Kinda fat, yet hyper chinchilla??

[Senkovi]

So I have had my female white wilson, Mochi, for almost a year now (DOB: 4/20/12) and my boyfriend and I continue to be confused. She has tons of energy, runs on her chinspin wheel many times every day, is fed the recommended amount of Oxbow chinchilla deluxe pellets and Kaytee timothy hay, but still is kinda fat.. :| She does not get treats much either. She fortunately doesn't seem to have armpit fat rolls, but when she is held, her abdomen always feels completely full. And no, she is not pregnant. She has been like this for months. Much longer than the gestation period even. When she was under a year old, I thought I was maybe overfeeding her, so I became strict with her pellet amount, but nothing seems to change for better or worse. I have another chin who i've had for about 5 years now, but caged separately, and he feels nothing like this and even free-feeds. @_@

Does anyone know why she would be like this? And is this normal? She is rather different than I'm used to. Thank you.

 

[MyzarandGemma]

Could you post a picture and her weight?

 

[ljiayi]

It might just be a genetic thing. The parents are probably blocky fellas as well, leading to their offsprings to be the same as them.

How's her poo? Regular?

 

[becky12883]

Chins come in many different sizes, much like people. You can't compare one to the other to know what is a healthy weight for them. If she is eating, drinking, peeing, pooping and not lethargic, it's probably just the way she is. I have 3 boys, the smallest is 450 grams and the largest is 800 grams and the other is 500 grams. Honestly, unless there are other symptoms, I don't think there is anything wrong. You don't have to limit pellets either, animals eat when they are hungry, not for emotional reasons like people do. She shouldn't over eat.

 

[AZChins]

I have a few chins that are well over 1000 grams and they are pretty chunky. They get plenty of exercise and are very active...they're just larger chins and carry more weight on them than the others. It definitely could be genetics. Restricting pellets usually doesn't do that much to get chins to lose weight. Chins that are obese because of being fed too many treats will naturally lose weight when their treats are reduced, but chins that are just big chubby chins usually just stay at the same weight. If the weight is stable and not going up or down, that's usually best. Most of the time it seems like people have a harder time keeping weight on certain chins than chins holding onto a little extra body weight (whether it be fat or muscle weight.)

 

[Senkovi]

Thank you for the replies. I feel a little bit better.. But is it normal for the stomach to always feel so full? I've accidentally squished her middle by mistake a few times and she's squeaked. It wasn't even that hard. D:

Also, yes, she poops up a storm of normal poops. Drinks, eats, and pees normally as well. Is a heavy sleeper sometimes though, which is strange.

I will be trying to weigh her though. I need to acquire a scale first. Thank you again.

 

[MyzarandGemma]

A scale is a great idea. Sometimes you don't know your chin is sick until you see their weight has dropped. I weigh mine every Sunday night at the same time and encourage you to weigh weekly as well.

 

[Brittany]

I agree 100% with AZChins, completely normal. I would go back to free feeding her as well. She may gain a little weight if you've been restricting her pellets for awhile, but she'll level off. Also, I have 2 boys that are almost 2 years old. While their growth has tapered quite a bit they are still gaining a little weight.

I weigh my chins once a month, and keep track on an excel spread sheet. It's best to weigh at the same time of day (morning, night, etc) to get the most accurate reading. A little fluctuation is no big deal, but a drastic decrease, or steady decrease over a period of time can be indications of illness.

 

[Senkovi]

I probably should have specified earlier, but as far as her feeding goes, I've just been following what the bag suggests, which is 1/8 cup of pellets and unlimited timothy hay daily. She doesn't always eat all of her pellets though. That was adding to my confusion about her weight. Lol

What kind of scale should I get?

 

[mknoblich1]

I got a kitchen scale from bed bath and beyond. All you need is a scale that measures in grams and can zero itself out if you put a bowl or container to hold your chinchilla. I weigh my girls every week.

 

[Bovril]

she's not going to overeat her pellets--I fill my boy's bowl when he empties it, which takes 2-3 days. normally. Not like a dog, who will eat all his food at once no matter how much you give.

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

Any brand is fine as long as you can zero/tare it and it's a digital one. Digital is the most accurate and easiest to use since chinchillas weigh so little compared to other things those scales are used for. Walmart, home stores, shoppers drug mart, etc. all carry them

 

[JamaisVu]

Hi everyone. Sorry to Senkovi to intrude on your thread, but I have a chin that is very much the same.

The vets told me she was too big and said she should lose some weight and try to switch her to mostly hay and few to no pellets. However, this is a chin that LOVES hay. She'll take it over pellets any day. She gets tons of running time on her wheel every day, and I try to take her out to play daily (in which she'll run and jump until she's ready for a nap). I feel bad limiting the amount of pellets because I don't think she's overeating at all.

I have her caged with another chin (a boy, neutered, so no she's not pregnant) who far prefers the pellets, and who's usually not as keen to running, but he's nowhere near her size.

I normally would dismiss it, but since the vets recommended her to lose weight I feel a bit confused on what to do.

 

[Senkovi]

@ Everyone - Thank you all for the advice!! You have been very helpful. I am glad I thought to come here and ask. I have not gotten the time to shop for a scale, but I just wanted to say my thanks. X3

@ JamaisVu - It's okay! I do not mind at all. I understand the concern for the situation. I may not be able to offer much advice aside from what was suggested to me, but I think I would get a 2nd opinion about that, vet-wise. That sounds awfully conflicting with what these guys (or gals!) are saying..

 

[ticklechin]

I had a 1100gm chin who was on pellets and hay only, the vet told me he was flirting with being fat, she held him up, legs off the ground and circled her fingers under his arm pits and if his flesh and fat draped over her fingers he was fat, he did a little bit. She did not recommend anything to change though.

 

[LillyChu]

I also thought one of my chins was to fat.
So now I downloaded this app called "The Chart Maker" and you really can track it so good with that app, I really recommend it.
My one year old chin is 622 grams and my 2 month old is 361 grams, so now I just weigh them every monday and put a new Value under the chins name.
So now I have a perfect chart =]

Hope this may help!