1
Health / Chinchilla weight
« on: April 22, 2007, 08:18:27 AM »
I got my chinchillas on 22nd March, they were kept in poor conditions in a pet shop (which had lost its licence to sell animals!)...after seeing the conditions they were in I had a long talk with the owner and he agreed to sell me the cage for £60...legally he couldnt sell the chins but he got around that my selling me the cage with the chins as a "free" bonus.
There were 6 of them crammed in a cage more suitable to 2, no hiding places, no access to sand and to be honest they stank something awful.
When I got them home I transferred them to 2 4ft aquariums (with wire mesh on top to give adequate ventilation and allow heat to escape). I started learning about them fast via the net...I knew very little, not even how to sex them properly. When I had learned I found out we had 4 females and 2 males, one who was the kit of one of the females (Owner couldnt say which one!). I have no idea of the ages of the adults, the owner didnt know!
Anyway thats the background, I weighed them when I got them as I read that it was the best way to see if a female is pregnant and I guessed at least some would be.
Weights
Female 1 - 623g
Female 2 - 574g
Female 3 - 498g
Female 4 - 649g
Male 1 - 420g
Male 2 - 412g (7 months old)
Female 1 gave birth within a few days of arriving. The kit is doing well and at just over 3 weeks old she is 121g.
I have weighed the adults every week and they have all lost a considerable amount of weight since i got them, despite the fact that they are eating and drinking well.
Weight losses since the first weigh in on 24th March
F 1 - 133g (having given birth)
F 2 - 29g
F 3 - 54g
F 4 - 46g
M 1 - 11g
M 2 - 42g
Some have put back on a little of the weight they lost. My question is...Is this normal weight loss or should I be worried about it?
The food is being eaten, they get dried fruit, oats and locust bean treats once a day, their poop is formed. They are active, running and jumping around and I wondered if maybe this was the casue of the loss...in the shop they spent most of their time just huddled together.
Ive rambled on quite a bit! Sorry!!! Any help would be appreciated as I want to give my new pets the very best.
Helena
There were 6 of them crammed in a cage more suitable to 2, no hiding places, no access to sand and to be honest they stank something awful.
When I got them home I transferred them to 2 4ft aquariums (with wire mesh on top to give adequate ventilation and allow heat to escape). I started learning about them fast via the net...I knew very little, not even how to sex them properly. When I had learned I found out we had 4 females and 2 males, one who was the kit of one of the females (Owner couldnt say which one!). I have no idea of the ages of the adults, the owner didnt know!
Anyway thats the background, I weighed them when I got them as I read that it was the best way to see if a female is pregnant and I guessed at least some would be.
Weights
Female 1 - 623g
Female 2 - 574g
Female 3 - 498g
Female 4 - 649g
Male 1 - 420g
Male 2 - 412g (7 months old)
Female 1 gave birth within a few days of arriving. The kit is doing well and at just over 3 weeks old she is 121g.
I have weighed the adults every week and they have all lost a considerable amount of weight since i got them, despite the fact that they are eating and drinking well.
Weight losses since the first weigh in on 24th March
F 1 - 133g (having given birth)
F 2 - 29g
F 3 - 54g
F 4 - 46g
M 1 - 11g
M 2 - 42g
Some have put back on a little of the weight they lost. My question is...Is this normal weight loss or should I be worried about it?
The food is being eaten, they get dried fruit, oats and locust bean treats once a day, their poop is formed. They are active, running and jumping around and I wondered if maybe this was the casue of the loss...in the shop they spent most of their time just huddled together.
Ive rambled on quite a bit! Sorry!!! Any help would be appreciated as I want to give my new pets the very best.
Helena