Raisins and popcorn?

[ChonchoMom]

I have a question, When I got my chin about a year ago, They were feeding him Raisins and popcorn quite often. I heard that it wasn't good for chinchillas to eat that sort of thing, I now only give him a raisin or two a week and usually a piece of popcorn or two a couple of times a week (plain of course)

Is this super duper bad? I worry all the time, but hes really healthy and active and happy.

Would love some input

 

[tunes]

I would never give popcorn or raisins. There are much better, safer, healthier alternatives for treats. A pinch of old fashioned oats, rosehips, rose petals, chin cookies made from chin food and hay, and lots of wood chews.

Chins are not people. Feeding them popcorn, Doritos, grapes, whatever, is nowhere near the diet that a chin should have. A good quality pellet, good quality hay, reverse osmosis or filtered water, and the occasional treat is all that a chin should be eating. Some people also offer their chins supplements like those made by Tanya or Ryerson's, sometimes because the chin needs it (to gain weight, better coat, etc.) and sometimes just to give the chin a little something different in their diet, but it isn't absolutely necessary on a regular basis.

 

[ChonchoMom]

Thank you, I'm glad there is someone to tell me that. Everyone I talk to in this little town tells me something else, and it just didn't seem right to me.

Ok, so as far as oats go....Just from the bulk bin? regular oats? Or like quick cooking oats that I make oatmeal from?

Also rose petals? From a rose?

Thanks so much!

 

[melbur10]

NOT the quick cooking kind, just regular old fashioned rolled oats

dried rose petals ... yup from a rose... check out the classifieds section you will see a few people selling rose buds. also check fuzzies kingdom, they have various herbal supplements with things like rose petals etc

raisins =too much sugar
popcorn. well you should not give any corn to a chin period. bad for their guts.

 

[ChonchoMom]

Ok, thanks again for the information, Raisins in the garbage and there will be no more popcorn.

 

[melbur10]

rose hips are a healthy treat as well

no worries we all have to start some where and we have all made mistakes along the way!

best treat ever is sticks and toys... hehe its so much fun watching them destroy them too !

 

[ticklechin]

The more junk the chinchilla eats, the less stuff they will eat that actually does their teeth and gut good. Chins need a high fiber low engery diet-meaning low fat and protein to maintain good dental and gut heath, the teeth grow 1-3 mm a week average so they need to have fiberous things to grind them down and keep them in check, keep feeding the chin junk food and the teeth will overgrow and lead to elongation of the roots and crown. As far as the gut, bloat can happen out of the blue to a chin fed junk food, chins can't burp so when the chin gets really gassy the digestive tract can expand to the point of rupture. Not to mension that chins get cavities and gum disease just like humans, all these reasons are why chins should just get pellets and hay, a good treat is a apple stick-lasts a long time and won't take away tummy space.

 

[Jenn]

There is so much bad and incorrect info floating around that it really is difficult to filter through it all and know what the right thing to do is at times. You should get pretty consistent advice on this forum. Raisins and popcorn are indeed no-no's, and it's great that you asked for advice and will not be feeding them anymore to your chin! There are great chin approved alternatives, although chins really don't need any treats at all. They will be fine with good pellets, hay, and wood chews.

 

[Andrea]

Chins don't actually need treats at all. If you do give treats, shredded wheat (without sugar!) is good, as are rosehips. I give a rosehip to each of mine about 2x a week. I give them as much hay, wood and pellets as the want though...which is what they really need! Definitely no popcorn or raisins...though raisins being good for chins seems to be a common misconception.

 

[Amphy64]

a good treat is a apple stick-lasts a long time and won't take away tummy space.

That reminds me, I was kind of wondering about that because I've noticed that Henry eats less pellets when he's been given a bunch of apple sticks. He does seem to eat the bark rather than just chewing it, I figured that was probably Ok but was a little concerned by him not eating so many pellets. We're out of apple sticks right now and he's definitely back to eating more.

 

[summerdays]

oh wow, i'm glad you asked.

 

[greychins]

We once had a chin come in, which the owner was feeding grapes, raisins, potato chips, chocolate, and popcorn.... as it's SOLE diet. No pellets or nothing. Oh, and she had two water bottles - one with water and one with beer. It sounds unreal but I kid you not! She said she read somewhere that it was ok to feed her chin those sort of things. And for the beer, she said the once she was letting the chin out for playtime and there was some beer spilled on the floor and the chin started licking it up, so she thought it couldn't hurt!

I know, nuts. But the point is, somewhere this nutzo read that it was ok (surely not for the chocolate and beer, but maybe for some of the other stuff). That's why it's so important to ask knowledgeable people (like here on the forum) about this stuff, because it's easy to do something wrong when you get hit with all this conflicting information and aren't sure what's right or not.

 

[ChonchoMom]

I did throw out the raisins and wont be giving Choncho any more of that junk, I also told my husband, so that he wont.

Today I got some rolled oats and when I got home, I put a small amount in the palm of my hand and he ate it out of my hand, he loved it.

I will be investing in healthy snacks and lots of wood for him.

It's crazy what people tell you, The store I bought him from is who told me that he eats those things, they also said carrots and pine cones from my yard. I had given him a baby carrot, but haven't given him any pine cones.

I am so thankful I found this site!

 

[dragsil]

We once had a chin come in, which the owner was feeding grapes, raisins, potato chips, chocolate, and popcorn.... as it's SOLE diet. No pellets or nothing. Oh, and she had two water bottles - one with water and one with beer. It sounds unreal but I kid you not! She said she read somewhere that it was ok to feed her chin those sort of things. And for the beer, she said the once she was letting the chin out for playtime and there was some beer spilled on the floor and the chin started licking it up, so she thought it couldn't hurt!

Really??? I can understand why people can be mistaken with rasins and nuts but chocolate and beer? Wowzers, I wonder what happened to common sense with that one :S

 

[greychins]

Yeah I dunno. The woman seemed sane enough... and you're right, I can see the possibility where she maybe heard the popcorn or raisins, but the chocolate and beer? Course, I used to know someone who used to smoke pot and would blow it in her dog's face because "her dog liked to get high." So there's all kinda people in the world.

I was actually surprised the chin had survived through all of that. I mean that would be like the worst diet ever.

 

[ticklechin]

Chins like beer, I had a couple who if given the chance would grab the beer can and run off with it and try to lick the rim so be aware of that and secure the beer!

It gets really sad when a rescue feeds the rescues doritos, human oatmeal cookies and all the dried fruit they can eat-their philosophy is if humans can eat it chins can, if I did not see it with my own eyes and have to scold those that wanted to feed my chins it I would not have believed it.