Trying to switch chins to a healthier diet...

[rae ella]

Hello, so I've been making the mistake of feeding my chinchilla's the Fiesta foods for awhile now. Recently my guys have stopped eating the pellets and are just eating the little treats that are in them (I'm sure every chin owner is cringing on the sound of those words! Sorry!)
I've read that Oxbrow and Mazuri are more healthy for chinchillas, so now I am trying to switch them to Mazuri. So right now I've mixed Mazuri and Fiesta together to try and transition them to Mazuri- the problem is, they don't want to eat it, they just want the treats in the Fiesta! I'm about a week into the transition, so I tried putting more Mazuri than Fiesta (with minimal "treats" in it), and they barely touched their food. I noticed one guy's energy was a little down, so I put some more Fiesta in the bowl and he immediately ate it.

What would you guys recommend for a smooth transition for them to get off Fiesta?

 

[PebblesAndAbby]

You have remove all the treats from the pellets, they are only supposed to have one treat a day, and a healthy one such as dried hibiscus flowers, rose buds, rose hips, apple sticks. It is very bad for them to have those treats in that pellet mix, they will not eat the food if theres treats in it. they will scourage out the treats and not eat the pellets, you dont have to transition a chinchilla off of treats, just take them all out of the mix every time you measure it with the mazuri until they are only on the mazuri. Hope that helps

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I agree - they will eventually eat the food. They are just 'holding out' for the treats. Don't let them fool you that they will starve if you don't feed them what they 'want'. Just like a kid threatening to not eat if you don't give them candy.

 

[laurensab]

Good job switching I agree. I switched from a junk brand to Mazuri and he didn't seem to want any part in it at first. I mean... I took his "double cheese burgers and fries away" and gave him pellets.. Haha. but as he got hungry he started to eat it. Hes much happier and healthy with Mazuri now. Your baby will come around

 

[tunes]

I would just pull all the old pellets, treats and all, and put the new better pellets in the cage. Provide plenty of good quality hay and he can munch on that when he doesn't feel like eating the pellets. When you have a junky food filled with treats, a cold switch is often times better than prolonging it and trying to wean them off the "candy" it contains.

 

[Stackie]

I agree with just doing a cold switch. Anytime I have had chins come on a bad diet, I have immediately started giving them the good pellets and throwing out the bad. I supplemented with acidophilus for a week and gave plenty of hay and I never had any soft poo problems or anything.

 

[ticklechin]

Chins that can eat won't starve, they may hold out a bit but will eat.

 

[rae ella]

I'll try doing a cold switch, thanks everyone!

 

[rae ella]

It's day two of the switch, and they haven't even touched their bowls. Oh gosh, they must have seriously been addicted to the junk food. They're only eating hay right now. Should I continue to wait it out, or should I try and switch the food to something else- I've heard Oxbrow is really good as well.

 

[cindyv3737]

Just wait it out. They will eat their pellets.

 

[Cuddlebug]

As long as they are eating the hay, they will be fine. Don't give in. They can be really stubborn.

 

[AZChins]

They'll eat it. I always put the chins right onto pellets here when they come with the stuff with the treats in it. Usually it only takes maybe a day and they come around. If they're eating their hay, they won't starve even if they are angry that they aren't getting the treats anymore.

 

[rae ella]

Alright, I won't give in! Haha Well, one gave in anyway and is eating the Mazuri now. The other is still eating the hay- which I find kind of funny. The one who gave in and started to eat the food is generally more stubborn than my other guy. I guess food changed his mind!

 

[RDZCRanch]

I recently did this with three surrenders. The previous owner had tried numerous times to switch them and kept giving in. Because of that, it took them five days to actually start digging in to my pellets because they thought they could wait me out. Even if you aren't seeing a noticeable change or seeing him eat, I guarantee he is eating a few pellets here and there when he knows you are not watching. Chinchillas are very smart.

 

[jacd061506]

I've got a group of chins that were just brought in and they are on mazuri and I feed tradition because mazuri is hard to come by around me. so I'm going to be switching them over to my feed, what is the recomended amounts and day to switch the feed over?

 

[Nef]

I've got a group of chins that were just brought in and they are on mazuri and I feed tradition because mazuri is hard to come by around me. so I'm going to be switching them over to my feed, what is the recomended amounts and day to switch the feed over?

Oh jacd061506 - let me know how that turns out! I'm also switching my chin from Mazuri. Generally you should replace 1/4 of old feed with the new one for the 1st week, replace half the second week, replace 3/4 the third week, and by the 4th week you're completely on the new feed. My chin had soft droppings by the second week when I did half and half so I'm trying to switch really slowly and see how she's doing. I'm a new owner so anyone please correct me if I got the wrong information.