What do chinchillas eat at home - lists of allowed and prohibited foods

Before you get a furry friend, it is better to know how to feed your chinchilla at home, because you cannot constantly change the food. Immediately after purchasing a chinchilla, it is better to feed them with food that you will buy regularly. It is also very important to feed your chinchillas high-quality dry food, free from mold and rot, otherwise she will develop digestive diseases.

This article on how to feed a chinchilla at home talks about all the foods that can and cannot be fed to the animal. Feeding a chinchilla is not difficult, the most important thing is to try to feed them at the same time.

Chinchilla content: permitted and prohibited products

Chinchillas are kept on ready-made pelleted food, but also on grass and grains. Therefore, it is worth noting which products are included in the green sector.

• The following greens would be suitable: salad
• spinach and sorrel
• plantain
• calendula
• coltsfoot
• chicory
• parsley
• jasmine
• blooming Sally
• nettle
• alfalfa
• clover
• mint
• thyme
• chamomile
• Melissa
• goat's rue
• series
• echinacea
• dandelion
• yarrow
• calamus and burdock root

• Legumes are extremely healthy and loved, especially: lentils
• white and red beans
• beans
• peas
• soybeans

Food should be varied

• Don't forget about grain crops: wheat
• corn
• and also buckwheat
• rice
• millet
• oats
• and barley

• Vegetables worth noting: carrots
• pumpkin
• young corn
• Bell pepper
• kohlrabi
• zucchini
• zucchini
• squash
• Jerusalem artichoke

For a treat

• As for fruits, you should choose: apples
• pears (in moderation)
• bananas
• figs
• strawberries
• lingonberries
• rosehip

How to choose hay for a chinchilla

Red sector or what not to give to chinchillas:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Nuts and seeds in large quantities. You should also be careful with almonds and pine nuts - they can be given no more than 1-2 times every 2 weeks!
• Herbs that are poisonous to chinchillas: fern
• horsetail
• buttercup
• rushnik
• black nightshade
• dope
• St. John's wort
• white hellebore
• cornflower
• raven eye

A few words about the benefits of tea

Ready food

Chinchillas eat only dry food. In their habitat, they feed on moss, twigs of various trees, dry herbs, etc. They don't eat succulent foods like fresh fruits and vegetables because their digestion isn't designed for that. From juicy food, they begin to develop gas in the stomach, which is not so easy to cure. This is because chinchillas do not have the ability to pass gas on their own.

Ready-made food for chinchillas is divided into several types:

• Regular crumbly (100-200 rub/kg)
• Granulated (400-600 rub/kg)

They are approximately similar in composition, but in regular food all the ingredients are presented in their usual form, while in granulated food they are compressed into granules.

Food is given to chinchillas every day; this is their main diet. You can choose any type of food; any of them will contain enough of the most important vitamins, microelements and fiber.

What is included in the feed:

• Cereal products
• Herbal flour
• Calcium (lime, chalk, etc.)
• Vitamin supplements
• Phosphates

Natural treats

The main treat for chinchillas is dried apples. They contain fiber, which promotes proper digestion. Remove toxic waste products and improve overall metabolism in the animal’s body. Like carrots, apples help strengthen fur and the cardiovascular system.

Dried carrots are perfect for constant pampering. It contains vitamins A, B, C, E, a large amount of iron, potassium, calcium. As you know, this is the main supplier of beneficial carotene to the body. Carrots are a natural teeth cleaner. Since it awakens the appetite, you don’t need to give it a lot at once - a pinch a day is enough. Sweet pepper in the same quantity is an excellent vitamin supplement that strengthens teeth, gums and immunity.

Raisins are given to strengthen the heart, as a cure for anemia and weakness. Chinchillas love it very much because raisins contain a lot of sugar. But you should not give more than 1 berry per week. Raspberries can be given fresh or dried, 2-3 berries per week (like hawthorn). It is rich in organic acids and salts of iron, potassium, and copper. Dried hawthorn is more of a medicine than a tasty treat. It helps to calm down, cope with stress, and is also indispensable for intestinal upset. The same amount of pumpkin seeds can be given to improve digestion, skin, and hair follicles.

