Small kit

[KujoSutefanii]

So my chinchilla had her kits May 22nd. The male, Crease, is doing great. At a little over a month he's around 140 grams. Sugar on the other hand is very small at 84 grams. At birth they weighed almost the same thing.

She looks incredibly small compared to her brother. When I noticed her weight gain being so slow, I right away started to supplement her with a goat milk formula. Mom is making more than enough milk and I know for a fact that she's eating. However she remains small but isn't skinny either; her body is just tiny. She's active and plays, runs, climbs. She looks very healthy too.

Her walk is a little funny, and her ears are still very small and against her head while her brother's sticks out more like the adults.

Should I assume that she's just a small chinchilla or that she might be a dwarf?

The pictures are from about a week ago. She weighed about 60-70 grams when taken. She hasn't changed much feature wise.

 

[mknoblich1]

Wow, that's a big size difference between the two. They're both equally cute though!

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

She will probably do just fine. I would remove the big kit for a few hours a day so the little kit has more mom time.

 

[KujoSutefanii]

I've been doing that now and then. I'm assuming she'll be fine since she's very healthy and energetic. She's with mom right now and her brother is with me.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Oh, man, I love little runtie chins!!! She's adorable and her brother is cute, too!!!

 

[Newt]

they're both such cuties!!

 

[Zoaea]

Awww seeing a hand full of baby chin is so cute. As long as she is growing I wouldn't worry too much, but if she is still small at 8 weeks you might want to keep her with mom after you wean the boy. I think to see if she is a dwarf it might take more time, but I think it would be more common for a runtie chin thats growing slow over dwarfisim.

 

[KujoSutefanii]

I'm not 100% sure what's going on with her but whatever. As long as she's healthy it's all that matters. She's a chub little thing and has crazy energy. I'll just have to keep her a little longer in hopes that she gets bigger.

 

[halfstache]

Dwarfism is supposed to be a recessive trait from what I understand. So unless the parents are dwarfs or dwarf carriers then it is unlikely she is a dwarf. The ones that I have that I suspect of being dwarfs started off with low birth weights and did not gain weight at all for a very long time. My one survivor, Flint, was born at just 37 grams. That was back at the very end of December. Now he is 5 months old and still only weighs 327 grams. His father grew to about 400 grams by the age of four months and now he's over a year old and still only weighs 430 grams (which is the highest his weight has ever been. he's actually gained 30 grams since I stuck him in a cage with a flying saucer. maybe more exercise is equating weight gain) Anyhow with your weights what they are, and the fact that they are only a week and a half old, I think it's too soon to say for sure. But I do think that the most likely scenario is that she is just a bit on the smaller side and may be slower to grow. So long as your seeing weight gains and not loses then she is on the right track. Actually, the other one being already up to 140 is pretty impressive. I can't say that I've ever had a kit grow to that size in only a week and a half. Maybe. But I'd have to check my records to be sure.

 

[lilchinchilla]

Not necessarily will it be mentioned if there is dwarf in the background on the pedigree or not.
Since it is recessive, it can go unnoticed for generations until you happen to breed two dwarf carriers together. I've had it happen in the past, and it was several generations back on only one of the chin's pedigrees where a dwarf carrier was mentioned. The other chin had no mention of dwarfism in the lines and both pedigrees went back for several generations.

With kits, it is too hard to tell if they are dwarves, this early in age, or runts. Usually with dwarves, they stop growing between 4 - 6 months of age and stay the same size. They also have an odd head shape compared to runts or normal babies.
Usually while they are growing up - till the age of 4 - 6 months, they are the same weight or size as other babies their age.
With runts however, they can be smaller than other babies their age, but will continue to put on weight and grow after the age of 4 - 6 months.

A good website to learn more about dwarves, is: http://www.spoiledchins.net/dwarf_chinchillas.htm This breeder used to breed for dwarves specifically.

 

[KujoSutefanii]

I'll just have to wait and see. I'm planning on keeping her for a while anyway so I'll see what happens as she ages. For now she's as crazy and energetic as ever c: A very cuddly baby.

 

[Chinzilla]

I have a little beige male named Felix, who remained very tiny for a very long time and stopped growing when he was about 12 days old. I started supplementing him with a goat's milk formula, when I noticed he wasn't growing like his sister was.

In comparison, the size difference was a bit more drastic then with your two. But, he showed no other signs of illness or other health issues. He is now four months old and has since caught up with his sister in size and is a normal size for a chinchilla his age.

I had initially thought he may have been a dwarf, but have since come to the conclusion that he was just a runt (and the sweetest boy in the world).

 

[KujoSutefanii]

I see. I guess he's the same as much Sugar. c:

Sugar is now, today, 97 grams at 6 weeks. She's growing slowly but surely. Her brother is a big 179 grams.

 

[seachin]

She's just a little runt, but she may catch up later on. I agree you should continue rotating them as it would seem the bigger kit is on the buttermilk nipple.

 

[KujoSutefanii]

Alright well she's doing well. At almost 11 weeks, she's around 150 grams. She's eating and drinking well on her own. She seemed to have weaned herself really and just happily moved on to food. The size difference is still insane however she is growing. Slowly but surely. c: She's still very healthy with a nice round belly. She has crazy energy and runs around and plays. I still keep a close eye on her just in case however things are going well.

 

[KujoSutefanii]

She is officially 3 months old today and weighs 176 grams. She's eating very well and is still slowly gaining weight. Just in case people wanted to know how she was doing.

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

Thanks for the update! What a delightful wee chin

 

[JaneNJoeyChin]

I love Sugar! I hope all is well in the future.