How to feed a chinchilla at home: what you can eat and what you can’t

Before you get a furry friend, it is better to know how to feed your chinchilla at home, because you cannot constantly change the food. Immediately after purchasing a chinchilla, it is better to feed them with food that you will buy regularly. It is also very important to feed your chinchillas high-quality dry food, free from mold and rot, otherwise she will develop digestive diseases.

This article on how to feed a chinchilla at home talks about all the foods that can and cannot be fed to the animal. Feeding a chinchilla is not difficult, the most important thing is to try to feed them at the same time.

Chinchilla content: permitted and prohibited products

Chinchillas are kept on ready-made pelleted food, but also on grass and grains. Therefore, it is worth noting which products are included in the green sector.

• The following greens would be suitable: salad
• spinach and sorrel
• plantain
• calendula
• coltsfoot
• chicory
• parsley
• jasmine
• blooming Sally
• nettle
• alfalfa
• clover
• mint
• thyme
• chamomile
• Melissa
• goat's rue
• series
• echinacea
• dandelion
• yarrow
• calamus and burdock root

• Legumes are extremely healthy and loved, especially: lentils
• white and red beans
• beans
• peas
• soybeans

Food should be varied

• Don't forget about grain crops: wheat
• corn
• and also buckwheat
• rice
• millet
• oats
• and barley

• Vegetables worth noting: carrots
• pumpkin
• young corn
• Bell pepper
• kohlrabi
• zucchini
• zucchini
• squash
• Jerusalem artichoke

For a treat

• As for fruits, you should choose: apples
• pears (in moderation)
• bananas
• figs
• strawberries
• lingonberries
• rosehip

How to choose hay for a chinchilla

Red sector or what not to give to chinchillas:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Nuts and seeds in large quantities. You should also be careful with almonds and pine nuts - they can be given no more than 1-2 times every 2 weeks!
• Herbs that are poisonous to chinchillas: fern
• horsetail
• buttercup
• rushnik
• black nightshade
• dope
• St. John's wort
• white hellebore
• cornflower
• raven eye

A few words about the benefits of tea

Ready-made feed

Today, in any specialized store you can purchase ready-made food for furry pets. They come in two types: regular and granular. Granulated food is more economical, but chinchillas often prefer whole food, in which all components are contained in their natural form. Animals often choose individual “goodies” from them, but the rest has to be thrown away. When feeding granulate, the diet turns out to be more balanced, since the animals, willy-nilly, have to eat everything. The granules, as a rule, contain all the vitamins and minerals the animal needs, including calcium. 1-2 tablespoons of this food per day will be enough for the animal.

From time to time, you can feed rodents with ready-made rabbit food. In principle, feeding chinchillas is not much different from feeding rabbits. In the summer, the same green grass, vegetables with tops, plant seeds, fruits. In the cold season - hay, tree branches (birch, apple, linden, pear, hazelnut, willow, willow), dried fruits (apples, raisins, dried apricots, nuts). Dried fruits are offered to the animal, pitted and finely chopped. The fruits of barberry, rose hips and hawthorn are very useful. They are given one berry 1-2 times a week.

Natural treats

The main treat for chinchillas is dried apples. They contain fiber, which promotes proper digestion. Remove toxic waste products and improve overall metabolism in the animal’s body. Like carrots, apples help strengthen fur and the cardiovascular system.

Dried carrots are perfect for constant pampering. It contains vitamins A, B, C, E, a large amount of iron, potassium, calcium. As you know, this is the main supplier of beneficial carotene to the body. Carrots are a natural teeth cleaner. Since it awakens the appetite, you don’t need to give it a lot at once - a pinch a day is enough. Sweet pepper in the same quantity is an excellent vitamin supplement that strengthens teeth, gums and immunity.

Raisins are given to strengthen the heart, as a cure for anemia and weakness. Chinchillas love it very much because raisins contain a lot of sugar. But you should not give more than 1 berry per week. Raspberries can be given fresh or dried, 2-3 berries per week (like hawthorn). It is rich in organic acids and salts of iron, potassium, and copper. Dried hawthorn is more of a medicine than a tasty treat. It helps to calm down, cope with stress, and is also indispensable for intestinal upset. The same amount of pumpkin seeds can be given to improve digestion, skin, and hair follicles.

