Chin Rescue, Info & Supplies

The following information has been gathered over the past 4 years by my own reasearch. It is, in my opinion, the correct way to feed your chinchilla and a good guideline to follow about chinchilla nutrition

 

 

Chinchilla Diet

Your chinchilla’s diet should consist of a high quality pellet, plenty of hay and fresh water. Chinchillas have a very sensitive digestive track and adding treats or changing their diet too rapidly can cause serious health problems that can be lethal.

 

Pellets- Your chinchilla’s pellets should be free of any kind of seeds/nuts and be only PELLETS in their dish. The following brands are the most used and recommended pellets for chinchillas: Mazuri, Tradition, APD and Oxbow. In most cases the best way to get this food is online from a retailer at chins-n-quills.com or going to the manufacturers website and finding a dealer near you or order it directly from them. Most pet stores do not carry these brands, and if they do the product they have is usually stale, or close to going stale and it is over priced. Ex: You can purchase a 2lb bag of Mazuri for $8 at the store and most online retailers offer it for around .75 cents a pound. Pellets are generally good for 6-9 months from the Mill date on the bag, but I recommend purchasing only about 2-3 months worth of feed at a time to guarantee that your chin is getting the highest quality available (generally one chin will eat about 3tbsp a day- or about 3-5lbs a month). Pellets should be stored in an air tight container in a cool, dry place. Some people do refrigerate or Freeze their pellets but I don’t personally recommend doing this. There is too much risk of condensation in the bag/container and you can ruin your pellets.

There is also a proper way to transition from one food to another if you should feel a change in food is warranted.

Here is the general recommended way to switch food

First week feed ¾ old food and ¼ new food

Second week feed ½ old food and ½ new food

Third week feed ¼ old food and ¾ new food

By the fourth week you should be able to feed the new food 100%. If at any time during the transition you notice your chin having soft stools, no stools or a decrease in stools you need to take more time introducing the new food.

 

Hay- Timothy hay should be fed in unlimited quantities. The fiber in Timothy hay is essential to a chins diet and helps with proper digestion. You can also offer other hays such as Oat, Brome, and Orchard grass to add variety to their diet. Alfalfa should be given sparingly- too much alfalfa can be harmful to your chins overall health. Offering a variety of hay also helps grind your chins teeth down and prevent problems. This is a good description of how each type of hay helps in a different way: (this was taken from chins-n-quills.com from a VERY knowledgable chin owner)

 

The variety of hay is not for nutrition, its for the even wear down of the teeth. Chins chew different hays with different chewing motions-1st cut timmy side to side, 2nd cut timmy or soft grass hays front to back and grain hays in a circular motion-this full range of motion ensures the complete surface ofthe tooth is wore down cutting down the possibility of tooth points.

 

You can purchase hay at the pet store (although, again, I discourage purchasing hay from a pet store because generally it is not of the highest quality). You can also purchase it from online retailers (Oxbow, APD and Kleenmamas are among the most popular) and a third option is to purchase it from a local feed store. If you choose to purchase it at a feed store you need to make sure it is “horse quality”. You should store hay in an open and airy container in a cool, dry place. Do NOT store it in a plastic bag if that’s what it came in. I recommend storing it in a cardboard box and stabbing holes in the side of it to allow for maximum air flow. Other options would be a laundry basket with holes in it, or drilling holes into a Rubbermaid container and leaving the lid off of the top. If stored properly hay can last a very long time.  Your hay should always smell fresh and never stale or moldy. If you notice that your hay is moist or starting to have a strange odor throw it away and order a new batch.

 

Water- As a general rule of thumb most people are against giving their chins (or other animals) regular tap water. The reason for this is that the bacteria levels and chlorine levels in tap water can be harmful to your chin. An easy fix is installing a Pur or Brita type filter on to your faucet. Or you can purchase bottled water at the store. Many people purchase Reverse Osmosis Water and believe it is the best option. You should change your chins water on a daily basis. Always rinse the bottle out and make sure that it doesn’t feel slimy inside the bottle or inside the cap. I definitely recommend using a glass water bottle and keeping an extra one on hand. It is my belief that glass bottles are much more sanitary plus there are no worries about your chin chewing through the plastic bottle and having it leak all over the cage. You can generally find glass bottles made by Lixit in the bird section at the pet store, or you can order them at a very reasonable price online at www.ryersonchinchilla.com.

 

Treats- Treats should be offered SPARINGLY. Do not give your chin fresh fruits or veggies as a treat or part of their regular diet. The water and natural sugar content in fruits and vegetables can be deadly in chins.

The only “safe” treats that I recommend are Apple sticks (this is the only “treat” that can be offered in unlimited supply as there are no adverse effects) old fashioned rolled oats (not the instant kind and only 1tsp a day-MAX), Rose hips, Half of a shredded wheat (plain-non sugar kind) or a regular cheerio. I also make an herbal mix using all organic herbs that I offer my chins once a month (1tsp). I use dried dandelion, flax seed, red clover, crushed rose hips, and elder berries in my mix. Raisins are a chins favorite treat, there is no doubt about that, but they are very high in sugar and should not be given on a regular basis. As a matter of fact recently we have stopped feeding raisins all together because of the many adverse effects they can cause, and researchers are continually finding that the properties in raisins are harmful to most animals. Another very popular treat for chinnies are Mrs Pastures Cookies. These are made for horses, but all of the ingredients are okay for chins- in very limited quantities. We only give ¼ of a cookie to each chin per month. We recommend limiting treat consumption to once a week or less.

This is our treat schedule for each month:

Week 1- 1 rose hip: Week 2- 1 piece of papaya: Week 3- ¼ cookie: Week 4- herb mix  (1tsp)

And every other day to every third day we offer 1tsp of rolled oats and crushed rose hips after their dust baths/play time.