Calcium?

[xkatxrinax]

Hello,

I read that chinchillas teeth should be a dark yellow/orangey colour, but my two have lighter yellow teeth which means they need more calcium What are good calcium sources for chinchillas? thank you.

 

[Chinmama]

Alfalfa hay or cuttlebone are both good calcium sources.

 

[Stackie]

If you are feeding a good quality diet & they are just pets (not breeders), you shouldn't need to supplement. What are you feeding and how old are your chins?

 

[xkatxrinax]

I'm feeding them good quality pellets, they're from a major petstore here but i've looked into them and apparently they're good and I feed them a mixture of timothy hay and alfalfa because adding a bit of alfalfa is the best way to bribe them into eating their hay as they're not avid hay eaters xD and they are going to turn 2 in just over 2 months.

 

[Stackie]

What's the name of the pellets? Could you post the ingredients & analysis (or a link to it?)

 

[xkatxrinax]

They're pets at home chinchilla Nuggets, here are the ingredients and analysis :
Ingredient(s):

Wheat, Grass Meal, Soya Hulls and Full Fat Soya, Oat Bran, Peas, Unmolassed Sugar Beet Pulp, Brewers Yeast, Vegetable Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate and Calcium Carbonate, Fructo-Oligosaccharides.

Analytical Contituents:

Moisture 9%, Protein 17%, Oils and Fats 4%, Fibre 14%, Ash 6.5%

I'm obviously happy to swap them to a different food if that one isn't good enough, It's just the easiest pellet to get here

 

[xkatxrinax]

Oh and they have lots of vitamin/mineral additives and calcium content is 9g/kg

 

[ticklechin]

The UK and USA have very different ideas on what is a good chinchilla feed, perhaps ClaireD will see this thread and say if this is a good UK feed or not.