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[Dex21]

Hey guys, so long story short I have not been able to get my chinchillas weight for a little while due to him not cooperating and staying on the scale long enough (he developed a phobia of it), however this past week I finally figured out a way to get his weight frequently.  On 10-8 I measured him at 441g, on 10-9 I measured 423g, and today (10-11) I measured him only at 409g.  He is roughly 10 months old now (I am not sure of the average weight for a chinchilla at this age) and I am insanely worried about this weight loss, however I noticed today that his water was not dispensing properly for a while, so I tweaked it and he ended up drinking water for about 15 minutes (he seemed dehydrated).  I have not gotten his weight since he drank all of that water but I am wondering if I need to do anything to keep him healthy.  He has not shown a decrease in energy and still exercises outside of his cage and on his wheel.  Should I give him an entire rice pop treat to help get his weight up or would this hinder him in the long run?

PS how common is it for a chinchilla to chip their tooth?  He chews on literally everything in my bedroom and I was wondering if he might not be eating because of this.  I have tried picking him up to check his tooth but he does not like being picked up and scurries away before I have the chance to examine him.  Does anyone have any tips of how I could hold him so as to get a better look at his teeth?

I'm sorry for all of the questions but I am incredibly worried about my little guy!  If you could please give me advice on what to do asap I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you so much.

-Bill

[Dex21]

Update: I just got his weight a minute ago and he is 426g compared to the 409g I measured before he drank all of that water.

[GrayRodent]

You don't have to weigh your chinchilla everyday. I weigh mine about once a week. It used to be more often when I was keeping logs and I may go back to that again once I do some work on my chinchilla instrumentation project. The fact is once a week is good and 10-25% is about the threshold of warning. You saw 7% between two points. When you get more points you can average four or five to get a better idea of what you pet's baseline weight is. The average weight of an average chinchilla is going to be useless to you. You ought to get the average weight of your specific chinchilla. You'll probably see a very slight increase over the next six months as he's still growing. Once he's grown he'll start gaining some fat.
In your case there definitely was something wrong. A dehydrated chinchilla will weigh much less than normal depending on the severity. You ought to be checking your water dispenser at least once a day because water dispensers can fail without warning. The nice thing is you have a pretty good explanation of what it is and it still didn't cross that theoretical threshold so I wouldn't be too worried.

It is very uncommon for chinchillas to chip their teeth. It usually involves injury from falling. I recommend all chinchilla owners, when handling a pet, release their chinchilla at floor level and do not allow it to jump from your hands. Chinchillas can and do lose their balance and damage to the front teeth from a fall can easily become a death sentence over time.

Examining their front teeth is not always helpful. If you seriously suspect your pet has tooth problems you should get it examined under anesthesia. Usually problems occur with the back teeth but if you really want to have a look at the front do not stick anything into its mouth, have someone hold it while you pull his lips back and have a look.

I strongly recommend not feeding treats or anything out of the ordinary for at least 48 hours just in case the dehydration could be upsetting its intestines and relax. You're not the first one with a chin that has water system trouble and they can usually cope fairly well. Again, check that your water dispenses each day as part of your routine. Either let it drip out with your finger or measure the level in the bottle. Also monitor its fecal output and food intake over the next two days closely. There may be some variation. Just make sure nothing goes haywire. I seriously doubt you will have any trouble.

[BLS Chins]

When you weigh, make sure it's done at the same time of day. They can vary greatly over the course of a day (people can vary as much as 5lbs). You don't need to check daily. Weekly or every other week is fine unless the chin isn't eating well or acting weird. You shouldn't allow play time if your chin can reach things to chew. You need to block off those areas somehow. Chins don't chip teeth unless they are low in calcium or have traumatic injuries