Chinchillas have quite delicate digestive systems and so have special dietary requirements. Rabbit food does not meet the nutritional needs of chinchillas and frequently makes them fat.
Food
The primary food item for chinchillas are specially formulated pellets. Unlike other animals, chinchillas will only eat small amounts at a time and so you need not worry about over-feeding them. However, to keep the pellets clean, we suggest you provide just a little more than they need in between feedings.
Along with the pellets, chinchillas should have ready access to hay cubes. These hay cubes can sit in the cage for many days until they have been eaten.
In addition to the above two items, chinchillas should also be given a vitamin and mineral-enriched seed mix. A teaspoon each day per chinchilla is what we have learned is the proper amount. Chinchillas will eat all of this seed mix in one sitting so you can't simply fill up a dish and expect them to spread it out over several days. Also, have one dish with the seed mix per chinchilla to ensure that each of your chinchillas gets a chance to eat it.
We've started to compile a list of safe and unsafe foods in case you choose to feed your chinchilla items other than what we've mentioned above.
Treats
The last food item to provide your chinchillas is some form of treat. Treats are chinchilla-specific products from the pet store or simple things like raisins. Our chinchillas like raisins the best. Like the seed mix, it is important to limit the consumption of these treats. Make sure that each chinchilla gets a treat by hand feeding it to them.
For an idea of what treats other pet owners use, check out poll #2.
Timing
We try to feed our chinchillas the pellets and seed mix at the same time every day. The routine seems to comfort our chinchillas. In fact, they sometimes let us know that we're late with the food by barking. We give them their treat just before we go to bed as it helps with our chinchilla training efforts.
Changing Food
One final note about food. If you need to change food suppliers, do so slowly. An abrupt change can be harmful to your chinchilla. The best is to blend the new food in slowly with the old food so that the transition isn't too sudden. We've done this once with and it worked out well.
Water
Along with food comes water. We use distilled water as we have learned that tap water can contain bacteria that, although harmless to humans, can harm chinchillas. Chinchillas don't drink a lot so the expense of a bottle of distilled water is negligible.
Entries (RSS)
December 24th, 2006 at 12:01 am
Sherri,
There's no way to know for certain what kind of pellets your chinchilla will like. We use what is called the Anne Kline blend. Mazuri is also another popular one. However, in your case you may just need to back off the various other foods such as oats, sunflower seeds, etc. A hungry chinchilla may turn out to be a less picky one.
December 23rd, 2006 at 3:58 pm
I have a Chinchilla that I purchased back in March 2006. He is a very picky eater and doesn't want any type of Chinchilla pellet. I buy the prepackaged Chinchilla food from Petco or Petsmart, and have tried several different brands that have other items mixed. I have also tried just straight pellets. He loves oats, sunflower seeds, carrots dried and fresh, celery, dried bananas, raisins of course and the other goodies that are mixed in with the pellets. If I just give him straight pellets, he doesn't readily eat them and begs me for the other items I mentioned above. He always has fresh timothy hay too that he eats eagerly. What type of pellet should I feed him? Thanks so much for your advise and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sherri and Chinchi
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Nikki,
We feed our chinchillas a specific portion of their regular food to ensure they are getting a balanced and nutritious diet. If we feel that they may be gaining weight, then we cut back on their treats (e.g., give them fewer raisins).
If your chinchilla is clearly overweight, then you may want to speak with your vet about its diet and whether to change the food.
August 3rd, 2006 at 12:12 pm
I'm getting my first two chinchillas very soon and we are just building a cage for them right now. I've been looking at all web sites that I can find about chinchillas but none of them can answer my question that I have. My question is do you have to feed your chinchilla the diet and its regular food or do you just give it a diet when it get over weight? Please answer my question. Thank you!
July 3rd, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Nancy,
I'm guessing your new chinchilla wasn't "just born". Instead, it was probably born a short while ago and has been weened from its mother. What this means is that your chinchilla will be able to eat regular chinchilla food.