I love my chins and they love treats! I feed them well. I feed them an all natural organic food. They love these Timothy Hay seed balls. They also love raisins. I know that they can eat some fruits and I like to make them mini ';fruit salads'; but what fruits can I give them? Are there anymore food items I can give them or anything around the house...treat wise?I need some advice about my Chinchilla's?
Of course your chins love treats! Just like kids love candy bars! The question is, would you shovel candy bars into your kids mouths? No, of course you wouldn't. Part of being a good parent is providing a healthy diet for your kids. It's the same thing with chins. You need to be in control of their diet, to provide them with the healthiest diet you can.
First, the seed balls. Chins don't need, nor is it good for them to eat seeds. Nuts are the same. Nuts are too high in fat and can affect a chinchilla's liver as well. Another thing to stay away from. On top of those two things, there needs to be some kind of binding agent, which in pet store junk food tends to be honey. Not only can honey harbor botchulism, but it is also just another sugar.
Second, one raisin every week or two is fine, more than that? No. Chins do not digest sugar well at all. They are hind gut fermenters and too much sugar is not healthy for them, even ';natural'; sugars contained in fruits. There are people who will argue the fact that chins can handle fruits and vegetables, but the majority of the chinchilla community (especially here in the US) will overwhelmingly tell you no. No fruit salads. You could end up causing bloat in your chin and it's very, very hard for a chinchilla to recover from that. It's excruciatingly painful and it makes them go downhill very fast.
Safe treats: Bite sized, nonsugared shredded wheat; dried rosehips; the occasional cheerio; lots and lots of safe wood chews, i.e., apple, pear, cholla, manzanita, pecan, etc. For a complete list of chin safe woods, please see this list: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/sh鈥?/a> Be sure that they are from a safe source (check the classifieds) and that they have been prepared carefully to make sure it is safe. You can also stuff a toilet paper tube with hay. It's a toy and it's a treat.
People assume that their chins need to have their diets spiced up, when in actuality, it is the human who needs it spiced. There are two things to remember with a chinchilla -- don't kill your chin with kindness and KISS (keep it simple stupid). Good quality pellets (Nutrena, Tradition, Mazuri, APD, Oxbow), good quality hay (not pet store hay), and fresh water daily. These are the things your chin NEEDS. Anything other than that, you need. A very basic diet is the healthiest one for your chin.
Another important thing to remember: If it comes from a pet store, it most likely is junk. Pet stores are out to make money. They don't care of it's healthy for your pet. So just because it has a picture of a chinchilla on it, it doesn' t make it safe. The only thing I could recommend from a pet store are certain types of beeding, hay and pellets (Oxbow and Mazuri). That's it. Anything else, I steer all my customers away from.
If you would like to ask more questions about chins, and get answers from owners/breeders/rescues, please join http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com. There is a wealth of information and experience on forum that is available to chin owners. Read through the FAQ's on safe treats, and read through the link I provided above for safe woods.I need some advice about my Chinchilla's?
i have a answer for you dr jiggles. its called being an american. we are hard headed know it alls.
any way here are some link. hope this helps you out.
http://www.chinchillacymru.co.uk/feeding鈥?/a>
http://www.chinchillaclub.com/caresheet.鈥?/a>
hope that helps and pick me
sometimes its funny to see that no one even looks online any more they just ask a question and over half the time the one answering it has no idea what they are talking about :-0
http://www.geocities.com/therodentguy/ba鈥?/a>
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