However, they eat mostly vegetation and seeds. The diet of chinchillas should ideally be high in protein and fiber while containing low moisture and fat content. A tablespoon or two each day is appropriate for most chinchillas. Greens especially leafy greens are a food group that you can and should offer to your chinchilla on a regular basis. List Of Safe Greens & Vegetables For Chinchillas: Fruits should only ever be offered as a treat to your chinchilla. After all, it wont cost much and it might even taste good. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'smallpetshq_com-box-4','ezslot_2',194,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-smallpetshq_com-box-4-0');You should thus not be surprised if a cat and chinchilla bond as companions or friends. Merrick dog food is a premium quality food, made with human grade meats and a selection of vegetables. djvstock. Dont give food that is meant for guinea pigs as they have different digestive systems. 29493 7 Mile Road . They can be offered much variety of good quality and clean hay like timothy hay, orchard grass, alfalfa hay, oat hay, or meadow hay. Approximately 75% to 80% of your chinchilla's diet should be made up of fresh hay. Chinchillas love treats just like any other animal, but the treats can be deadly for them if you dont know the proper way or amount to feed them. 2.2 Nutritional requirements. Dried fruit (apple, banana, and papaya). 1 What Foods Are Poisonous To Chinchillas? Its role in highlighting their adaptability to new or specif environments is matchless. An aggressive cat will attack the chinchilla but with patience, you can train the pets to coexist. Studying the plants that chinchillas eat on a regular basis was particularly interesting for those scientists. All cats drink filtered water from the water fountain. Always offer small amounts of sugar to your chinchillas and seek advice from your vet if you still arent sure. You can check out the water bottle we recommend you use in our new cage accessories guide here. As a pet, chinchillas can eat the same dried herbs and benefit from the nutrients. Hi, my namesElena Coolidge, and this is my site. Some comments from a popular forum AGAINST giving raisins include: 1. As wet cat food is so soft, itll have absolutely no effect on keeping your chinchillas teeth to a safe length. Average Chinchilla Lifespan: How Long Do They Live? (Benefits/Risks), Can Chinchillas Eat Romaine Lettuce? The short answer is yes, chinchillas can eat rabbit food. Guide + Chart. Finally, chinchillas need foods that help to keep their teeth grounded over time. This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Please remember that there are hundreds of greens and vegetables from around the world. This is what your chinchillas diet should look like, Hay Unlimited amounts (80-90% of the diet), Pellets Limited amounts to complement hay diet, Fresh Greens Small amounts offered daily, Fruit Very small amounts offered on occasion, Lets now break down the different elements of a chinchillas diet and see exactly what they should be eating to keep them both happy and healthy. So what can chinchillas eat? Bottles water is safe for chinchillas to use but is an expensive way of providing your Chinchilla with water and some would consider this quite wasteful. Chinchillas enjoy dandelions because they have an interesting . Health and welfare issues - other. 2.2 Dried Fruits And Herbs. The main takeaway here is that you should never give cat food to your pet chinchilla. Its important to understand that this is a guide only. Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. . Calcium and phosphorus play an important role in your chinchillas diet, albeit a complicated one. Fibre - 30-35%. ; The long-tailed chinchillas will feed on insects, such as moths and grasshoppers, and bird eggs if the opportunity presents itself. Here are useful tips you should follow to ensure peaceful coexistence between these two: Whereas your cat and chinchilla might eventually learn to live with each other, dont expect them to be best friends. This leads to problems including diarrhea, weight loss, and stomach ulcers. To make sure that your pet eats food properly, you need to make the feeding time fun. By Laurie Hess, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian Practice). Hey is extremely high in fibre which is important as the dietary tract of a chinchilla requires constant movement and large amounts of fibre are essential to help with this process. Some common options for food items that every pet chinchilla owner needs to keep their chinchilla safe and healthy are listed below. Hay and specially . Hay which is sweeter and has more nutrients, should be mostly given to young chinchillas and only occasionally to adult chinchillas. Purebred Chinchilla's. $1,200. Yucca. Specific Substrate Needs. Fat is another nutrient that chinchillas need in very small amounts to be considered healthy. chinchillabreeders.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. To be more specific, the diet should have 30% fiber, 16% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and the rest should be filled with fat, minerals, and sugar. You'll need to make sure you'll be sharing your home with an animal that suits your lifestyle, available space, and even your personality type. Or, you could hand out small amounts of peanut butter or cheese. The good thing is that even though chinchillas dont eat a vast selection and variety of foods, they get most if not all of the nutrition they need from this basic diet. Stay on top of the latest news about canine behavior, nutrition and health. You can barely overlook the significance of animal intelligence. Because of this, its a good idea to keep their diet simple and stick to their base diet as much as possible and only add the foods that are needed to keep your chinchilla healthy. The brand that we would recommend using is Oxbow as their pellets are of a high quality and are fortified with vitamins such as vitamin D3. So, can rabbits eat chinchilla food? Only a couple of tablespoons (1-2 tablespoons) of pellets should be given as daily amounts to a baby or adult chinchilla. This is because chins can get ill if they are exposed to large amounts of water on their fur. If you do this, your chins diet should easily fall into this low calcium and even lower phosphorus model providing you stick to safe and recommended greens and veggies. So, for a chinchilla to have healthy digestion and be free of illnesses like dental disease and digestion troubles, you need to choose the best chinchilla food that is healthy and appetizing. 