Chinchilla Diet:
Food: Chinchillas require a special diet because they have delicate digestive systems. Chinchillas should NOT be fed guinea pig or rabbit food (many ingredients are harmful to chinchillas- can cause permanent liver damage). Instead, feed your chinchilla pellets specifically made for chinchillas. An adult chinchilla will eat about two heaping tablespoons of pellets per day. Chinchillas will only eat until they are full, so over-feeding is not usually a problem. Some chinchilla owners will feed their chins twice a day. I found feeding them in the evening after their play time worked best for me. I had two reasons for this; one was that this is when they were most active and second is because it made it a whole lot easier to get them back in their cage.
If you must change from one type of food to another it is important to do it slowly. Start by mixing a small amount of the new food into the old. Increase the amount of the new food and reduce the amount of the old during at least a couple of weeks. Make sure that you get enough food from the former owner to allow you do the change of food slowly.
Hay: Hay is very important to the chinchilla's diet as it provides the bulk of their fiber needs. I try to make sure my chinchillas have their hay bin full all the time. The hay should be dry and clean. Be careful when you store hay because mold and insects can cause serious health problems to your chinchilla. This also means that you should always remove hay from the bottom of the cage where it can have been soiled by urine. Hay can also be givin in the form of hay-cubes. These are just as good as loose hay and the chinchillas like to play with them.
Water: Always provide your chinchilla with fresh water daily. It's important to also check to see that the bottles are working correctly, that the chins are able to get water. You can buy a bottle at the pet store that can hang on the side of the cage. It is important to clean the bottle thoroughly since bacteria and algae can easily develop in the still water.
Treats: If you are using high quality chinchilla pellets, your chinchilla doesn't need supplementary food or treats. However most chinchilla owners gives their chinchillas treats simply because they love them. An important rule is however never to give too many treats. The chinchilla should live on its food and hay - not on treats and supplements.
Chinchillas love their treats, especially raisins. If you give your chinchilla raisins, don't give them more than one or two a day. Chinchillas can get diarrhea very easily if provided with too many treats or the wrong kind of food. If your chin has diarrhea because you were too generous with the raisins or other treats, again feed only loose timothy hay for a day or two.
Other great treats, includes things like a slice of apple, a small bit of orange, a grape, a blueberry, or a small carrot. They also like dried fruit. Rolled oats, and spoon size shredded wheat are good if your chin is showing signs of diarrhea from too many rich treats. Sunflower seeds are a great treat and can add sheen to a chinchilla's coat. Buy the raw black oil sunflower seeds available for bird feeding. Some chins learn to take the seed from the shell, while others eat the shell and all, without bad effects.
Corn, cabbage, and lettuce arenot good for chinchillas as they cause gas and are very hard on a chinchilla's sensitive digestive system. Another thing you MUST keep in mind when selecting treats is too avoid anything with perservatives in it.
By the way treats are a good way to make your chinchilla become interested in you, but always remember only to use treats in very small amounts.
