Avoid pine and cedar shavings, as they can irritate a chinchilla's respiratory tract. Their diets should consist of 30 percent fiber, 14-16 percent protein, 35 percent carbohydrates, 3.5 percent fat/oil, 4 percent sugar, 6 percent minerals and 7 percent moisture/trace elements. Due to their opportunistic nature in the wild, most chinchillas will eat any leaves, seeds, fruits, and nonpoisonous insects that it can come across, and because they are endangered . This cage features a plastic and wire mesh construction with a built-in wheel and hideout. Plain Shredded Wheat. Greens especially leafy greens are a food group that you can and should offer to your chinchilla on a regular basis. This is important because these two pets have brains that are programmed to act differently. Having said this, both hay varieties will do a great job of keeping your chins teeth short and providing them with the nutrients they need to be healthy. How can chinchilla food be replaced with rabbit food? - Quora Chins have a high metabolism and can eat constantlyideally, they shouldn't go without food for more than 12 hours, but 24 hours is doable if absolutely necessary. Chinchillas are very friendly animals. The diet for chinchillas should be monitored to make sure they follow it daily. Those products can be harmful to your digestive system in large quantities, so keep small portions in hand. Instead, offer your adult chinchilla timothy hay or other low-calcium grass hays, such as orchard or meadow grass. Feeding any type of cat food to your chinchilla is a bad idea, however, feeding them wet cat food is one of the worst things you can do. What Fruits & Vegetables Can Hamsters Eat | Hamster Food List | Burgess When it comes to pellets for chinchillas, its important that you purchase pellets that are specifically designed for chinchillas. What Treats Can I Give My Chinchilla? Healthiest Treats for Chinchillas What Treats Are Safe For Chinchillas? - Pet Assure Take a look at this guide that shares the types of water your chinchilla can drink, If you want to know everything you need to know about chinchilla water bottles in less than 3 minutes then check our easy to follow guide here. By Laurie Hess, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian Practice). It is not a suitable food for them to have, even in small amounts. Providing greens in small amounts and not too often is something you will have to get used to as a chinchillas owner due to the fact that chinchillas have unusual nutritional needs. Can Chinchillas Eat Blueberries? - The Whole Portion . Always check the quality of your tap water at home before choosing this option. This is because rabbits require higher amounts of protein than chinchillas, which is reflected in the content of their food. Can chinchillas eat rabbit food? - nahf.org Its important to offer your chinchillas an unlimited amount of fresh hay in their cage daily so they can continually consume the large amounts of fibre they need. Are Chinchillas Good Pets: Everything You Need To Know To make sure that your pet eats food properly, you need to make the feeding time fun. You should also try to avoid giving your chinchilla anything acidic, such as citrus fruits. Can Chinchillas Eat Hamster Food? What You Need to Know! Fresh vegetables and fruits can occasionally be fed to your chinchillas, but only some of the fruit and vegetables your chinchillas digestive system can bear. Poppy. Yucca. Will Cats Eat Chinchillas - The Answer May Surprise You - Walkthepets [Top Speeds], Is My Chinchilla Fat? List Of Safe Greens & Vegetables For Chinchillas: Fruits should only ever be offered as a treat to your chinchilla. These exotic animals need chinchilla food pellets every day, a well but in a much more controlled quantity. What Human Food Can Chinchillas Eat? - Fur, Wings, & Scaly Things 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. Changing the brand of pellets . kathson 35oz Hanging Automatic Food Water Dispenser Gravity Pet Auto Feeder Waterer Set for Rabbit Cat Dog Chinchilla Guinea Pig Hedgehog Ferret Rating Required Select Rating 1 star (worst) 2 stars 3 stars (average) 4 stars 5 stars (best) Chinchillas have an extremely sensitive digestive system and the large amounts of sugar that are usually present in fruit can be harmful to your chinchilla. These are usually made up of timothy or alfalfa hay, so you will have limited options to choose from. 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. Hi, my namesElena Coolidge, and this is my site. Customer: Hi my name is***** and my granddaughter has a chinchilla and I'm taking care of her her name is ***** ***** her chest got wet because her water bottle was leaking and now her hair is kind of clumped a little bit but she's trying to pull it out what can I do to help her and she is so mad at me because I'm trying to take care of it and she's not happy can you give me some good ideas . Of course, there are some other food items that chinchillas cant eat as well, so it is best to ask a vet if you are unsure about the food item that you could feed your pet. The answer is that chinchillas do need fresh water daily and if they dont have access to water they will become dehydrated and eventually become ill and die. 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. Most tap water is clean, however, dirty water can contain giardia and would not be suitable for use in your Chinchilla Water Bottle. Line the cage with a few inches of dye-free paper bedding. Provide hay in your chinchilla's cage at all times so it has something to graze on. . As a general rule of thumb, chinchillas dont need fruit to be considered healthy and they dont need it in their diet. Those leaves, while not as pretty as daisies, are a healthy and natural food source for your chinchillas. and how to get rid of itContinue. Hay which is sweeter and has more nutrients, should be mostly given to young chinchillas and only occasionally to adult chinchillas. Image 1 is the male father & Image 2 is the female mother.. The 5 Best Hamster Cages Of 2023 - We're All About Pets Studying the plants that chinchillas eat on a regular basis was particularly interesting for those scientists. As well as knowing what foods chinchillas can eat, its also important to understand what common foods your chinchilla should be staying away from too. The diet of chinchillas should ideally be high in protein and fiber while containing low moisture and fat content. The answer to this question is no, Cat foods are not suitable for chinchillas and there are many reasons why you should avoid feeding it to them. We recommend that you stick to simple and researched greens and vegetables rather than experimenting with all sorts of different options that really arent needed, remember, a chinchilla only needs a simple diet to be both happy and healthy. However, this isnt something they enjoy doing. A . Once this condition occurs, there is nothing that can be done other than to provide pain medication and soft foods. Finally, chinchillas need foods that help to keep their teeth grounded over time. Much like many other rodents, a chinchillas teeth continue to grow throughout their life, so they need food that will help to stop them from overgrowing. Reasons Why Theyre Smart. They have very different nutritional needs. The quality of the ingredients used by manufacturers to make cat food varies enormously. Strong expertise in both dogs and cats. 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. Can Chinchillas Eat Cat Food? - Pet Food Fuss While it depends on your cat's personality, many will seek out to hunt chinchillas. The rest can be a mix of pellets, fruits and vegetables, herbs but it's different for each species, as . 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. Fat - 2-5%. The most important thing is to provide chinchillas with additional water, especially in summer, and monitor their daily water intake. While long term overfeeding of sugary foods can cause problems such as tooth decay and obesity, even overfeeding sugary food just once and cause diarrhoea and gas. Its important to understand that this is a guide only. In addition to this, a lot of fruit can actually be harmful to chinchillas and they certainly cant just eat any and all fruits. Like. The average pet chinchilla lifespan is 15-20 years Consequently, this lowers the stress level of your chinchilla that wont now feel like a target, thereby leading to an environment where these two can live together in harmony.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'smallpetshq_com-netboard-2','ezslot_18',185,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-smallpetshq_com-netboard-2-0'); You need to be careful about how you introduce your chinchilla to your cat is you really want there to be any harmonious relationship between these two creatures. You should thus monitor it at all times to make sure it doesnt hunt down your chinchilla. Reasons Why Theyre SmartContinue, This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.