Chokeberry is also rich in amino acids and rare vitamin P. Together with sweet pepper, they normalize the composition of vitamins and microelements in the chinchilla’s body. In addition to the listed delicacies, you can give nettles, oats, almonds, linden flowers, and fresh (not fried!) sunflower seeds. Chinchillas also love to sip green tea from time to time. It is rich in vitamins B1, B2, K, C, BB, and optimizes the nervous system. Green tea is a powerful antioxidant; it is better not to give more than a teaspoon per week.

Treats

Treats for chinchillas are used not only as something rewarding, but also as an additional source of minerals and vitamins. Most often, treats are given separately from the main food.

As a treat you can give:

• Hawthorn fruits,
• Dog-rose fruit,
• Rowan berries,
• Black currant berries,
• cranberries,
• Apples,
• carrots,
• Hibiscus inflorescence,
• Common calendula flowers,
• Linden flowers,
• Bell pepper,
• parsley roots,
• Dandelion roots.

But what the breeder loves - sweets, cakes, pastries, candies - are unacceptable for feeding chinchillas as treats.

However, many novice breeders try to feed their pets with these harmful products and end up with poisoning, severe diarrhea and even death.

Contraindications and harm

Among the most common contraindications to the use of seeds, various allergic reactions and inadequate immediate reactions are in first place.

If you suddenly see that after eating seeds, your rabbit has foam at the mouth, it becomes difficult for him to breathe (he coughs, starts sneezing, wheezing, etc.) or massive swelling appears on his body - then know that he seeds are contraindicated.

In general, it is quite difficult to identify general groups of contraindications for all types of seeds. For example, a contraindication to consuming sunflower seeds is animal obesity, while for pumpkin seeds this is, on the contrary, an indication.

Sunflower should also not be eaten by rabbits whose age has passed 5–7 years, who have atherosclerosis or have/had high cholesterol levels.

Pumpkin kernels are not recommended to be given to rabbits that have digestive disorders, have recently suffered acute infectious diseases, or during the period of a full-blown clinical picture of any disease.

Pumpkin seeds should also not be eaten by those furry animals that have problems with the functioning of their senses: hearing, vision and smell, as this can negatively affect them.

Important! If any of the symptoms listed in this section appear, we recommend that you immediately seek help from a professional veterinarian. Among other possible harms from eating seeds, you should also expect the development of: appendicitis, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea (roasted sunflower), constipation (pumpkin), vomiting, various changes in the lipid spectrum of the blood, obesity (sunflower), loss of hair and claws, and the appearance of irritation on the skin

Feeding a rodent: hay for chinchillas

Hay is the most important component of a chinchilla's diet. Most experts believe that there should always be hay in the cage of these rodents so that the animals can eat as much of it as they want. It is rich in fiber, which is so necessary for animals.

Properly harvested high-quality hay smells pleasant, without sticks, debris and other impurities. Wet and moldy food is not suitable for animals.

In specialized stores you can find various types of hay (from legumes, meadow, forest, etc.). You can prepare it yourself.

The best hay is made from leguminous grasses (clover, alfalfa, vetch). It contains vitamins and minerals (phosphorus and calcium) necessary for animals. In addition, it is very nutritious and contains a sufficient amount of digestible protein. Leguminous grasses need to be mowed in the budding phase or at the beginning of flowering.

Clover

Vika

Alfalfa

The best time for mowing cereals is the heading phase. Cereal hay (meadow fescue, timothy, cocksfoot, meadow grass) is somewhat inferior to legume hay (it contains less protein and minerals).

Forb hay is very nutritious if it contains legumes and cereals, as well as bird buckwheat, salsify, etc. Before flowering, herbs are especially rich in vitamins and nutrients. Therefore, the hay should consist of forbs, mowed before the first flowering of the grass. Late-cut grasses have low nutritional value.

Ferns, rush grass, datura, black nightshade, spurge, horsetail, white hellebore, henbane, cornflower, crow's eye and other poisonous plants should absolutely not be included in chinchilla hay.

Foods that can be given in limited quantities

The list of products that chinchillas are fed at home includes some that can be given to the animals in small quantities.

1. Nuts, sunflower seeds, peas, lentils, corn are highly nutritious food, rich in protein and fat. If the rodent is overfed with these foods, it becomes fat and its digestion may be impaired.
2. Juicy greens (lettuce, dandelion) and vegetables (cucumbers, zucchini) are loved by animals, but these foods weaken them. Each day, one animal is given half a leaf of lettuce or one slice of cucumber 3–4 mm thick.
3. Sweet fruits and berries are a favorite food for chinchillas, but in large quantities they can lead to metabolic failure.
4. It is advisable to give branches of plants such as raspberry, willow, oak, alder and birch no more than once a week.