Chokeberry is also rich in amino acids and rare vitamin P. Together with sweet pepper, they normalize the composition of vitamins and microelements in the chinchilla’s body. In addition to the listed delicacies, you can give nettles, oats, almonds, linden flowers, and fresh (not fried!) sunflower seeds. Chinchillas also love to sip green tea from time to time. It is rich in vitamins B1, B2, K, C, BB, and optimizes the nervous system. Green tea is a powerful antioxidant; it is better not to give more than a teaspoon per week.

Grain mixtures

Grain mixtures are a very important component of the diet of domestic chinchillas, saturating the animals’ bodies with vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins. It is recommended that furry pets include the following grains and seeds in their diet:

• buckwheat
  is a complex carbohydrate that saturates the animal’s body for a long time, contains iron, protein, vitamins B and P, calcium, phosphorus and iodine;
• wheat
  is a source of vegetable proteins and carbohydrates with a low content of fats, microelements, B vitamins, and fiber, which stimulates intestinal motility. Eating wheat is important for nursing female chinchillas who require increased care and recuperation after childbirth;
• barley
  - made from barley, rich in a huge amount of useful macro- and microelements (potassium, calcium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, manganese, iron, chromium, cobalt) and vitamins A, D, E and group B, necessary for the functioning of the nervous system, maintaining the beauty of chinchilla fur and leather;
• corn
  – contains amino acids and vitamins necessary for the rodent’s body that are involved in the pet’s metabolism;
• oats or rolled oats
  - a healthy nutritious cereal rich in vitamins A, B, E, amino acids and carbohydrates, helps remove toxins from the body of rodents, recommended for pregnant, lactating females and puppies;
• flax seed
  - contains vitamins A, B, E and Omega-3 acid, necessary for the reproductive function of pets and maintaining the immune system, the husk of the seeds is an excellent means for removing toxins from the body;
• sunflower and pumpkin seeds
  – rich in fats, protein and vitamins, used in minimal quantities to prevent pet obesity.

Contraindications and harm

Among the most common contraindications to the use of seeds, various allergic reactions and inadequate immediate reactions are in first place.

If you suddenly see that after eating seeds, your rabbit has foam at the mouth, it becomes difficult for him to breathe (he coughs, starts sneezing, wheezing, etc.) or massive swelling appears on his body - then know that he seeds are contraindicated.

In general, it is quite difficult to identify general groups of contraindications for all types of seeds. For example, a contraindication to consuming sunflower seeds is animal obesity, while for pumpkin seeds this is, on the contrary, an indication.

Sunflower should also not be eaten by rabbits whose age has passed 5–7 years, who have atherosclerosis or have/had high cholesterol levels.

Pumpkin kernels are not recommended to be given to rabbits that have digestive disorders, have recently suffered acute infectious diseases, or during the period of a full-blown clinical picture of any disease.

Pumpkin seeds should also not be eaten by those furry animals that have problems with the functioning of their senses: hearing, vision and smell, as this can negatively affect them.

Important! If any of the symptoms listed in this section appear, we recommend that you immediately seek help from a professional veterinarian. Among other possible harms from eating seeds, you should also expect the development of: appendicitis, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea (roasted sunflower), constipation (pumpkin), vomiting, various changes in the lipid spectrum of the blood, obesity (sunflower), loss of hair and claws, and the appearance of irritation on the skin

Foods that can be given in limited quantities

The list of products that chinchillas are fed at home includes some that can be given to the animals in small quantities.

1. Nuts, sunflower seeds, peas, lentils, corn are highly nutritious food, rich in protein and fat. If the rodent is overfed with these foods, it becomes fat and its digestion may be impaired.
2. Juicy greens (lettuce, dandelion) and vegetables (cucumbers, zucchini) are loved by animals, but these foods weaken them. Each day, one animal is given half a leaf of lettuce or one slice of cucumber 3–4 mm thick.
3. Sweet fruits and berries are a favorite food for chinchillas, but in large quantities they can lead to metabolic failure.
4. It is advisable to give branches of plants such as raspberry, willow, oak, alder and birch no more than once a week.

Each product new to the animal is given in the smallest dose, observing the pet’s behavior. If there is no deterioration in health within 24 hours after the introduction of the food, the product can be offered in an increased volume.

What does a chinchilla like to eat?

