Safe and Unsafe Food for Chinchillas

At some point during your care of your chinchilla you'll probably wonder whether it's safe to feed your chinchilla a particular food. We've been in that situation. Here's a list of food items that, based on extensive use by fellow pet owners, are thought to be safe and unsafe.

Note: Every chinchilla is different and just because a food is listed as safe doesn't guarantee that your chinchilla won't have a bad reaction. And, of course, moderation is key.

Known to Be Safe

Although these foods are considered safe, they should be fed in moderation. They shouldn't be used in place of a proper diet of chinchilla pellets and hay. Also, as with people, some chinchillas may not react well to all foods so give new items in small amounts.

• Fresh Apple
• Plain Cheerios
• Dried Cranberries
• Plain Shredded Wheat
• Raisins
• Organic Cranberry Juice
• Prunes
• Fresh Grapes
• Bran Flakes Cereal
• Dried Apples
• Frozen Grapes
• Banana
• Uncooked Elbow Noodle
• Wheat Germ
• Peanuts (unsalted in the shell)
• Chamomile Flowers
• Dried Dandelion leaves
• Dandelion Flowers
• Nasturtium flowers
• Red Clover Flowers
• Dried Clover
• Oats
• Dried Olive Leaves

Known to Be Unsafe or Unhealthy

Many foods are unsafe for chinchillas because of certain chemicals they contain. Others are simply unhealthy. These should be avoided.

• Rabbit Pellets

Not Sure Whether Safe

As you can imagine the list of possible things to feed a chinchilla are endless. Here are items we've heard people feed their chinchillas or have been asked about. We don't know whether these foods are safe or healthy.

Cactus