I have a question about diet in general.....
So I recently obtained a new chinchilla, and switched him over to the same diet my first chinchilla is on. They were both on opposite diets, one on a alfalfa based pellet and timothy hay, and one on a timothy based pellet with alfalfa hay. I like to feed alfalfa hay to my chin anway because he is a little on the small side, so right now I have a load of different pellet and hay types.
So this got me thinking.....With all these different hay types out there, Do our chins even need pellets? Could they be healthy on a hay diet alone? Isn't their natural diet primarily grasses?
With all the corn-based products and additives and preservatives, etc. in pellets out there, are we merely offering these food choices because we ourselves like choice, and not because it's needed by the animal at all? Some people like to spoil their chins with treats and seeds and supplements, but it seems like the majority of the items on the market our non-necessary (even unhealthy at times) and our meant more for our pleasure of spoiling then the chin's health. Could the same be true for pellets? What are the benefits of pellets aside from convenience?
I could be totally off base here, but I was just thinking about these questions and wondering if anyone else has considered this. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this. Does anyone feed a hay-only diet? I won't be offended if anyone thinks this is totally stupid (it totally could be), but please provide support for the nutritional benefits of pellets over hay if you know of it! I'd like to know more!
So I recently obtained a new chinchilla, and switched him over to the same diet my first chinchilla is on. They were both on opposite diets, one on a alfalfa based pellet and timothy hay, and one on a timothy based pellet with alfalfa hay. I like to feed alfalfa hay to my chin anway because he is a little on the small side, so right now I have a load of different pellet and hay types.
So this got me thinking.....With all these different hay types out there, Do our chins even need pellets? Could they be healthy on a hay diet alone? Isn't their natural diet primarily grasses?
With all the corn-based products and additives and preservatives, etc. in pellets out there, are we merely offering these food choices because we ourselves like choice, and not because it's needed by the animal at all? Some people like to spoil their chins with treats and seeds and supplements, but it seems like the majority of the items on the market our non-necessary (even unhealthy at times) and our meant more for our pleasure of spoiling then the chin's health. Could the same be true for pellets? What are the benefits of pellets aside from convenience?
I could be totally off base here, but I was just thinking about these questions and wondering if anyone else has considered this. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this. Does anyone feed a hay-only diet? I won't be offended if anyone thinks this is totally stupid (it totally could be), but please provide support for the nutritional benefits of pellets over hay if you know of it! I'd like to know more!