In the wild, chinchillas mainly feed on plant foods: cereals, legumes, shoots of bushes, trees and bark. Even cacti, moss and fruits are used. Very rarely, an animal can catch and eat an insect.

At the same time, feeding a chinchilla at home is not difficult: a complete diet can be made up of products that are easy to find in our latitudes. It usually includes grains, grass, dried vegetables and fruits, seeds and nuts. To meet the body's needs, the pet is also given special supplements and healthy treats.

The chinchilla is an energetic animal, and a lot of nutrients are wasted on its thick coat. Despite this, rodents eat little and are picky. Therefore, food should be given in small portions, but only high-quality food should be chosen.

The daily amount of food is 20-30 g, but you will have to adapt to each pet. If he eats all the food, you can give him a little more. But if the animal leaves or scatters food, this means that the portion must be reduced.

It is recommended to feed a chinchilla once a day in the evening, since it is awake in the dark. Thus, the body gets used to the regime, and food is digested more easily.

What you can and cannot feed your chinchilla

Inexperienced chinchilla breeders often make stupid mistakes when treating their favorite animals with pine nuts, chips or tangerines. As a result, completely hairless animals with severe allergies are brought to veterinarians; sometimes errors in nutrition cause the death of the pet. Chinchillas can be given pelleted food, hay and water. All other products must be strictly dosed. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the list of products that can or cannot be used to feed your little friend.

Table of permitted and prohibited products

A balanced diet for a domestic chinchilla is the key to its long healthy life and ability to reproduce. Take care and feed your furry pets properly.

Features of feeding

The chinchilla is a herbivore, so the basis of its diet is plant foods. This is a very picky animal that chooses the most delicious pieces from the food offered. That is why the owner must ensure that the chinchilla eats its entire portion. The feeder is spacious and comfortable. If excess food remains in it, then the amount of feed is reduced.

Chinchillas have a weak digestive system, so it is strictly forbidden to overfeed them, give them low-quality products and treat them from the table. Food must be fresh, without signs of mustiness, rot or mold. Grass, which must be included in the diet, is collected in ecologically clean areas, far from industrial enterprises and roads. Greens, vegetables, fruits are thoroughly washed and dried and only then offered to the animal.

If the chinchilla ate exclusively mixed feed, then you need to accustom it to greens gradually, starting with small portions. If the animal feels well, you can safely introduce juicy food into the diet.

On the day, a chinchilla needs the following list of products:

• compound feed – 1–3 tsp;
• green food - 5 g;
• hay - 30 g;
• additional food (twigs of trees and shrubs) - 6 g;
• water.

This animal has no sense of proportion. It can eat treats in any quantity. Foods such as nuts, dried fruits, vegetables and fruits should be given to chinchillas in strictly defined doses.

Animal food should have the following composition:

Important Principles

The basis of any food is its good quality. That is, he cannot be

• moldy,
• musty,
• stale,
• rancid.

Do not harvest green fodder in contaminated areas:

• on the sides of the roads,
• in industrial areas,
• on fields that have undergone chemical treatment against pests.

You can feed only washed and dried vegetables, fruits and herbs. Green leaves should be dried. Do not feed wet greens, only dry ones.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xZ7ibGkn6w8

You need to gradually get used to new, especially green food. After each increase in serving size, monitor the condition of your pets.

Follow the feeding schedule.

• Daily.
• One-time.
• Regular.
• Late evening.

Evening feeding is explained by the fact that these animals are active at night. This is written in detail in the article (Farm 27, “Chinchilla at home”).

In the morning you can feed only when everything from yesterday has been eaten. The main evening food should only be poured into an empty and clean feeder.

The chinchilla's body is designed for unfavorable ascetic living conditions. They have a very long intestine, designed to extract maximum benefit from the meager food that they still have to run for. This is what happens in nature. Therefore, by creating conditions that are close to natural, you will save your pet from premature death. And for this you need to pamper him less, feeding him all sorts of goodies.

Additional feeding requirements for chinchillas

If you provide your chinchilla with timely and high-quality food, this does not mean that it will develop 100% correctly and live a long time. It is necessary to take into account additional requirements for feeding chinchillas and constantly monitor the condition of the animal.

