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[vcchinchilla]

I recently bought a chinchilla from a pet shop.. I know we're all suppose to buy from a breeder but I couldn't resist! I always go in to have a look and hold and pet one but this one just completely stole my heart, I was not willing to let this one go for some reason.

they told me when I got him he's about a month and 2 weeks old now he is almost 2 months old now

I personally think he's way to young to be by himself...

anyhow.. when I got him I thought he was ridiculously skinny and tiny now that I've had him for 2weeks he's gain weight and looks ALOT bigger then 2 weeks ago (thank god)

what worries me is him not eating his food, I bought him Mazuri pellets , I give him enough for two days and then refill ......how ever when it comes time to refill i have a pile powdered pellets in his dish.

I dont even know if he's eating it, he's getting fatter and bigger
would that mean he's just eating hay or hay and pellets?

I'm attempting to give him more chew toys but he sometimes only sometimes chew on it

two weeks ago i had a smaller cage for him (because he could fit through the bars of bigger cage i got him later on)he didn't even chew on the bars, I practically have a new cage with no chipped paint or anything

he's got several apple sticks, lava rock ledges, wooden house and wood shelves to bite on, he does chew on them sometimes
i'm very surprised he doesn't chew and destroy everything like my last chinchilla (he chewed on his cage like someones plucking at their guitar strings)

i check his teeth often, they're even ....top is shorter then the bottom nice yellow orange

should i be a worried??


thanks in advance
worried mommy
=(

just in case you wanted to see him =P
http://crazisilverangel.blogspot.com/2011/05/mei-mei.html
http://crazisilverangel.blogspot.com/2011/06/mei-mei.html

[jmdebb]

oh what a cutie.  i have a suggestion, and that is to get a cheap food scale or something and keep a weight journal, you don't have to weigh him alot, but like at least once a month, could come in very handy if he gets sick.

you i find crumbs all the time in chins cage, the girls are pretty much neat with the crumbs, but their hay.. ugh...lol.. as long as he's gaining weight, he's eating.

are you checking his food dish every day to see if they amount of pellets go down? also they won't eat the same amount every day, there are some days i wake up in the morning and go visit mine and it looks like they hardly touched anything, then there are days were the dishes are empty.

i'm not sure if there is a certain age where they really get into chewing.. maybe they just start chewing from the beginning, no clue sorry, but i can say this, some chins just dont' chew like alot.  but alway keep the chew toys in there

[dianah]

he is beautiful. my chinchi was a pink white and i got him the same way you did, i went to the shop to get hay for my guinea pigs, saw him and would not leave the shop without him.

i would not worry about the pile of dust. what happens when you hand nuggets to him? does he eat them? does he eat hay? chews wood?

chinchillas with teeth problems can crumble pellets but i think mei is a bit too young to have developed teeth problems and, he's putting weight on which means he's eating.

i agree with jean, do weigh him once a week or so. it's a good indicator of health. just don't panic over a few grams lost!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Well how cute is that
Some chins will leave crumbs, so it may be nothing.
However I have seen chins with teeth problems leave lots of crumbs.I to would pick up a scale to make sure he's gaining.

[dianah]

i just watched the video, he is the absolutely gorgeous he loves you SO much! none of mine do that sort of thing! they all like being stroked and all but not lying on their backs. SO cute. i love him

[AnnieHank]

He's so cute and you're lucky he loves being rubbed like that, mine seem to tolerate it for a few seconds and then they run away!

My chinchillas leave some crumbs too. I think it might be normal for some type of pellets.

Some chinchillas just seem to chew more than others. I had 2 babies born about 3 and a half months ago and one of them chews everything! She loves chasing my feet around in circles and trying to nibble them at play time! She can drive me mad sometimes, trying to chew my hair and clothes and fingernails and absolutely everything in the play area. Her determination is very funny! The other one doesn't seem to chew much at all, he seems more interested in running and skidding along the floor. There are chew toys in both of their cages and there are some chew marks on his but his toys will definitely survive longer than his sister's; she destroys hers in no time!

I agree that as long as he's gaining and active, you don't need to be too worried about how much you see him eat. Since I separated my boy from his mother and sister, he doesn't appear to eat much. I was worried at first because the other two would go through a lot of food but he's steadily gaining weight so obviously he's eating something and he has buckets of energy so it must be enough. I'm a worrier so without my food scale, I probably would have had him dragged to the vet every two minutes!!

Good luck with him