Each product new to the animal is given in the smallest dose, observing the pet’s behavior. If there is no deterioration in health within 24 hours after the introduction of the food, the product can be offered in an increased volume.

Pure water

A chinchilla needs to have clean water at all times. It is best to give living water from springs, because it contains useful microelements and bacteria. If you do not have the opportunity to take water from springs, then you will have to use what you have, namely filtered water.

You should not take bottled water; it has undergone too much purification and is “dead.”

Keep the water in the drinking bowl clean so that it does not have an unpleasant odor or blooms. The drinking bowl must be washed, preferably every 3-4 days. In general, there are no other requirements for water; the main thing is to keep the drinking bowl clean.

What you can and cannot feed your chinchilla

Inexperienced chinchilla breeders often make stupid mistakes when treating their favorite animals with pine nuts, chips or tangerines. As a result, completely hairless animals with severe allergies are brought to veterinarians; sometimes errors in nutrition cause the death of the pet. Chinchillas can be given pelleted food, hay and water. All other products must be strictly dosed. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the list of products that can or cannot be used to feed your little friend.

Table of permitted and prohibited products

A balanced diet for a domestic chinchilla is the key to its long healthy life and ability to reproduce. Take care and feed your furry pets properly.

What's not allowed?

The fluffy rodent has sensitive digestion. Therefore, the following products are prohibited from being given to him:

• meat products;
• bakery products;
• prepared human food;
• eggs;
• fermented milk products;
• products whose quality and freshness are questionable;
• mushrooms;
• pasta;
• roasted seeds and nuts;
• raw potatoes, lettuce and fresh cabbage;
• sugar-containing products;
• chips, popcorn, fast food.

These products will not bring any benefit to your pet. They are saturated with fat and extremely high in calories. So the mentioned food will not have a beneficial effect on the development and growth of the pet, and will even cause obesity . Even if the chinchilla likes such products, giving them is strictly prohibited.

Features of feeding

The chinchilla is a herbivore, so the basis of its diet is plant foods. This is a very picky animal that chooses the most delicious pieces from the food offered. That is why the owner must ensure that the chinchilla eats its entire portion. The feeder is spacious and comfortable. If excess food remains in it, then the amount of feed is reduced.

Chinchillas have a weak digestive system, so it is strictly forbidden to overfeed them, give them low-quality products and treat them from the table. Food must be fresh, without signs of mustiness, rot or mold. Grass, which must be included in the diet, is collected in ecologically clean areas, far from industrial enterprises and roads. Greens, vegetables, fruits are thoroughly washed and dried and only then offered to the animal.

If the chinchilla ate exclusively mixed feed, then you need to accustom it to greens gradually, starting with small portions. If the animal feels well, you can safely introduce juicy food into the diet.

On the day, a chinchilla needs the following list of products:

• compound feed – 1–3 tsp;
• green food - 5 g;
• hay - 30 g;
• additional food (twigs of trees and shrubs) - 6 g;
• water.

This animal has no sense of proportion. It can eat treats in any quantity. Foods such as nuts, dried fruits, vegetables and fruits should be given to chinchillas in strictly defined doses.

Animal food should have the following composition:

Rules for feeding pet chinchillas

The chinchilla is a herbivorous rodent that eats food in small quantities, but quite often.

Basic feeding rules:

1. There should always be a supply of healthy food in your pet's feeder.
2. New foods are introduced into the diet with caution.
3. Balanced and varied menu.
4. Chinchillas are very active, so they need high-calorie food, which also keeps the rodent's beautiful fur healthy.

Nutrition and daily routine

Chinchillas are nocturnal. Activity appears closer to 18-20 pm. The owner must ensure that there is enough food in the pet's feeder to eat at night.

It is better to feed the rodent at the same time. He will quickly get used to the regime, which will have a positive effect on the digestion process.

Chinchillas have sharp teeth that grow throughout their lives. In order for the pet to have the opportunity to grind down its teeth if necessary, you need to put tree branches in the cage, with the exception of coniferous species with a high resin content. Preferred are apple, linden, birch and hazel.

In addition to wooden twigs, special toys, mineral and chalk stones are also used.