Helpful Tips:

1. Remove leftover food from chinchillas and change bedding as often as possible. If this is not done, then mold and rot may develop in the food and bedding, which will instantly lead to digestive diseases.
2. When cleaning, pay attention to the size of the bolus; if they seem runny or smaller than usual, then you need to take action. You can leave a couple of boluses and after 1-2 days compare them with fresh ones; if the sizes remain the same, then everything is in order. If the boluses have become smaller or softer, then it is necessary to look for symptoms to identify the disease. Of course, it is best to show the animal to a veterinarian, but since not everyone has the opportunity, you just need to monitor the animal’s condition and determine the disease based on obvious symptoms.
3. You should not suddenly change your chinchilla's diet. If you need to change food, you need to change it gradually. Start feeding ¼ new food and ¾ old food. After a week, if there are no changes in the chinchilla’s behavior, then you can give the old and new food 50/50, and after another week, start giving only the new food.

Authorized Products

Products approved for chinchilla food can be divided into three main groups.

Concentrated feed

This group includes grain and legume mixtures. Peas, lentils, beans are rich in amino acids and will be very useful for your pet. Barley, millet, corn - have sufficient nutrients and minerals for chinchillas.

Such mixtures are sold in any pet store; when choosing food, be sure to pay attention to its composition; it must contain at least 5 different components. You can prepare the grain mixture yourself, but then you will need to get very high-quality grain

Greens and hay

Chinchillas are herbivores, so for excellent health they need to consume hay and greens year-round. Freshly cut grass must be dried, otherwise it can cause illness and poor digestion for your pet.

Here is an example of what to feed a chinchilla at home:

• young dandelion greens,
• horse sorrel,
• wheat sprouts, oats,
• plantain,
• burdock,
• strawberry leaf,
• nettle,
• timothy grass,
• meadow fescue,
• meadow bluegrass.

Treats

You can please your pet with dried fruits, fresh dried vegetables and nuts.

People often ask, is it possible to give a chinchilla food of animal origin? If we are talking about powdered milk and insects, then such a diet is even recommended for young animals and pregnant females.

Vitamins

Contrary to popular belief, there is no need for additional vitamins. If a chinchilla's diet is complete and varied, it contains a lot of succulent food, as well as high-quality granulated food, then the animal is unlikely to have a deficiency of any vitamin.

The list of things you can feed a chinchilla is quite large and creating a full menu for your pet will not be difficult. Another important point is that all vitamins are of chemical origin and still belong to medicines. Therefore, it is better not to add them to food unless necessary. The exceptions are animals that are preparing for an exhibition, pregnant and lactating females, as well as those recovering from illness.

What should you not feed chinchillas?

Rodents should not be given:

• food from the human table with salt, spices, sugar, animal products, fats, etc.;
• pastries, bread;
• fried nuts, grains, seeds;
• rye grain;
• spoiled products.

And finally, we note that for the animal’s well-being, a stable diet is important. There is no need to change the food that your pet is used to very often

It is better to transition your pet to new food gradually, over 1-2 weeks. Don't forget, the chinchilla is a delicate animal. And above all, this concerns feeding. The stomach of a furry pet is very sensitive to dietary disturbances. And mistakes in feeding can lead to serious health problems for your chinchilla.

What foods should chinchillas not eat?

To avoid mistakes in planning your pet’s diet, be sure to study the list of foods that should not be fed to your chinchilla.

• meat;
• salted, smoked, spicy foods;
• prepared food for humans;
• eggs;
• dairy products;
• mushrooms;
• bread and pastries;
• pasta;
• sweets;
• potato;
• White cabbage;
• rye;
• roasted nuts and seeds;
• food for hamsters, mice, rats.

Despite the fact that chinchillas love some of the food on the list, feeding it is dangerous: the animal runs the risk of obesity, liver damage, or poisoning.

In case of lack of nutritional mixture in pet products

It may happen that the necessary food is not available at the pet store, in which case there is no need to panic. Now we will describe step by step what can be given instead of food at home.

You should make a mixture of 20% oats, 10% buckwheat, 20% wheat groats, 10% barley grains, 55% maize, 8% flaxseeds, 7% peas or chickpeas, add nettle greens to this mixture. A special complex of vitamins, ground calcium and methonine should be added to the resulting consistency.

As a result, you get healthy and high-calorie food. But there is also a drawback to such a mixture: if in the store the food is granulated, then in the home, each grain is separated from each other and the pet can sort through the food.