3 Human Foods For Chinchillas: Final Thoughts. While it depends on your cat's personality, many will seek out to hunt chinchillas. Once again, this boils down to the fact that chinchillas dont need the nutrition from fruits to be healthy so they are only a luxury. Like most rodents, chinchillas love to chew things. In conclusion, make sure to feed your chinchilla with care and monitor their diets properly. Second, not all rabbit foods are created equal. This leads to severe pain as they chew, in addition to drooling and possible eye discharge from upper tooth root pressure on tear ducts. 2.6 No Sudden Dietary Changes. Even though your chinchilla and cat might get along just fine, its advisable never to leave these two pets unsupervised or unattended when interacting with each other.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'smallpetshq_com-portrait-2','ezslot_20',176,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-smallpetshq_com-portrait-2-0'); With that said, for your cat and your chinchilla to get along are two different things you must consider before getting these two pets living in the same house. You can add a small amount of commercially available pelleted chinchilla food to your chinchilla's diet. In addition to this, the chinchilla may choose to hide, seeking safety from the cat, thereby making it hard to locate. as it helps them to put on weight quickly but this is usually only offered until the age of around 9 months old. Line the cage with a few inches of dye-free paper bedding. . Treats such as dried fruit, grains, nuts and seeds should not be offered, as they are not easily digested and may lead to tooth damage. Changing the brand of pellets . Tomato Leaves. Nonetheless, its still recommended never to leave these two pets alone as you never know when your cats natural hunting instincts might kick in and attack your chinchilla. and how to get rid of it, The Best Chinchilla Toys (Review) in 2023, Are chinchillas Smart? Always check the quality of your tap water at home before choosing this option. Poppy. This is a general rule for most small animals such as hedgehogs and even the majority of reptiles. The stomach, chest, and chin are pure white. They won't go hunting for insects, but if they see one, they will eat it. 2.3 Raisins. A good quality pellet usually contains vitamins such as vitamins A, B12, D3 & E. In contrast to hay, where you should provide it in large quantities, pellets should be offered in smaller amounts and make up more of the remaining 10% of your chinchillas diet. They should be given very small amounts of chinchilla vegetables like carrots and leafy greens as healthy treats. Later in the post, we will share the exact pellets we recommend you feed your chinchilla so head over to that section of the post if you are looking for good quality pellets. The body of an average chinchilla grows to about 10 inches long, but it can range from 8 inches to 12 inches, and its tail will typically be about 5 inches in length. You should also try to avoid giving your chinchilla anything acidic, such as citrus fruits. Reasons Why Theyre Smart. What Do Chinchillas Eat: Diet & Food Guide. Pellets should be hay-based and fortified with additional vitamins. We have created a list where we share our recommended timothy hay and orchard hay products to feed your chinchilla as well as the best place to purchase them from and you can access the list right here. Chinchillas in the wild typically eat most of their food in . What Nutrients Are Unhealthy If Overfed to Your Chinchilla? Whether you're looking for tips, tools, activities or advice, you've arrived at the consummate guide for everything related to caring for dogs. Some other healthy treats include rosehips and mountain ash berries. They love to play and interact with humans which makes them excellent pets. Chinchillas require a diet that mainly consists of timothy hay with the addition of supplementary chinchilla pellets. For these two pets to live in harmony with each other, patience and constant supervision is necessary. such as elevated levels of calcium and in turn, cause health issues. They are very sensitive animals but can be great friends if you know how to take care of them. This means that chinchillas require a diet rich in protein but low in fat and carbohydrates. The rest can be a mix of pellets, fruits and vegetables, herbs but it's different for each species, as . We have created a list of common foods that chinchilla owners regularly contemplate feeding their chinchilla. Hard objects, such as branches from non-toxic fruit trees (like apple, pear, and peach trees), can be given to promote chewing and teeth wear, but toxic trees (like cherry, cedar, plum and redwood) should be avoided. Dont give rabbit pellets as, again, these two animals are quite different. If you are thinking of becoming a new pet parent, having a chinchilla will be the ultimate solution. Although cats and chinchillas might not coexist peacefully at first, there are ways of promoting this to happen. It is also coarse enough to keep their teeth short and stop them from overgrowing. amongst other things so only a handful are really considered safe enough to eat even in small quantities. In addition to that, if you have two or more chinchillas, they can become quite protective of the feeding bowl, which can cause fights between the chinchillas, and also, one might eat more than the other. Are Chinchillas Cuddly? Apart from the fruits that we mentioned above, that can be offered in really small quantities, there are a handful of foods that are considered healthy enough to feed to your chinchilla as treats. The hamster food will not be nutritionally beneficial to them.