what can I feed my chinchilla in this situation? I need to know asap!

[MissEmily]

so I ran out of chinchilla food last week, and I am freaking out, the roads are too dangerous for me to drive to the city and pick some up. I have lots of timothy hay and I have been feeding her that, and a raisin here or there. But she has lost a bit of weight, and her fur is falling out now around her tail... I am assuming this is because she is malnourished at the moment. I am wondering if I can feed her some oatmeal, something really light and low in proteins and sugars.. but I am not 100% sure that its safe and I don't want to feed her anything until I know. I won't be able to get to the pet store until it stops snowing. Please help!

 

[tunes]

Give lots of hay and don't give raisins. Raisins aren't great for a healthy chin, let alone one that is losing weight. If your chin is losing weight on a hay diet for a week, then you may have issues other than just being out of food. Chins can easily survive on hay for a couple weeks and they shouldn't lose weight. I've had to do it myself with ill chins.

If your chin has been out of food since last week, you should have ordered some on-line. There are several Canadian folk on here who should be able to point you to someone or sell you some themselves. If not, Sandi sells Oxbow and I'm sure she can ship to Canada. She can get 13-14 pounds in a priority box.

Whether the roads are icy or not, with her losing weight you need to get her some appropriate pellets. You also need to figure out what is causing her to lose weight. Is the hay you have good? What kind of pellets did you use? Were they loaded with sugary treats? How about water supply? What does her poo look like? Is she actually eating the hay you are providing? Does she seem to have any difficulty chewing?

 

[jags]

Also the fur falling out will have nothing to do with not feeding pellets. You may want to check for possible fungus.

 

[ticklechin]

I had one who was on a hay only diet for a year or so, he did fine weight wise so I agree with the above posters, you have more going on than just what meets the eye.

 

[Tanya]

I'd make sure that the timothy hay you feed is fresh. It's also best to use organic hay, as herbicides or pesticides can detrimentally affect your chin's health in the long term. You can also use some alfalfa hay; it's rich in nutrients, and chins love it.

My chins get a small amount of pellets. However, they get fresh, organic hay that contains various grasses, alfalfa hay, and herbs. I give my chins a teaspoon of herbal broad spectrum supplement daily. My chins do great on this natural diet and do not lose weight.

I also think that you should check for possible fungus.

 

[MissEmily]

I managed to get her some food, turns out my 8 year old brother had been feeding her 3 raisins a day... and she wasn't doing so well.. I still don't know why her fur was falling out, I think it was due to stress, but most of the little strands fell out, and it is looking more normal. I got her some food, a huge 10 kilogram bag, and she seems to like it very much =)