram chin here who looks almost the same size as one of my 600 gram chins. The best way to tell if a chin is underweight is by determining if their bones feel prominent through the skin.

Usually chins that are overweight are fed too many treats or a low quality fatty chin pellet that consists of treats or just bad ingredients in general.

 

[Anna]

WOW what a pretty girl!
She looks like my fat male chinchilla Ralphy's twin! Check this out hahaha

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14576

 

[Chinwawa]

What a wonderful expression. Gotta love a fatty.

 

[chinsmom]

She's not a fattie, just beautiful and big-boned!

 

[CJR]

Yeah, I think she's normal or just going through a growth spurt. Good job!!

 

[caiti]

WOW what a pretty girl!
She looks like my fat male chinchilla Ralphy's twin! Check this out hahaha

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14576

haha those pictures really do look similar.