Vitamin supplements to complement your diet

Additional vitamins are given to animals with a lack of nutrition, young animals, females during pregnancy and lactation, as well as in case of illness. They come in various forms, but the easiest way is to add liquid vitamin supplements to water. Some manufacturers produce food enriched with vitamins.

Owners sometimes add 2-5 g of dry yeast to the animals as a source of protein and vitamin B. Also, mineral salt stones of various types are placed or suspended in the cage: the animals grind their teeth on them and replenish the balance of minerals in the body.

Attention! If during illness the animal refuses to eat, it should be fed from a syringe. To do this, use high-calorie pastes (Nutrical, Enervite) and crushed food mixed with baby food.

Chinchilla diet

A complete diet for chinchillas must necessarily include roughage, that is, hay and twig food, bark feeding, fresh herbs, various vegetables and fruits, etc. The menu for rodents should be drawn up taking into account the following factors:

• the daily requirement of chinchillas for a certain amount of nutrients;
• sex and age of the individual;
• the health status of the animal;
• physiological characteristics: pregnancy, lactation;
• time of year.

Rodents are very sensitive to various fungi and bacteria, which often affect wet hay or grains. The necessary products can be prepared in advance in large quantities, taking into account the fact that per year one individual consumes about 10 kg of ready-made combined feed and approximately 7 kg of hay.

There should always be fresh hay in the enclosure

Animals' diets should be dominated by foods high in fiber and protein. In addition, chinchillas need adequate amounts of minerals, vitamins, fluids and fatty acids. Lack of various nutrients leads to increased morbidity in animals and their early mortality. Deficiency of protein and calcium is especially dangerous for pregnant females, as it causes various malformations in the offspring.

Hay

It is the main source of nutrition for chinchillas, because it contains the fiber they need, and it also helps improve digestion. Hay should be in the cage at all times, and the chinchilla should eat as much of it as she wants. She definitely won’t overeat hay as a treat, so update the feeder more often.

Choice of hay.

Most owners of these animals buy hay from pet stores, because there are practically no useful herbs in urban areas. It is not expensive and you will have many types of hay for rodents to choose from.

Hay is not divided into types, but it can be divided into the following groups:

• Common meadow. The composition is quite simple, but very often there are herbs that are not included in the composition. This kind of hay is very cheap, usually 100 rubles per 1 kg. Production is mainly in Russia.
• From selected herbs, mountain or legumes. This hay is selected specifically for chinchillas or for animals very close to them (for example, rabbits). The composition is made taking into account many requirements for feeding chinchillas, most often the production is imported. The cost of such hay is 2-3 times higher than usual, about 300 rubles per 1 kg.
• Hay with additives. It can be either meadow or grass, but with the addition of something. Mostly carrots, apples or healthy herbs are added. Such hay costs about 500 rubles per 1 kg. I won’t recommend it because it has several disadvantages. For example, carrots can easily become infected with moths or other insects; as a result, the food will be spoiled and the chinchilla may have digestive problems.

Hay from ordinary or legume grasses is considered more useful. Thanks to it, the animal meets most of its needs for vitamins and microelements. Chinchillas eat it in larger portions than regular meadow milk.

What kind of hay should be:

• Dry
• No unnecessary debris, sticks or stones
• High quality hay smells good
• No rot or mold
• The packaging must be undamaged, otherwise various individuals, mold or rot may already live there.

Forb hay is very nutritious if it contains legumes and cereals, as well as bird buckwheat, salsify, etc. Before flowering, herbs are especially rich in vitamins and nutrients. Therefore, the hay should consist of forbs, mowed before the first flowering of the grass. Late-cut grasses have low nutritional value.

Ferns, rush grass, datura, black nightshade, spurge, horsetail, white hellebore, henbane, cornflower, crow's eye and other poisonous plants should absolutely not be included in chinchilla hay.

How often to feed a chinchilla

Chinchillas eat very carefully

Most chinchilla breeders are inclined to believe that it is better to feed your pet more than once a day, but to divide the daily portion of food - this is approximately 2 tablespoons of dry ready-made food, divided into 2 times.

That is, you pour 1 tablespoon of food into the chinchilla's bowl in the morning, and pour 1 tablespoon in the evening, before bed. It is recommended to remove any leftover food, if any, rather than supplement it with a fresh portion.