Composition and balance of the diet

The diet for a pet rodent is selected individually, taking into account the pet’s age, health status, taste preferences and physiological characteristics of the body.

The main composition of the diet for pet chinchillas:

1. Rough feed - hay, branches of trees and shrubs.
2. Grain mixtures for chinchillas.
3. Treats – berries and nuts, dried fruits, vegetables.

The daily food intake for an adult pet is 55-65 g. A balanced diet involves feeding in the following ratio: 25 g of roughage, 25 g of grain mixture, up to 5 g of vegetables and the same amount of additional treats.

How to feed

The first feeding takes place no earlier than 6 pm. The owner can pour grain feed into the feeder. It is not necessary to calculate the portion. Chinchillas are not prone to gluttony and obesity, so they will eat exactly as much as their body needs.

There should always be fresh and clean hay in the cage. The bundle can be placed in a certain corner or in a special hay feeder. Make sure your chinchilla is never left without this tasty and healthy food.

Drinking regime

Clean drinking water should always be freely available to the rodent. It is better to use distilled or filtered water. You should not give chinchillas regular tap water. You can also give chinchillas a decoction of chamomile, rose hips, and currants without adding sugar.

Important Principles

The basis of any food is its good quality. That is, he cannot be

• moldy,
• musty,
• stale,
• rancid.

Do not harvest green fodder in contaminated areas:

• on the sides of the roads,
• in industrial areas,
• on fields that have undergone chemical treatment against pests.

You can feed only washed and dried vegetables, fruits and herbs. Green leaves should be dried. Do not feed wet greens, only dry ones.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xZ7ibGkn6w8

You need to gradually get used to new, especially green food. After each increase in serving size, monitor the condition of your pets.

Follow the feeding schedule.

• Daily.
• One-time.
• Regular.
• Late evening.

Evening feeding is explained by the fact that these animals are active at night. This is written in detail in the article (Farm 27, “Chinchilla at home”).

In the morning you can feed only when everything from yesterday has been eaten. The main evening food should only be poured into an empty and clean feeder.

The chinchilla's body is designed for unfavorable ascetic living conditions. They have a very long intestine, designed to extract maximum benefit from the meager food that they still have to run for. This is what happens in nature. Therefore, by creating conditions that are close to natural, you will save your pet from premature death. And for this you need to pamper him less, feeding him all sorts of goodies.

What not to give to a chinchilla

The digestive systems of humans and chinchillas are very different. Fluffy has a very long intestine, adapted for thorough digestion of coarse plant food. Therefore, under no circumstances should you give your pet treats that are familiar to humans. The following treats can be detrimental to the animal:

• milk and fermented milk products - kefir, cottage cheese, yogurt, yogurt, Varenets, sour cream, cheese;
• eggs;
• any mushrooms;
• any meat and meat delicacies, sausages, offal, lard;
• bread and bakery products;
• sweets - candies, chocolate, cakes, pastry cream, cakes, condensed milk, ice cream, corn sticks;
• semi-finished products and fast food;
• some vegetables - potatoes, onions, garlic, white cabbage;
• snacks – chips, crackers, salted nuts, popcorn;
• canned food;
• any drinks except pure water.

In nature, chinchillas occasionally feast on insects. Therefore, some rodent owners try to feed them dried worms or grasshoppers. It's better not to do this. Since the species composition of insects living in South America (the homeland of chinchillas) is noticeably different from the local one. Therefore, when feeding your pet local beetles and worms, the animal’s risk of developing digestive problems greatly increases.

What treats can be given to a chinchilla and how to make your own treats for your pet - every owner of the animal should know. After all, fluffies are very sensitive to the composition of their diet, and any deviation from the established recommendations can result in health problems for their four-legged friend.

Authorized Products

Products approved for chinchilla food can be divided into three main groups.

Concentrated feed

This group includes grain and legume mixtures. Peas, lentils, beans are rich in amino acids and will be very useful for your pet. Barley, millet, corn - have sufficient nutrients and minerals for chinchillas.

Such mixtures are sold in any pet store; when choosing food, be sure to pay attention to its composition; it must contain at least 5 different components. You can prepare the grain mixture yourself, but then you will need to get very high-quality grain

Greens and hay

Chinchillas are herbivores, so for excellent health they need to consume hay and greens year-round. Freshly cut grass must be dried, otherwise it can cause illness and poor digestion for your pet.

