Similarly, pet chinchillas should be offered food twice a day but may consume food throughout the day, as they tend to eat more slowly than other small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs. The diet of chinchillas should ideally be high in protein and fiber while containing low moisture and fat content. 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 . You can check out the water bottle we recommend you use in our new cage accessories guide here. If you want to ensure that your chinchilla gets enough calcium, then you should add some eggshells to their diet. 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. Chinchillas, for the most part, eat a really basic and simple diet that consists of very few foods. It is also better to distribute the food all over the cage to make it fun and much healthier for the domestic animal. Fresh drinking water should be offered daily in a water bowl or bottle. Chinchillas require a diet that mainly consists of timothy hay with the addition of supplementary chinchilla pellets. [Top Speeds], Is My Chinchilla Fat? 2 Human Food Chinchillas Can Eat. Copyright tagDiv. Chinchillas are herbivores and their diet consists mostly of hay, vegetables, and a small amount of fruit. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you. Instead, they prefer to nibble at their hay or grass. The most obvious reason why you shouldn't feed cat food to a chinchilla is because chinchillas are not cats! You have to be very careful with what you feed these animals, so here are some food items that you should never feed your chinchilla. 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. For example, if you have horses then you know they're prone to overeating. You can barely overlook the significance of animal intelligence. Hay should be put in the hay rack in the chinchilla's cage. Overfeeding of fresh greens also can lead to soft stool or diarrhea. The main takeaway here is that you should never give cat food to your pet chinchilla. If they are fed certain foods together frequently, they will become accustomed to them always being served together. The problem is that the majority of fruits are high enough in sugar to cause your chinchilla digestive problems amongst other things so only a handful are really considered safe enough to eat even in small quantities. In this post, we have listed many of the safe fruits for chinchillas although this list isnt conclusive. ; The long-tailed chinchillas will feed on insects, such as moths and grasshoppers, and bird eggs if the opportunity presents itself. Indigestible bedding, such as wood shavings, also can cause obstructions. Another important thing that they eat is pellets. 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. Do have constant clean drinking water; if tap water is not clean, then have bottled water for your pet. You can find out exactly which variety of Cheerios is safe to feed to your chinchilla right here(We researched all popular varieties and only recommend feeding your chinchilla these 2 varieties). Here Are Safe Wood Options For Chinchillas to Chew On: There is often a lot of confusion about if chinchillas actually need water. Although cats and chinchillas might not coexist peacefully at first, there are ways of promoting this to happen. So what should you do? All you need to hope for is that your cat ignores the chinchilla. Raisins. However, this isnt something they enjoy doing. As we mentioned earlier, hay is the most important part of a chinchillas diet. Avoid pine and cedar shavings, as they can irritate a chinchilla's respiratory tract. Hi, my namesElena Coolidge, and this is my site. Our main focus is helping owners to better understand and care for their pets with both straight forward and actionable advice. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. Image 1 is the male father & Image 2 is the female mother.. They are very sensitive animals but can be great friends if you know how to take care of them. 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. Chinchillas also need their diets to be supplemented with pellets to round off and balance their nutritional needs. Providing your chinchilla with safe wood for them to chew on is the best and most convenient option. In addition to this, a lot of fruit can actually be harmful to chinchillas and they certainly cant just eat any and all fruits. It should be bright green and smell fresh, or else it can be harmful to your chinchilla. So, excessive feeding can lead to diarrhea and urinary problems. It is also built with a speaker for remote interaction with pets. They eat all sorts of different plants . Chinchillas can easily get their head trapped in these toys and suffocate. 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. Chinchillas cant eat cat food. Reasons Why Theyre SmartContinue, This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Best Hay For Chinchillas 2023 Reviews and Comparison. Every formula uses industry-leading volume of protein, glucosamine, and chondroitin. Either way, you need to be careful when offering your chin both fruit and dried fruit and always check to see if the fruit is recommended for chinchillas and what quantities it should be offered in. Look for a pelleted, formulated diet specifically for chinchillas that is 16-20 percent protein, low in fat (2- 4 percent), and high in fiber (15-20 . Buy Merrick Dog Food online in Canada from Canadian Pet Connection. They should be given very small amounts of chinchilla vegetables like carrots and leafy greens as healthy treats. The stomach, chest, and chin are pure white. 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. If you want to bring a chinchilla into your home, you could be worried about their diet and general health. Botanical hay. and how to get rid of itContinue. Studying the plants that chinchillas eat on a regular basis was particularly interesting for those scientists. 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 post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. This means that chinchillas require a diet rich in protein but low in fat and carbohydrates. Instead, chinchilla feeds should address the following: Fat: should be between 2% and 5%. Chinchillas only need to consume around 3-5% fat in their diet which is easily attainable from their base diet so foods such as. This is a general rule for most small animals such as hedgehogs and even the majority of reptiles. It comes with a water bottle and food dish as well, all priced under $20. In fact, the hamster food is likely to be harmful to them. The bottom line is, chinchillas dont need treats, but if you feel bad or want your chinchilla to be happy, then you can give them treats occasionally. If your cat does this, theres a high likelihood of it ignoring the chinchilla, which in turn doesnt get so stressed by the cats presence.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'smallpetshq_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_3',181,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-smallpetshq_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); However, if you have an overly active cat, it might not be a good idea to have these two pets live in the same house. Pelleted diets are better than a mixture of loose items. A few hamster owners were concerned that their buddies would have trouble eating it because of its size and shape . Purebred Chinchilla's. $1,200. Thats why they need to have toys and accessories in their houses. Chinchillas love dandelion leaves. Again, although this is the common amount of food that your pet needs, you need to contact the pet veterinarian to be sure of ample amounts of food that your chinchilla needs. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. No, they cant as theyre herbivorous, meaning they eat plenty of grasses or plants. This acrobatic animal eats food with a sweet smell as they are very picky. Pets are adorable, but having different species in your home might bring about some issues with some of them incompatible. This is because wet cat food contains a lot of moisture and, as such, its difficult for chinchillas to digest. Chewing is good for your chinchillas teeth as they continually grow throughout their lives and chewing safe objects will help to keep their teeth short and healthy. There are chinchilla hay pellets and hay cubes available as well. Cat food comes in many different varieties: wet, semi-dry, and dry. . so from these numbers alone its clear to see that good quality hay is undoubtedly the most vital part of your chinchillas diet. Its always best to check before you offer your chinchilla a new fruit just to make sure its safe and to see just how much you can offer them in one sitting. In conclusion, make sure to feed your chinchilla with care and monitor their diets properly. The chinchilla's digestive system is incompatible with these foods due to their high water content, high acidity, high vitamin C content, high fructose content, and low fiber content, as well as their . You also need to make sure your cat has a mellow personality to lower the likelihood of it attacking your chinchilla. Plain Shredded Wheat. Chinchillas are very friendly animals. hay, fresh vegetables, and pellets should still make up the majority of their diet. I'm the main author of Pocket Pets Forever. This means that feeding too many greens can cause an unbalanced amount of nutrients such as elevated levels of calcium and in turn, cause health issues. 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. Rhubarb. One of the questions we were asked recently was whether Chinchillas were territorial and we felt compelled to delve into this subject a bit deeper and provide you with some more useful information How Often Should Chinchillas Have Dust Baths? Dont give rabbit pellets as, again, these two animals are quite different. Chinchillas will eat plenty of native plants in the wild to give them a good balance of minerals and vitamins essential for optimum health.