By the way, it is better not to overfeed the animal, despite the chinchilla’s good appetite (healthy individuals are almost always ready to chew something), you should not indulge such weaknesses of the rodent, as this can lead to obesity, and in general spoil the character of the chinchilla. Quite often you come across such statements from chinchilla owners that if they overfeed, their rodent begins to row and creates chaos in the cage.

Chinchilla

When choosing foods for herbivorous chinchillas, it is important to remember that they are rodents, so foods of plant origin are their prerogative. Living in their natural environment, chinchillas do not consume too much food, since its quantity is limited by various factors.

Therefore, when keeping these animals at home, you need to make an effort to ensure that their diet is varied and rich in vitamins and various mineral nutrients.

Particular attention should be paid to limiting their consumption of foods that are too high in calories or fatty foods.

The currently available food option for chinchillas is granulated food. This concentrate is easily absorbed by the animal’s body, so the daily dose of this food can be limited to 1-2 tablespoons per day. People who breed chinchillas professionally prefer to give their pets special granules in the form of brownish sticks. This mixture usually consists of wheat bran, yeast, oats, grass flour, and salt, which provides a complete set of nutrients for the animal’s body. Of course, chinchillas must also be provided with minerals such as phosphorus, iron, zinc, calcium, iodine, carotene, as well as vitamins A, B, E, K and others. The ideal option to meet the needs of a fur-bearing animal’s body is raw fiber granules.

Due to the fact that the energy value of one granule of such food is approximately 2500 kilocalories, you need to carefully monitor the dosage of their consumption. Don’t forget about the mixture of grains, which is an important and necessary part of a chinchilla’s diet. The grain mixture should ideally include buckwheat, wheat, flax, oats and milk thistle

If we take the ratio of grain in granular feed, then it should be 6-7% of the total weight. And, naturally, water is an essential component of a chinchilla’s diet. There should always be enough water in the drinking bowl, always fresh and freely available to the pet. Under no circumstances do experts recommend giving boiled water to animals. The opposite is true - it should be cool and filtered.

Pure water

A chinchilla needs to have clean water at all times. It is best to give living water from springs, because it contains useful microelements and bacteria. If you do not have the opportunity to take water from springs, then you will have to use what you have, namely filtered water.

You should not take bottled water; it has undergone too much purification and is “dead.”

Keep the water in the drinking bowl clean so that it does not have an unpleasant odor or blooms. The drinking bowl must be washed, preferably every 3-4 days. In general, there are no other requirements for water; the main thing is to keep the drinking bowl clean.

What do chinchillas eat at home? List of products:

1. Tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, carrots, pumpkin, zucchini.
2. Apples, pear, melon (very little), berries, bananas (very little), rose hips, hawthorn, raisins (very little, because they are sweet). In general, too sweet fruits or berries should either not be given at all, depending on the health of the animal, or their consumption should be significantly limited.
3. Tops of carrots, peas, as well as clover, dandelions, burdock leaves, plantain, strawberry leaves, nettles. And also sprouted cereals. Cereal sprouts are especially relevant in winter, when problems arise with fresh greens.
4. Dried bread, namely crackers or crispbread. A small amount of.
5. Various treats - you need to give them a little, but constantly. It can be dried fruits, berries.

You cannot give a lot of fruits and vegetables, only in the form of a small additive to the main food. Otherwise, the rodent's sensitive digestion will be upset. Fresh leaves should be dried a little before serving, and carrots and other root vegetables must be washed. It is not recommended to give a lot of beets. In nature, of course, animals eat branches and roots unwashed, but domestic animals, which are also bred in captivity and have never lived in the wild, have a more delicate digestion than their wild relatives. Therefore, they are very sensitive to dirty or spoiled food. But even with proper care and hygiene, they live much longer than their wild counterparts.

But this list is far from complete. There are also differences of opinion among experts. So it’s better to check your pet’s diet in advance.

By the way, you need to feed the animal once a day, at a certain time, preferably in the late afternoon. And if it tears the food and scatters it, it’s worth reducing the portion a little. The food must be eaten completely. Water should always be fresh, and experts recommend that it be boiled or distilled.

What can you feed a chinchilla besides food?

Now let’s figure out what else you can feed your chinchilla. For proper development and grinding of teeth, it is necessary to allow the child to chew on twigs, sticks, and driftwood. But there is a whole list of tree species that should never be given! They are poisonous to chinchillas!

