Chin Treats?

Does anyone have good chinchilla treats that they feed their chinchillas? I feed mine cheerios, only one a day, because the breeder told me that cheerios were the best treats for them. I am too afraid of buying the store treat mixes, as who knows where they were in the manufacturing company. I do buy woods from the store for them to chew on, and ledges and such.

I heard that if you make little quaker oat balls with water that is a good treat for them. Is this okay?

I also know that there are websites where you can buy handmade chinchilla wood treats and they all come from someone who does it through their home, or it is a small business. Does anyone know any websites like this? I love to spoil my chins, so any info would be appreciated!

Essentia on here, if you look up her user name has some incredible chin cookies! I know I have heard shredded wheat is supposed to be good. Though from what I know and many breeders say, treats are more for the owner than the chin. Chins get all they need from their pellets and hay in reality treats only take away from that nutrition as they only will eat so much in a day. That being said once a day or a few times a week should be fine. I would recommend is Oxbow Veggie treats, they are a wonderful chin cookie that is okay for chins.

What I have started doing is giving my guys supplement from Ryerson chinchilla, I take out pieces and give it to them by hand. They also like it if I take a pellet or piece of hay and give it to them by hand. Same pellet from their dish or hay from their cage but they take it and love it.

Instead of buying wood from the store which is probably crappy and WAY more expensive, I go to Rondas chins.com and order wood from her, she also sells a variety of chinchilla treats/herbs. Rose hips and rose petals/buds are pretty safe and then she sells other items like papaya and goji berries that can be fed less often. No chin cookies though if that is what you are looking for.

Take a look through the Chin Supplies for SALE section! The prices are awesome and the creators are well known to sell quality goods.

I bought a sampler of different flowers from one of the suppliers here, and mixed them in a bag with some non-instant oatmeal and a couple organic herbs I found locally. Dessy gets a little less than a teaspoon of the mix every couple days and an apple twig or two daily. She loves it, I have fun spoiling her, and it's all good for her in moderation.

I give Cheerios, Shredded Wheat, goji berries, dandelions, chin cookies (member on here sells), Oats, Rosehips, rose petals...etc.

Not all at once though. Every other day, sometimes 1 time each day if they beg a lot. Those little begging faces are adorable.

My number 1 treat for my chins is Organic Nature’s Broad Spectrum Supplement from Tanya (here on the forum) of www.fuzzieskingdom.com :thumbs:
I've been purchasing from her for over 5 years now. She has the best steel & fleece tunnels and other fleece items as well as healthy treats. A little goes a long way Link for the supplement/treat I give to my chins...
http://www.fuzzieskingdom.com/herbs/treats/organic-supplement.html

Sandi said:

My number 1 treat for my chins is Organic Nature’s Broad Spectrum Supplement from Tanya (here on the forum) of www.fuzzieskingdom.com :thumbs:
I've been purchasing from her for over 5 years now. She has the best steel & fleece tunnels and other fleece items as well as healthy treats. A little goes a long way Link for the supplement/treat I give to my chins...
http://www.fuzzieskingdom.com/herbs/treats/organic-supplement.html

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I've noticed a lot of chin people in the states order from Tanya. How is shipping cost, price wise? I've looked at her site but figured shipping would cost a lot.

As others mentioned, look in the chin supplies for sale section. There is also a sticky right at the top that has a list of vendors with stores. I rotate between Post unsweetened shredded wheat and organic unsweetened Cheerios, along with a rose hip or and oat for occasional treats. It is very important you get the right kind of oats, you want the old fashioned or oat groats, not instant oats. The instant kind can absorb water and swell up a lot after they eat them and block their systems. Also, anything that looks sugary or has a lot of water in is is probably bad for them (like raisins, other dried friut, yogurt drops, and all that bad crap in stores).
Everyday I give grape vine sticks as chews, so any other flavor wood becomes a "treat" for my chin, while being completely healthy and no taking away from a healthy diet. My chin particularly loves grape vine tendrils-the little curly-cues the vines use to climb. Those are gone the instant he gets them.
I would also recommend you stop buying wood from petstores. There's plenty of vendors on here or tutorials to process your own wood. Its much cheaper to buy a box from vendors, especially if you buy a lot, and store the wood- make sure its stored in a dry area with plenty of airflow. A cardboard box in an area under 50% is usually a good place. Plus I've only seen apple in petstores. While many chins love apple, its nice to mix it up occasionally.

BooBoo*TheKiddo* said:

I've noticed a lot of chin people in the states order from Tanya. How is shipping cost, price wise? I've looked at her site but figured shipping would cost a lot.

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I would shoot her a pm. She is awesome to deal with and know she would ship the most economical way possible.