Brands of Food and Prices? Looking to switch brands.

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I've done it, don't like to do it...and prepare myself for the worst...but when you take in a chinchilla that's being fed dog food...or hamster food...or even just Charlie Chinchilla...sometimes it has to be done. Your chins are young, so especially susceptible. If you can avoid it, I would, if not...keep a close eye on intake and output and behavior.
 
It's likely they will experience digestive upset- they really do not do well with sudden switches in their diet & changes should be made over a week or preferably more. It takes time for the new different bacteria in their gut to grow and change over to digest the new feed properly. Some can go off feed and not eat at all causing major issues. Some people get lucky and do not see any issues but that is not to say the animal does not have any, they are just not seen by the owner.
 
It should be done gradually. If you are changing one dry food to another, mix the new feed into the old over a period of around 7-14 days. For example, start with a mix of 10% of new food and 90% of the old and increase the new and decrease the old each day until they no longer eating any old food. During this time, watch your chins poo. If they become soft or runny, you are changing the food too rapidly.
 
I gave all three a piece of the blue seal to try and they all are going crazy. I think they see it as a treat rather than food. They've never had anything 'extra' other than their Manna pro, hay, hay cubes and sticks.
 
It may smell or taste good to them but if the bacteria does not have a chance to change over they may like it but it may not like them.
 
My problem is that I only have a tiny bit of manna pro left. My mom dumped the one container because she thought it was 'no good' since it was sitting in the chin room closet. So I only have barely 2 cups left, and have no way of getting more yet cuz I just spent all my money on the blue seal. And my parents don't have any extra money right now. Is there a way to do a "quick" switch? It wouldn't have been a problem except for my mom throwing out about 2 lbs of feed.
 
Willow gets about 1/4 c of food per day and the boys get a little less than 1/2c a day. I don't know if that helps or not

I feel like a horrible chin mommy... :cry3:
 
If you have nothing left of the old to blend to the new you are kind of stuck with the quick switch just be ready for possible problems and watch them close. If you feed hay keep plenty of that available to them at all times during the switch.
 
They always have hay. I built hay holders out of chin-safe wood and they get stuffed full every morning and evening. I will be checking in on them every few hours. I did a mix of a little more than 3/4 manna pro to about 1/4 blue seal.
So Willow got a little less than 1/4c manna pro mixed with about 1/8 of a cup of blue seal.
The boys got a little more than 1/3 c manna pro mixed with less than 1/4c blue seal.
(Filled a 1/4c dry measuring cup about 3/4 full for the boys. For Willow I filled it with just enough to cover the bottom of it.)
 
nikkik0720 said:
Will someone please answer my final question? How horrible would it be to of a direct switch? I have been asking it for a few days and nobody has answered it.
Click to expand...

I have bought animals at shows and was given no transition feed. They went to a direct feed change without any problems. I'm sure they were not happy. But I use hay as well. I figure when they were hungry enough they ate it. I did not have any problems when faced with this situation. Hope that helps.
 
I feed mine Oxbow Essentials; probably the best feed you can buy at a regular pet store, like Petsmart for instance. I also work there so its easily accessible to me :)
 
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