The Pickiest Eater to Rule Them All?

[inkling]

I've got a 2 year old chinchilla that I've had since he was a few months old who... is behaving normally in every way except when it comes to eating hay.

He eats his pellets no problem. He chews his wood no problem. He runs on his wheel. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. The only thing I've been concerned about lately is that he only interacts with me most of the time these days and can be feisty around other people, but he's still happy to sit on my shoulder, groom me, etc. He doesn't like picked up or inspected, though, so I tend to avoid that whenever possible, although he's perfectly fine with me rubbing and petting him in most areas.

But for the last few months, he's not eating much hay. I've been monitoring it for awhile. I tried new hay, and it's the same behavior.

I've watched him and he just... picks through it. He'll pick a piece up, bite it, throw it down, etc. I end up with this huge strewn pile of hay all over the floor of his cage and only some of the hay eaten. I've been trying to make up for this by changing his hay frequently, but it's just getting absurd.

The moment I change his hay, he comes over and starts attempting to eat it, but he still goes through this whole sorting process and turns his nose up at most of it. I've even hand-fed him pieces and he'll nibble then throw it back down if he doesn't like it.

Is he just a picky eater? Does anyone have recommendations or other advice?

 

[Stackie]

My chins snub certain brands or cuts of hay. It took some experimenting with different kinds to finally find a type that they like. They will not eat Oxbow, or anything that is very hard and stemmy (mostly 1st cut hays). They like Oxbow mountain grass though. The magical timmy hay they will all eat is a mix of 2nd and 3rd cut timothy and blue grass from Kleenmama's.

 

[Minccino]

I think it's normal for chins to be picky about hay! Mine will toss the harder stems.. He loves the soft grass pieces and the pieces with the grains on it.

 

[inkling]

I've tried two different brands now, just recently. Sometime last year, I found some sweet grass brand that I think he loved, and was also marketed for picky eaters. I have to check that store again. I think he must particularly dislike hay that's really cut up. I think he prefers the bigger, thicker, crunchier pieces. He also loves bark, so I imagine that's his preferred texture or something. (At least figuring out which wood he likes was easy, although that is also very limited!)

He just will not eat as much as he should be, so I was getting concerned! I'm throwing away at least two handfuls of hay each day!

What a goober!

Thanks, guys.

 

[Amethyst]

Sometimes you have to try several brands to find the one (or mix of brands) your chin will eat. Another thing is how frequently the turnover of hay where you buy it. Heat, time, and light can greatly affect hay, so if the store has hay sitting for months before someone buys it then the warehouse they get supplied from could have bags sitting there for months too, waiting on a store's order, making the hay pretty old by the time you buy it. Also don't be afraid to try the cheaper brands like Kaytee, some people have chins that will only eat that, and when it comes down to it hay is hay really, only one ingredient so cheaper brands aren't really any different nutritionally. You could also try hay cubes, some chins really like those, or even try the oxbow stacks, they are compressed hay pucks and if you don't pull it apart of them they have to work to get the hay making it fun and food.

Another thought is, have you tried just leaving the hay in there for a few days? I know my guys will go through the whole hay holder to find the perfect piece, but will go back to the stuff on the floor so long as it hasn't been peed on and eat a good bit of it. It's normal to have to throw away a good bit though.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I give my chins hay every other day. Before I started doing this, they were not eating much hay at all. Just peeing on it. Now they see me with the hay bag and they all run to the front of their cages to get to the hay. They actually eat it now. I guess it seems like a treat with this schedule.

 

[Zoaea]

Also, if you get small bags of hay from petstore it tends to be old and tastless, I get bags of hay from a feed store that gathers hay from the big bales, it's only 7$ for enough to last me a month with 6 adult chins. It's fresh and smells sweet and they pounce on it. They also waste about half because the pee on the stuff they throw down.

 

[Godofgods]

Is he just a picky eater? Does anyone have recommendations or other advice?

ironically i have the exact same yet opposite problem atm with one of my chins. The difference is he is only eating his hay and no pellets. :hmm:

My other male chin stopped eating hay when i had to separate him from his son for a while to monitor them. He stopped eating hay all together. - The reason.. believe it or not, was because he didn't have his hay dish any more. Yea. I have two of everything except a hay dish, so that stayed with his son since he was only eating hay. But when i put the dish back into fathers cages, he immediately started eating hay once again... :crazy:

Where in Pa are you? Im currently in harrisburg myself. Might be moving down towards newvile soon.

 

[Chinmama]

Mine are the same way. I find a brand/cut they love and then the next time I order the same thing, they won't touch it.