Chinchilla Treat Ideas Needed

[pookie126]

Since Cheech has been diagnosed with hypoglycemia, I have had such difficulty in finding a treat that he likes! He doesn't seem interested in trying much of anything - mostly he will sniff at whatever treat I hand to him and turn the other way. Treats that he love prior to his "episode" he won't even try, as if he attributes it to the problem (my husband says I am nuts!!!). Any treat ideas for him????

 

[starleomach]

This may sound horrible but he can live a full happy life without treats. Otherwise a pinch of oats an apple twig etc.

 

[tinkerbell2002]

you can try those bite size mini wheats but not frosted. just plain mini wheats and plain wheat cherrios. =)

 

[Laurie]

While I totally agree with Kristy (starleomach) I know how hard it is as a human to want to give treats to our bets. I doubt there's a chin out there that would pass up a pinch of old fashioned cooking oats! They love those things!

 

[mrweaw]

We buy the generic plain shredded mini wheats. We looked at the labels and found that the generic ones actually had less "junk" in them than the name brand ones. We like the Safeway brand and our chins look at us almost rabid like when they hear the box

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

Does anyone on this thread know if unsalted, unbuttered pop corn is an okay treat? I don't eat popcorn, so when I pop a bag it's specifically for my parrotlet, Raptor. But it takes him FOREVER to go through it. I am wondering if my chins could enjoy some too. If not, the popcorn will just have to go in the garbage.

 

[Pleiades]

I think the apple twigs or branches/ bites are a great idea! My boys love new apple wood just as much as oats or anything else. They get excited, and wood is great for them.

 

[Laurie]

Brittany Lynn aka just Lynn--no popcorn! Corn is not good for chins. When I first got Leonard I learned his owners gave him mini marshmallows and popcorn--really one of the reasons I took him as I wasn't going to. He has since gotten used to healthy treats, but I also feed guilty when I pop corn at home because I feel like he remembers the good old days!

 

[kimbt622]

Hm, i did not know chinchillas could be hypoglycemic. I am too! Learn something new everyday.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

Brittany Lynn aka just Lynn--no popcorn! Corn is not good for chins. When I first got Leonard I learned his owners gave him mini marshmallows and popcorn--really one of the reasons I took him as I wasn't going to. He has since gotten used to healthy treats, but I also feed guilty when I pop corn at home because I feel like he remembers the good old days!

Thanks Laurie

 

[pookie126]

Thanks for the shredded mini wheat idea - didn't think of that and since my son loves them anyway, I always have them in the house. Had already tried oats, but he turned up his nose at those already.

I know he doesn't "need" treats, but every now and then I just like to give him something special.

Does anyone know about sunflower seeds? Are they safe for chinchillas? The reason I ask is that my birds threw some out of their cage (of course they are unsalted) and he hopped over to one, shelled it and ate the kernel up before I could even get to him. Don't want to even try hunting for a bag of them (if I can even find them unsalted anywhere) if they are not safe.

 

[Tanya]

Chins should not get sunflowers seeds, especially if they suffer from seizures. Caffeic acid is a heat-stable anti thiamine factor. It can be formed on hydrolysis of chlorogenic acids by intestinal microflora. Sunflower seeds, blueberry/bilberry leaves contain chlorogenic acid and therefore should be avoided.

Nutritive herbal supplement helps reduce incidence of hypoglycemia, it promotes normal blood sugar balance, some herbs are especially beneficial. Herbs are great source of nutrients that are fully available for uptake and utilization.

It's also important to feed fresh pellets, it's best to use them within 6 months from the mill date. Length of storage, rancidity, temperature, humidity result in biotin loss (biotin plays a role in maintaining normal blood glucose), other nutrients that help in the regulation of blood sugar levels are destroyed as well.

 

[llough]

Wait, I'm confused - in humans, HYPOglycemic means that you have low blood sugar, which would mean that a little bit of sugar in treats would not pose more of a problem for him than it would for other chinchillas, as I understand. Did you maybe mean he's HYPERglycemic? That would mean he has too much sugar in his blood.

If he his hyperglycemic, oats would be all right because that is a low carbohydrate grain, but shredded wheat is very high in carbohydrates, which is not good for hyperglycemia. Carbohydrates are metabolized to standard sugar in the GI track, so its the same as giving him something sugary, except that its not bad for his teeth. Does that kind of make sense? Another idea might be rosebuds - I don't know if you've already tried that?

 

[ticklechin]

Good ole apple sticks are a favorite treat here, they act like its xmas every night when they get a hand full.

 

[pookie126]

Wait, I'm confused - in humans, HYPOglycemic means that you have low blood sugar, which would mean that a little bit of sugar in treats would not pose more of a problem for him than it would for other chinchillas, as I understand. Did you maybe mean he's HYPERglycemic? That would mean he has too much sugar in his blood.

If he his hyperglycemic, oats would be all right because that is a low carbohydrate grain, but shredded wheat is very high in carbohydrates, which is not good for hyperglycemia. Carbohydrates are metabolized to standard sugar in the GI track, so its the same as giving him something sugary, except that its not bad for his teeth. Does that kind of make sense? Another idea might be rosebuds - I don't know if you've already tried that?

llough - I am familiar with both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Cheech is HYPOGLYCEMIC. His blood sugar drops very low on occasion and I have been given standing orders from the vet to give 3cc of corn syrup when he begins acting lethargic. So far, this has worked extremely well for him and we have no other bad episodes since his first seizure that resulted from it dropping.