Here is an example of what to feed a chinchilla at home:

• young dandelion greens,
• horse sorrel,
• wheat sprouts, oats,
• plantain,
• burdock,
• strawberry leaf,
• nettle,
• timothy grass,
• meadow fescue,
• meadow bluegrass.

Treats

You can please your pet with dried fruits, fresh dried vegetables and nuts.

People often ask, is it possible to give a chinchilla food of animal origin? If we are talking about powdered milk and insects, then such a diet is even recommended for young animals and pregnant females.

What is possible: list

Dry granulated food is considered to be the most suitable food for chinchillas. A 400-gram pack is enough for an adult animal for a month . After opening the package, you should pour its contents into a container that is hermetically sealed. This way the provisions will better retain their properties. This food is useful because it is similar to the food a rodent eats in nature and contains grains, herbs and vegetables. The positive side of this drug is its hardness. With its help, the animal grinds down its teeth, which are constantly growing.

It is important to purchase food from one manufacturer. If the food is changed regularly, the animal is not immune from digestive disorders.

It is important to place hay in your pet's cage. For convenience, they use a special sennitsa, which is easy to find in a pet store. The amount of dried herb should not exceed one gram of granulate. You can prepare such bait yourself, but it is better to use the services of a pet store. The fact is that most herbs are not suitable for chinchilla consumption. The animal can become poisoned and get a digestive tract disorder.

Not a single rodent will refuse to eat complementary food, which is worth buying in a pet store in the form of granules. Supplementary food differs from support food in color and softness . Granular supplements are enriched with minerals, amino acids and vitamins.

Complementary foods help strengthen your fur baby's immune system and heart, as well as improve blood circulation. However, it is not difficult to collect additional food yourself. It will require cereals, roots, berries and leaves. It is important to add all components exclusively in dried form.

What is a chinchilla like as a pet?

What should you not feed chinchillas?

Rodents should not be given:

• food from the human table with salt, spices, sugar, animal products, fats, etc.;
• pastries, bread;
• fried nuts, grains, seeds;
• rye grain;
• spoiled products.

And finally, we note that for the animal’s well-being, a stable diet is important. There is no need to change the food that your pet is used to very often

It is better to transition your pet to new food gradually, over 1-2 weeks. Don't forget, the chinchilla is a delicate animal. And above all, this concerns feeding. The stomach of a furry pet is very sensitive to dietary disturbances. And mistakes in feeding can lead to serious health problems for your chinchilla.

How to pamper your pet

It is the issue of treats for chinchillas that most often causes difficulties for breeders. Many people try to pamper their pet with pieces of baked goods, yogurt, cheese and other products that are absolutely not intended for chinchillas. The problem is that the chinchilla eats everything that has a sweet taste and pleasant smell and asks for more. However, food from our table is completely contraindicated for animals.

You can pamper your furry pet with special chinchilla treats that are sold in pet stores: cookies and biscuits designed for animals.

You can also give your beloved pet grapes or a piece of dried fruit, chamomile or calendula flowers, tea leaves and hibiscus, dried rose hips, and a few pomegranate seeds as a treat.

The most important thing to remember is that the treat is given several times a week, and is not part of the regular daily diet. You should also not experiment with new types of treats and make a large list of what animals love. Some foods may be liked by pets, but can cause allergies or digestive problems.

In case of lack of nutritional mixture in pet products

It may happen that the necessary food is not available at the pet store, in which case there is no need to panic. Now we will describe step by step what can be given instead of food at home.

You should make a mixture of 20% oats, 10% buckwheat, 20% wheat groats, 10% barley grains, 55% maize, 8% flaxseeds, 7% peas or chickpeas, add nettle greens to this mixture. A special complex of vitamins, ground calcium and methonine should be added to the resulting consistency.

As a result, you get healthy and high-calorie food. But there is also a drawback to such a mixture: if in the store the food is granulated, then in the home, each grain is separated from each other and the pet can sort through the food.

Daily diet

A chinchilla's diet should consist of:

• 20-25 g of ready-made feed or from the same amount of concentrated feed (grain feed, legumes, oilseeds, bran, cake);
• 20-30 g of hay;
• 4-6 g of green food;
• 4-6 g of additional food (tree branches);
• 2-4 g treats;
• 10-25 g of water.