These are trees such as:

1. Maple.
2. Cherry.
3. Plum.
4. Elder.
5. Apricot, peach, nectarine.
6. Almond.
7. Oak - good for diarrhea, but can cause constipation in healthy animals.
8. Pine and pine cones.
9. Spruce and fir cones.
10. All citrus fruits.
11. Mango.
12. Sandalwood.
13. Cypress.
14. Such an exotic tree as sequoia, etc.

In general, experts consider the branches of all stone fruits to be poisonous to these rodents! The list is far from complete, so you need to be very careful not to poison your pet. And try to check all tree species in advance before treating the animal with branches.

What to feed a chinchilla to painlessly grind down its teeth? We should also not forget that chinchillas, like all rodents, have teeth that grow throughout their lives. In nature, they grind them down on their own. At home, the owner should take care of this. Beech is highly recommended for grinding teeth - it has hard wood that can replace stone.

If there is no suitable hard wood, then they give it a stone to chew on. Naturally, it should not be taken directly from the ground and dirty. For pets, all food and items should be thoroughly washed before use.

Something to chew on

The chinchilla needs to be given something to chew on. To do this, you need to give twigs or blocks of safe trees and stones with minerals that are sold for rodents. If you don't provide them with wood, they will chew on shelves and other things in the cage, because it is vital for them to grind down their teeth.

The easiest trees to find in our area that are safe for chinchillas are:

• Apple tree
• wild apple tree
• Pear
• Nut
• The rest of the list of trees that can be given to them, but they are rarely found here.

Before giving chinchillas twigs or tree dies, they must be poured with boiling water and cleaned with a stiff brush so that excess dirt and harmful bacteria are removed. Next, you need to dry them in the oven or electric dryer.

If you use tree dies, you need to fasten them together with aluminum wire, making holes in the middle. And the branches just need to be thrown into the cage.

In addition to pieces of wood, they can also buy something like crayons that contain calcium. It’s better not to look for them yourself, but to buy them at a pet store so that they can tell you which stone will suit your rodent.

Feeding mode

When thinking about the issue of feeding a chinchilla, it is necessary to remember that the activity phase of this animal occurs mainly at night. Therefore, with the arrival of dusk, you can fill the bowl with food. The animal will see the bowl and run up to eat. But you don’t need to expect that your pet will attack the food, basically he will eat a few grains and run around the cage to jump, after a while he will return to the cup and so on all night.

Stability is also important to ensure the animal’s good mood and well-being. It is not recommended to frequently change food to another manufacturer, as this may have a bad effect on your pet’s well-being. If you still need to change the food, you need to do it gradually, dragging out the process for the whole week. A mineral stone must be present in the cell during this process at all times. The pet will chew through it as needed.

Read! Chinchilla in the house: pros and cons

Next, let's take a closer look at the types of feed.

Useful tips

Keeping a chinchilla and feeding it properly is not difficult. But you can’t do without useful advice from experienced breeders of medium and large rodents.

The following recommendations for inexperienced chinchilla owners regarding nutrition are as follows:

• Determine in advance how much the chinchilla food you will use costs. Set aside money for the maintenance of the animal for a month in advance;
• Do not give your pet candied fruits and dried fruits purchased in a human store. They contain sugar that is dangerous for rodents. Instead, give homemade dried bananas, apples; you can feed your pet with them all year round;
• Choose fairly small granules. So, if a chinchilla accidentally swallows one without chewing, there will be no health consequences;
• Change food regularly, albeit gradually. In order for your animal's stomach to function properly, do not force it to eat the same thing all its life.

Can chinchillas have walnuts and chestnuts?

Chinchillas are herbivores and it is natural for them to eat vegetation. Their diet should be high in fiber and protein, but low in fat and moisture.

Approximate feed composition:

• 35% carbohydrates;
• 15% protein;
• 30% fiber;
• 4% sugar;
• no more than 3.5% fat.

In their natural environment, chinchillas eat bark. It is the main supplier of fiber. If it is not enough, their teeth become overgrown and digestion is disrupted. Be sure to also provide your pet with hay and grass.

Did you know? From one hair follicle of a chinchilla, up to 60 hairs grow, while in humans

—only one. Therefore, their fur coats are very thick, which allows them to retain body heat even at high altitudes in the mountains.

