wondering on Rhino's weight

[ChinnyMom]

hey all, i hope i've posted this in the right section )

i picked up a kitchen scale the other day. it's not a digital one but it is accurate.

got Rhino to hop on the scale and he sort of sat still long enough for the needle to wiggle between 500 and 525 grams.

i've been told that he is a year old, but he does look a bit small 'for his age' i think.

since weighing him, i've cut down play times to every second night, and only an hour each time at the most. he doesn't have a wheel in his cage either, and is quite placid and doesn't do a whole lot of bouncing around when in his cage, but really gets going during play time ).

he has lots of timothy hay in his cage all the time, with a bit of botanical mixed in, and is free fed oxbow pellets. his dish fits a big handful of pellets and i refill it at least every second day, more often if it's empty. he gets one treat just about each day (rosehips, shredded wheat, chin cookie bits from camphor). he's a good eater!

am i worrying needlessly about what i think is a low weight for Rhino?

 

[threewingedfury]

Some chins won't get over 500g, it just depends on their genetics. Chins come in all shapes and sizes and many are perfectly normal at that weight. There's no assigned weight by age, because all chins grow at different rates. No need to be concerned

 

[ChinnyMom]

i just thought it seemed low. good to know. thanks )

 

[Ronda]

500 grams was common in the 50s and 60s. That's what the weight was of the chins that the ranchers were breeding. The breed has developed to around double or more since that time. If you are in breeding you don't necessarily want a large animal because they tend to be slow or non-breeders. A pet just needs to be loved and taken care of. Give him back his nightly play time because it's not what is making him small. You may even be surprised as some animals have a growing spurt around 18 months of age.

The main thing is having fun with your chin.

Ronda

 

[Tagna]

I would try to get a digital scale. They are so much more accurate. It's normal for a chin to drop weight when they are a rescue and have come into another new home. If he was getting a crappy pellet and unsafe treats that will cause him to drop too.

Then they level out and start to gain. I would weigh him monthly so you get an idea if he's going up or down. What pellets is he on?

 

[Pikaia]

My Chichi is pretty small- about the same size as Rhino. As others have said, some are just smaller than others. Don't worry about it. You should invest in a digital scale and that way you can monitor his weight. It can be a good indication of illness, since chins hide their illnesses so well (prey animal).

 

[StevieP]

I would only be concerned if he used to weigh more and dropped to 525, which you probably have no way of knowing. Or if you can feel his spine or ribs poking out. Even then since he is eating well, all you can do it keep feeding him good like you are and see what his weight does.

 

[ticklechin]

If the proportions are right he is just a small chin.

 

[Mikayla]

My baby is 6 and barely hits 500 grams Have fun with your new baby!

 

[ChinnyMom]

he was on Oxbow before i got him, so there was no crap food involved. he is on Oxbow currently. don't know what treats he was getting before though. not sure if i would call him a recent rescue, since he'd been living with a foster lady for a little while that was fairly chin competent, and was treated pretty good.

when i hold him/pick him up he feels 'well fleshed' enough, and i can't feel his spine or ribs. he poops like a machine! lol. i've taken to sweeping up poops during the day and then giving the cage a wipe down and litter pan change just about every night - don't have fleece liners for the bottom yet (sewing machine broken, dagnabit!), so leftover dust in his coat tends to go everywhere and the blue metal pan looks pretty grey sometimes, lol. he was so enthusiastic about his dust bath the other night, he almost looked like a super light sapphire after, lol!

i'm not planning on getting a digital scale, the one i have is pretty good- stainless steel bowl that is plenty big enough for him to sit in, and it has an adjustment option to tare the scale back to zero after the bowl is put on it. it is accurate. in the store i tested it with a couple of 200 gram packages of ice cream wafer cookies, lol, and it came out exact weight. after i got it home i tested it with a number of different things around the house that i knew the weights on, and accurate every time. i can also take it apart for cleaning if dust gets in it.

i plan to weigh him at least once a month, maybe a bit more often in the next couple months, just to see if he gains or not. he likes to explore the scale, lol.

thanks everyone, for assuring me he isn't a scrawny lil furbutt )