Chinchillas love precision, so they should be fed at the same time every day (the maximum error can be 1-2 hours).

Chinchilla diet

A complete diet for chinchillas must necessarily include roughage, that is, hay and twig food, bark feeding, fresh herbs, various vegetables and fruits, etc. The menu for rodents should be drawn up taking into account the following factors:

• the daily requirement of chinchillas for a certain amount of nutrients;
• sex and age of the individual;
• the health status of the animal;
• physiological characteristics: pregnancy, lactation;
• time of year.

Rodents are very sensitive to various fungi and bacteria, which often affect wet hay or grains. The necessary products can be prepared in advance in large quantities, taking into account the fact that per year one individual consumes about 10 kg of ready-made combined feed and approximately 7 kg of hay.

There should always be fresh hay in the enclosure

Animals' diets should be dominated by foods high in fiber and protein. In addition, chinchillas need adequate amounts of minerals, vitamins, fluids and fatty acids. Lack of various nutrients leads to increased morbidity in animals and their early mortality. Deficiency of protein and calcium is especially dangerous for pregnant females, as it causes various malformations in the offspring.

The main diet of a chinchilla

• Ready-made food, regular or granular.
• Hay
• Pure water

Additional food:

• Something to chew on
• Treats
• Seasonal Immune Supplements

Food and hay should be in the cage at all times; the chinchilla itself knows when it needs to eat. They have no tendency to overeat, but if you notice that your animal has begun to quickly gain weight and fat has appeared on its sides, then you need to reconsider its diet.

A typical chinchilla consumes per day:

• From 10 to 40 grams of ready-made food
• 10-25 grams of hay
• 30-50 ml of clean water

How often to feed a chinchilla

Chinchillas eat very carefully

Most chinchilla breeders are inclined to believe that it is better to feed your pet more than once a day, but to divide the daily portion of food - this is approximately 2 tablespoons of dry ready-made food, divided into 2 times.

That is, you pour 1 tablespoon of food into the chinchilla's bowl in the morning, and pour 1 tablespoon in the evening, before bed. It is recommended to remove any leftover food, if any, rather than supplement it with a fresh portion.

By the way, it is better not to overfeed the animal, despite the chinchilla’s good appetite (healthy individuals are almost always ready to chew something), you should not indulge such weaknesses of the rodent, as this can lead to obesity, and in general spoil the character of the chinchilla. Quite often you come across such statements from chinchilla owners that if they overfeed, their rodent begins to row and creates chaos in the cage.

Chinchilla

When choosing foods for herbivorous chinchillas, it is important to remember that they are rodents, so foods of plant origin are their prerogative. Living in their natural environment, chinchillas do not consume too much food, since its quantity is limited by various factors.

Therefore, when keeping these animals at home, you need to make an effort to ensure that their diet is varied and rich in vitamins and various mineral nutrients.

Particular attention should be paid to limiting their consumption of foods that are too high in calories or fatty foods.

The currently available food option for chinchillas is granulated food. This concentrate is easily absorbed by the animal’s body, so the daily dose of this food can be limited to 1-2 tablespoons per day. People who breed chinchillas professionally prefer to give their pets special granules in the form of brownish sticks. This mixture usually consists of wheat bran, yeast, oats, grass flour, and salt, which provides a complete set of nutrients for the animal’s body. Of course, chinchillas must also be provided with minerals such as phosphorus, iron, zinc, calcium, iodine, carotene, as well as vitamins A, B, E, K and others. The ideal option to meet the needs of a fur-bearing animal’s body is raw fiber granules.

Due to the fact that the energy value of one granule of such food is approximately 2500 kilocalories, you need to carefully monitor the dosage of their consumption. Don’t forget about the mixture of grains, which is an important and necessary part of a chinchilla’s diet. The grain mixture should ideally include buckwheat, wheat, flax, oats and milk thistle

If we take the ratio of grain in granular feed, then it should be 6-7% of the total weight. And, naturally, water is an essential component of a chinchilla’s diet. There should always be enough water in the drinking bowl, always fresh and freely available to the pet. Under no circumstances do experts recommend giving boiled water to animals. The opposite is true - it should be cool and filtered.

Which food is better

Regular food has more disadvantages than advantages. The chinchilla selects only those ingredients that it likes and throws the rest aside. Sometimes the animal throws away almost half of the food, because not all components are equally tasty, which can lead to a lack of vitamins. In granular food, this problem is solved, since each granule tastes the same and the chinchilla will not be able to eat only what it wants. She will have to eat the entire pellet, which means she will get everything she needs for nutrition.

