Safe Treats for Chinchillas?

I'm wondering what kinds of treats are safe for Chins to have. Right now I have a Vitamin C tablet that I give as a a treat every day (can the OD on vitamin C like humans?), but I'm looking for a safe "once-every-3 days" "special occasion" treat.

I have a mixture of rose hips and raisins (it has papaya in it but I don't think I can give him that.)

Suggestions?
Thanks!

raisins are a no no, too much sugar. rose hips, a cheerio, shredded wheat, rose bud... i'm sure if you do a search there is a post with a list of safe treats.

I've heard that wheat was bad for them though?

Healthy, organic treats that I offer are listed here.

You can also give your chin safe wood, oats, alfalfa hay; your chin should not get raisins.

Safe Treats:
Bite sized, non-sugared shredded wheat.
Dried rosehips (whole or crushed).
The occasional cheerio.
A pinch of old fashioned oats.
Dried Rosebud

Some suppliers also sell a floral/herb mix. I would consider those safe also.

I personally would not give vitamin C tablets. Any treat should be givin sparsely. The only things you should offer daily are hay, pellets, and wood.

Tanya's stuff is FANTASTIC!

Go to Ronda's Chinchillas, she's located in the classifieds here, I just bought a whole bunch of fun, safe treats for my chin there.

i just got two bags of fuzzieskingdom.com? organic treats
one of the is saidsfeed 4X a week
and the other is 3X a week
so alternate between the two?
vitamins from fuzzies kingdom .. apparently they think it's treat =P
plus i have crushed rose hips
and oats
nettle leaf
and like the others say, favorite type of sticks and favorite parts of hay


my occasional treat is cranberries/cherrios/quarter of chin cookie and they REALLY have to work for only just one tiny bit, and if given said special treat there is nothing else for the rest of the day
(ex. practicing commands, every successful commands = one bite of treat so... lol one any special = usually 5 successful commands)

cranberries are not a safe treat - too much natural sugar in them for a chin's digestive system.

aww cranberries too!?

to leo:
dont listen to me

I lost a chin to kidney stones and got told to watch calcium intake. Go easy on the Cheerios too. Many human foods have added calcium and Cheerios are one of those.

Now I treat with their favorite hay and sticks, rose hips, I just ordered rose buds, and I have a diet suppliment from Forever Fiesty Chinchilla Rescue. And you can never give enough scritches! :thumbsup:

LeoMonster said:

I'm wondering what kinds of treats are safe for Chins to have. Right now I have a Vitamin C tablet that I give as a a treat every day (can the OD on vitamin C like humans?), but I'm looking for a safe "once-every-3 days" "special occasion" treat.

I have a mixture of rose hips and raisins (it has papaya in it but I don't think I can give him that.)

Suggestions?
Thanks!

Click to expand...

The rose hips are ok, but the raisins and papaya are not so much. The cheapest treat I have found that Flea loves is plain shredded wheat. 2 bucks a box that you will take forever to go through.

(btw, Vitamin C is water-soluble and for humans to OD on it you would have to eat pounds of it and overload your kidneys. Otherwise you just pee it out.)

another treat option that you can use sparingly (perhaps once a week at most) is a small piece of dry pasta. i only use pasta that is 100% durham wheat, and i only give a 1 inch piece (like spaghetti).

I recently ran out of what I was using and got a bag of Vitamin C treats with Rose hips, cranberries, and kiwis in it. I haven't given the cranberries at all because of the high sugar, and have tried giving the rose hips but he only like the first few. Once I gave him a kiwi he was set for life. Now he won't take a rose hip from me until i give him a small piece of kiwi. is this considered bad for him?

Fruit of any kind including kiwi is not good for chins.

Fruit is not good. No kiwi, bananas, apples, cranberries, raisin, grapes, etc. All not safe.

Which bring me to my question, since I've seen no one list it... Gogji Berry (I can't spell it)?

I'm assuming it is safe considering people are allowed to sell them in the classifields and no one says anything about them being unsafe. Anyways, if they are a berry, why are they safe and blueberries, raspberries, etc aren't?

The forum does not police the products sold, IMO, because if they did the pepitas and goji berries would go, the berries have alot of sugar in them and the pepitas fat, so why are they sold, its all up to the buyer to do their research-I would not feed either.

Per 1 oz (28 grams) of dried goji berries:

Calories
100 kcal

Total Fat
0 grams

Protein
4 grams

Carbohydrate
21 grams

Sugars
13 grams

Fibre
3 grams

Sodium
75 milligrams

Vitamin A
140% DV

Vitamin C
20% DV

Calcium
4% DV

Iron
10% DV

The forum can not be held responsible for the products sold in the classifieds. It is a buyer beware situation.

and pepitas, chins do not need this amount of fat.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1/40.25000 cup (28.0 g)

Amount Per Serving
Calories 150150Calories from Fat 117117
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13.0g13.020%20
Saturated Fat 2.5g2.512%12
Cholesterol 0mg00%0
Sodium 5mg50%0
Total Carbohydrates 5.0g5.02%2
Dietary Fiber 4.0g4.016%16
Protein 7.0g7.0

Vitamin A 0%0 • Vitamin C 0%0
Calcium 2%2 • Iron 2

ticklechin said:

The forum does not police the products sold, IMO, because if they did the pepitas and goji berries would go, the berries have alot of sugar in them and the pepitas fat, so why are they sold, its all up to the buyer to do their research-I would not feed either.

Per 1 oz (28 grams) of dried goji berries:

Calories
100 kcal

Total Fat
0 grams

Protein
4 grams

Carbohydrate
21 grams

Sugars
13 grams

Fibre
3 grams

Sodium
75 milligrams

Vitamin A
140% DV

Vitamin C
20% DV

Calcium
4% DV

Iron
10% DV

Click to expand...

Chin slaves - it's very important to know the contents of your treats and dole them out sparingly.

I don't know what pepitas are but considering goji - 1 oz contains approximately 270 to 280 berries. Divide those ingredients by 270 berries and there is very little of each ingredient in 1 small goji. They are also very beneficial for eye site. In fact, I put a teaspoon in my oatmeal in the morning.

Biggest error on treats is how much you give them. Giving 1 goji berry sparingly isn't going to hurt the chin but 1 oz of goji will hurt the chin.

Ronda

Ronda said:

Chin slaves - it's very important to know the contents of your treats and dole them out sparingly.

I don't know what pepitas are but considering goji - 1 oz contains approximately 270 to 280 berries. Divide those ingredients by 270 berries and there is very little of each ingredient in 1 small goji. They are also very beneficial for eye site. In fact, I put a teaspoon in my oatmeal in the morning.

Biggest error on treats is how much you give them. Giving 1 goji berry sparingly isn't going to hurt the chin but 1 oz of goji will hurt the chin.

Ronda

Click to expand...

So over time that sparingly given goji berry will hurt the chin.

I've always read different things about them and been unsure.