A Few Chin Food Questions?

[dayofhope]

I'm out of chinchilla pellets.
I heard that old fashioned oat meal is okay. Does this include Quaker Oats? 100% Whole-Grain (and yes old fashioned, too)? Do you give it to them plain? How much? Can it be fed to them instead of pellets? Pellets are expensive...

If not, any cheap pellets that are a good brand?

And I read something on a different website about chinchillas not being allowed to eat fruits or veggies at all? I've always heard that they were able to have raisins and apples and a few other fruits/dried fruit?

Thanks in advance

 

[aznmexaggie]

Oats are only appropriate as a treat. They do not have the proper nutrition or to be fed as the diet. A small pinch is all a chin should get. Too much will cause GI problems.

Give your chin unlimited hay until you can buy more pellets (hopefully within a day or so). The only brands which are healthy for chins are Mazuri, Oxbow, APD, or Tradition and some high quality show rabbit feeds like Manna Pro Sho or Nutrena Naturewise. Try a feedstore for cheaper prices. Or there are some members on this site who sell the pellets at cheaper prices (for example, Sandi sells Oxbow for a good price.)

 

[dayofhope]

Thanks for the help.
I'll give her hay tomorrow, and probably get food tomorrow.

 

[aznmexaggie]

I just realized I forgot to address the fruit part. Fresh fruits and veggies are not necessary for a chinchilla and can cause bloat. Some people do give dried fruits but I do not give or recommend any dried fruits (apples, raisins, bananas, etc.) because of the potential problems they can cause. Dried fruits are highly concentrated in sugar and can cause an overgrowth of Clostridium and other species of "bad bacteria" in the intestines. The "good bacteria" gets killed off and then your chin cannot digest his food properly, can end up with diarrhea or bloat, and other subsequent G.I. issues.

 

[dayofhope]

Oh okay. That's so strange, I've always heard that a raisin once a day is good for them.. Anyway, I'll stop feeding her those. Thanks

 

[aznmexaggie]

Stick to healthy treats such as the pinch of rolled oats/old-fashioned oats, an unsweetened Cheerio or mini-wheat, or a rosehip.

 

[Laurie]

Ellie where are you located and what type of pellets are you feeding? I can get 25lbs of quality feed for my chinchillas for $8 at a local feed store. If you buy your pellets at petstores I can guarantee you they will be expensive. Let us know where you are and what you're currently feeding and we may be able to help you get a better deal. Chins really do need to eat a quality pellet and not pellets rife with treats, to ensure good health.

 

[Sugarmama]

Yes, you definitely need a good pellet. They need to be free-fed hay, but that won't meet their nutritional needs. Oats (old fashioned kind) are only a healthy treat, and will not provide the nutrition needed.

Please let us know what feed you use, and we can help you find cheaper feed. I pay about $17 for a 50 lb bag. I order it through my local feed store. If you are getting it at a pet store, I guarantee you are overpaying.

There are several people on here who purchase large bags of feed, and then sell it by the pound. Even with shipping (flat rate), it is WAY cheaper than a pet store, and it will be a very good, nutritional pellet.

 

[Sesame]

Have you tried your local Petsmart for Mazuri pellets or Oxbow pellets? These two brands are pretty good (though more expensive then if you were to buy from another member by the pound, like Sugarmama suggested) and would work in a quick fix.

If you're going without pellets for a day or two, I believe just offering free-fed hay would be okay. Pellets offer more nutritional value that a chin needs. The old-fashioned rolled oats are usually given a pinch a day as a treat or a supplement to the diet.

Petco doesn't seem to carry these two brands of pellets, fyi.

 

[Carol~Anne]

Just wanted to add that once you decide on one of the recommended brands then stick with just that one and don't switch back and forth such as buying Mazuri one time and then next time buying Oxbow etc. Switching back and forth can cause a lot of GI upset and loose poops etc. It's okay to switch over to another brand but you should do the switch gradually to avoid problems.

 

[dayofhope]

After searching my local feed store and not finding any chinchilla food,
I had to settle with Kaytee Forti-Diet Prohealth. I know it's not good enough but it was seriously all we could find :/
I live in a small town in, and our closest Petsmart is more than an hour away..
Thanks for everyone's help though

 

[Ash]

If you have a local feed store, they probably sell good brands of rabbit feed. Nutrena, Purina Show (I forget what the exact name of it is now that they've changed it, it was formerly Purina Advanced Nutrition Rabbit Show), Tradition, Pen Pals, etc. PLEASE tell us where you are located so we can help you find somewhere the sells GOOD pellet otherwise you're going to be stuck with a chinchilla with health issues.

 

[dayofhope]

I am located in southern Missouri, kinda close to Springfield...that's all the info I wanna give, internet safety and all..

 

[Ash]

Hope, most of us have met people from here countless times and order from each other all the time. No one here's gonna stalk you LOL! But I understand. Here is a list of Purina dealers near Springfield, they'd all carry the Purina rabbit feeds, at least, and can usually order in Mazuri chinchilla feed also http://www.purina-mills.com/DealerLocator.aspx?SearchType=Z&ZipCode=65721

 

[Carol~Anne]

When I lived in Victoria I asked one of the local pets shops if they could possibly order Mazuri chinchilla pellets in for me and they had no problem doing so as they had a lot of other Purina products already in the store. Yes, do try the feed store as well b/c often their prices are lower. These days I'm ordering my pellets online and although I do pay for shipping, the pellets are very good quality and it probably works out to be the same price or cheaper than pellets from the store.

 

[MelodyR]

You can order online. Drs Foster and Smith carries alot of healthy products (and some NOT so good ones, unfortunately). But they do carry Oxbow.

HEY -- under "healthy" pellets you forgot to mention Kline pellets!!!! They were specifically designed for chins! I use them and am totally thrilled with them, as are the chinnies! They, along with a great supplement, are available from Carolina Chinchillas (Ann Ingram) ---- www.carolinachinchilla.com

Ann is wonderful to talk to and is helpful in so very many ways. She goes way out of her way to help you with whatever you need or need to know. After getting my chin food from her for over 5 years, I also acquired two of her beautiful babies this last December -- they are big and healthy and sweet as can be.