Pelleted food may even contain 30, 50 or even 100 different ingredients. Unlike regular food, it contains several types of vitamin supplements, various phosphates and more microelements. This food is developed specifically for chinchillas and most often by reputable food companies. If you think that even this food does not satisfy all the needs of your pet, then you can always buy yourself premium food.

What do chinchillas eat at home? List of products:

1. Tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, carrots, pumpkin, zucchini.
2. Apples, pear, melon (very little), berries, bananas (very little), rose hips, hawthorn, raisins (very little, because they are sweet). In general, too sweet fruits or berries should either not be given at all, depending on the health of the animal, or their consumption should be significantly limited.
3. Tops of carrots, peas, as well as clover, dandelions, burdock leaves, plantain, strawberry leaves, nettles. And also sprouted cereals. Cereal sprouts are especially relevant in winter, when problems arise with fresh greens.
4. Dried bread, namely crackers or crispbread. A small amount of.
5. Various treats - you need to give them a little, but constantly. It can be dried fruits, berries.

You cannot give a lot of fruits and vegetables, only in the form of a small additive to the main food. Otherwise, the rodent's sensitive digestion will be upset. Fresh leaves should be dried a little before serving, and carrots and other root vegetables must be washed. It is not recommended to give a lot of beets. In nature, of course, animals eat branches and roots unwashed, but domestic animals, which are also bred in captivity and have never lived in the wild, have a more delicate digestion than their wild relatives. Therefore, they are very sensitive to dirty or spoiled food. But even with proper care and hygiene, they live much longer than their wild counterparts.

But this list is far from complete. There are also differences of opinion among experts. So it’s better to check your pet’s diet in advance.

By the way, you need to feed the animal once a day, at a certain time, preferably in the late afternoon. And if it tears the food and scatters it, it’s worth reducing the portion a little. The food must be eaten completely. Water should always be fresh, and experts recommend that it be boiled or distilled.

What can you feed a chinchilla besides food?

Now let’s figure out what else you can feed your chinchilla. For proper development and grinding of teeth, it is necessary to allow the child to chew on twigs, sticks, and driftwood. But there is a whole list of tree species that should never be given! They are poisonous to chinchillas!

These are trees such as:

1. Maple.
2. Cherry.
3. Plum.
4. Elder.
5. Apricot, peach, nectarine.
6. Almond.
7. Oak - good for diarrhea, but can cause constipation in healthy animals.
8. Pine and pine cones.
9. Spruce and fir cones.
10. All citrus fruits.
11. Mango.
12. Sandalwood.
13. Cypress.
14. Such an exotic tree as sequoia, etc.

In general, experts consider the branches of all stone fruits to be poisonous to these rodents! The list is far from complete, so you need to be very careful not to poison your pet. And try to check all tree species in advance before treating the animal with branches.

What to feed a chinchilla to painlessly grind down its teeth? We should also not forget that chinchillas, like all rodents, have teeth that grow throughout their lives. In nature, they grind them down on their own. At home, the owner should take care of this. Beech is highly recommended for grinding teeth - it has hard wood that can replace stone.

If there is no suitable hard wood, then they give it a stone to chew on. Naturally, it should not be taken directly from the ground and dirty. For pets, all food and items should be thoroughly washed before use.

Diet example

A person will not like to eat the same food every day. Not everyone can eat buckwheat for a week, for example. So why subject your pet to the same torment? A chinchilla needs a complete and varied diet. It will not only be tasty for the animal, but also healthy. Do not forget that the pet is fed once a day in the evening, when the animal is awake .

On the first day, you should give your pet 15 g of granules. 5 g of rose hips and the same amount of a mixture of corn and sunflower seeds will help supplement the required daily amount of food.

The second day is 20 g of granulated food and 10 g of dried apple.

The diet for the next day consists of 10 g of food in granules, 1/2 walnut kernels and 10 g of a mixture of oatmeal and flax seeds.

There are a lot of menu variations. Use approved ingredients and pleasantly surprise your pet every day.

