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[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Snickerdoodle weighs 11.5 ounces. He's an adult male, born in July 2011 (not sure what day), so is this a normal weight? Just thought I'd ask...

[GrayRodent]

Chinchillas can vary greatly in size. What I consider normal weight is the average of perhaps 2 or 3 data points distributed in a ten day period when you know your chinchilla is healthy and eating normally.

My still growing chinchilla is at 370g and is growing at a rate of about 1 gram per day. In previous weeks it has been 2 grams per day so I have no idea what "normal" weight is going to be. I suspect he's gonna be a monster when he's fully grown.

My previous chinchilla initially weighed around 460 grams but lost about 65 grams over time. Because of the circumstances I'm not sure what normal weight was for him either. I think he was sick when I got him but he wasn't as affected until later.

Doing a direct conversion of 11.5 oz that is 326g which is on the small side for an adult male which my sources say is usually between 400g and 600g fully grown. Perhaps a breeder can verify this. Considering you got yours from a pet store the quality of his breeding was probably low which can account for that. He should be fully grown by now.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

He is fully grown. Thanks, GrayRodent! I knew he's too skinny.
He is pretty healthy and SO happy! I wish I knew more about him and his lineage; I already know he's definitely not breeding quality (because of the fur- chewing, which is getting worse. He's doing it on his other hip now... Does this increase the chance that he'll chew down to the skin?), but I want to know if he has other unfortunate genes.
How old is your chin now?
I once saw a 6- month- old chinchilla in Petco (he was mean; he bit me) and he was TREMENDOUS (bigger than adult Snickerdoodle!)! He was a white mosaic. Do these guys usually grow bigger?

[GrayRodent]

My chinchilla is a little over four months now. (Born 9-18-2012)
A low weight doesn't necessarily mean he's skinny. He could just be smaller than average a chinchilla because of his breeding. A veterinarian can tell you if he is by feeling along his back. A male chinchilla can get to be over 700g if it's exceptionally high quality from what I understand. Again not being a breeder I'm reciting second hand info when it comes to these stats.

I do know though that fur chewing is usually benign. Fur chewers can have the same life expectancy as any other chin. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you're seeing scabs on the skin or exposed skin. Most fur chewing chinchillas don't bite below the undercoat. If you do see exposed skin chances are it's ringworm. I used to have a cat that was a fur biter after experiencing ringworm. After the infection was gone he chewed his white guard hairs leaving a short gray coat underneath for the rest of his very long life on about half of his left rear thigh.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

He is very small, but I think he's beautiful. Although I know that weight is proportional; I do think he's a bit thin.