As for fat, its excess will lead to liver damage. Therefore, giving nuts is not recommended. The table below shows the fat content of some types:

As can be seen from the table, all nuts, without exception, contain many times more fat than a chinchilla can consume. Therefore, such food is more of an exception than a healthy food.

Main menu

The chinchilla diet includes hay and twig food, grain mixture, vegetables, fruits, and berries. The animals are given greens and nuts as a healthy and tasty supplement.

To enrich the menu with vitamins and microelements, pets are given complex water-soluble vitamins: Beafar, Vita-Sol, Canina Petvital. The drugs are added to food or water according to the instructions.

Rough and juicy food

Rough feed includes hay and tree branches. This is the basis of the diet of a rodent, whose digestive tract is designed to digest food rich in fiber. Herbal granules contained in ready-made food for chinchillas cannot fully satisfy the animal's need for fiber.

Juicy food (vegetables, fruits, fresh herbs) are sources of vitamins and microelements for the animal’s body. You can feed your chinchilla the following foods:

• pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, root parsley, celery;
• apples, pears, melon, watermelon, seedless grapes, plums, bananas;
• berries of rowan, hawthorn, viburnum, rose hips, barberry;
• dried meadow grass, tops of legume garden plants, leaves of dandelion, honey, nettle and quinoa.

Combined feeds

Purchasing ready-made specialized mixtures greatly simplifies the care of feeding animals. The compound feed recipe is developed by scientists specifically for different groups of animals - young animals, pregnant and lactating females, adults. The composition meets the needs of the chinchilla and is balanced in the amount of proteins and fats.

In addition to ready-made food, the pet must be provided with hay. Occasionally you can pamper the animal with a treat.

At home, chinchillas happily eat food from the following brands: Little On, Waka, Vitacraft, Versel-Laga. Preference should be given to granulated food, from which the pet will not be able to choose the most delicious pieces, ignoring the rest of the food.

Vitacraft

Little He

Waka

Vercelles-Laga

Menu of a pregnant female

A pregnant chinchilla may eat a little more than usual. This is normal, but you should not overfeed her, otherwise the female’s health will suffer greatly from obesity. Nutrition during this period changes slightly. Veterinarians advise including in the diet of chinchillas:

• sprouted grain;
• food of animal origin (eggs, milk, cottage cheese);
• more protein due to an increase in the proportion of grains;
• apple;
• bee bread 1-2 balls per day;
• alfalfa, strawberry leaves, calendula flowers;
• rosehip, hawthorn;
• flax seeds;
• cereals;
• vitamins and mineral supplements;
• calcium: a quarter tablet of calcium gluconate or 1 tablet of Excel Calcium per day.

Calcium deficiency is dangerous for pregnant females: it causes eclampsia, which without treatment leads to the death of the animal. You need to exclude mint, thyme and lemon balm from your diet.

Green food, vegetables and fruits

The warm season makes it possible to significantly expand the chinchilla menu. In spring, the first greens are given very carefully, starting with portions of 1-2 well-dried dandelion leaves per day. To prevent the animal from having a bloated tummy, the stems of legumes and clover are always used dry or withered. You should not feed your chinchilla only green food, forgetting about hay. This may lead to gastrointestinal disorders.

Here are the characteristics of some plants that will be useful to include in a chinchilla’s diet:

• salad is a storehouse of vitamins and mineral salts. You can give your pet 1-2 leaves per day;
• spinach – rich in easily digestible iron, contains sodium and lime. Spinach is believed to increase fertility in rodents. You can give 3-4 leaves per day;
• chicory - contains a lot of phosphorus, which growing organisms especially need. The cleansing plant acts on the stomach, regulates liver function, and increases appetite;
• Strawberry leaves – have a diuretic effect, help with diarrhea. Can be given for indigestion;
• celery – contains vitamins A, B, C. Very useful for nursing females, 2 leaves 2 times a week;
• wormwood – increases appetite, strengthens the nervous system. The pet is given several branches a week.

In addition, the animals happily eat plantain leaves, yarrow, burdock, young nettles, horse sorrel, and dandelion.

From vegetables and fruits, you can give carrots, pumpkin, squash, apples, pears, sweet peppers, bananas, grapes, figs, zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, peaches, apricots, melons, watermelons, etc. It is not recommended to give fresh cabbage leaves to chinchillas.