Feeding mode

When thinking about the issue of feeding a chinchilla, it is necessary to remember that the activity phase of this animal occurs mainly at night. Therefore, with the arrival of dusk, you can fill the bowl with food. The animal will see the bowl and run up to eat. But you don’t need to expect that your pet will attack the food, basically he will eat a few grains and run around the cage to jump, after a while he will return to the cup and so on all night.

Stability is also important to ensure the animal’s good mood and well-being. It is not recommended to frequently change food to another manufacturer, as this may have a bad effect on your pet’s well-being. If you still need to change the food, you need to do it gradually, dragging out the process for the whole week. A mineral stone must be present in the cell during this process at all times. The pet will chew through it as needed.

Read! Chinchilla in the house: pros and cons

Next, let's take a closer look at the types of feed.

Vitamins and their benefits for pets

Vitamin complexes are not only intended for young, sick, lactating, pregnant and weakened animals. The intake of vitamins in food will protect your pet from possible illnesses. These supplements are sold in pet stores and come in liquid, powder or solid form.

Tablets and powders are extremely difficult to feed to a fluffy dog. Therefore, it is better to choose fortified complementary foods in liquid form . So it can be easily mixed into water and the rodent’s diet will be significantly enriched.

Make sure that there are always salt and mineral stones in the chinchilla's cage. They will have a beneficial effect on the animal’s body and help it take care of its constantly growing teeth.

Dry yeast can replenish protein reserves. They will also help enrich the chinchilla’s body with B vitamins. It is important to add them to the food a little at a time.

Pros and cons of keeping chinchillas in an apartment.

Can chinchillas have walnuts and chestnuts?

Chinchillas are herbivores and it is natural for them to eat vegetation. Their diet should be high in fiber and protein, but low in fat and moisture.

Approximate feed composition:

• 35% carbohydrates;
• 15% protein;
• 30% fiber;
• 4% sugar;
• no more than 3.5% fat.

In their natural environment, chinchillas eat bark. It is the main supplier of fiber. If it is not enough, their teeth become overgrown and digestion is disrupted. Be sure to also provide your pet with hay and grass.

Did you know? From one hair follicle of a chinchilla, up to 60 hairs grow, while in humans

—only one. Therefore, their fur coats are very thick, which allows them to retain body heat even at high altitudes in the mountains.

As for fat, its excess will lead to liver damage. Therefore, giving nuts is not recommended. The table below shows the fat content of some types:

As can be seen from the table, all nuts, without exception, contain many times more fat than a chinchilla can consume. Therefore, such food is more of an exception than a healthy food.

Green food, vegetables and fruits

The warm season makes it possible to significantly expand the chinchilla menu. In spring, the first greens are given very carefully, starting with portions of 1-2 well-dried dandelion leaves per day. To prevent the animal from having a bloated tummy, the stems of legumes and clover are always used dry or withered. You should not feed your chinchilla only green food, forgetting about hay. This may lead to gastrointestinal disorders.

Here are the characteristics of some plants that will be useful to include in a chinchilla’s diet:

• salad is a storehouse of vitamins and mineral salts. You can give your pet 1-2 leaves per day;
• spinach – rich in easily digestible iron, contains sodium and lime. Spinach is believed to increase fertility in rodents. You can give 3-4 leaves per day;
• chicory - contains a lot of phosphorus, which growing organisms especially need. The cleansing plant acts on the stomach, regulates liver function, and increases appetite;
• Strawberry leaves – have a diuretic effect, help with diarrhea. Can be given for indigestion;
• celery – contains vitamins A, B, C. Very useful for nursing females, 2 leaves 2 times a week;
• wormwood – increases appetite, strengthens the nervous system. The pet is given several branches a week.

In addition, the animals happily eat plantain leaves, yarrow, burdock, young nettles, horse sorrel, and dandelion.

From vegetables and fruits, you can give carrots, pumpkin, squash, apples, pears, sweet peppers, bananas, grapes, figs, zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, peaches, apricots, melons, watermelons, etc. It is not recommended to give fresh cabbage leaves to chinchillas.

Main menu

The chinchilla diet includes hay and twig food, grain mixture, vegetables, fruits, and berries. The animals are given greens and nuts as a healthy and tasty supplement.

To enrich the menu with vitamins and microelements, pets are given complex water-soluble vitamins: Beafar, Vita-Sol, Canina Petvital. The drugs are added to food or water according to the instructions.

Rough and juicy food

Rough feed includes hay and tree branches. This is the basis of the diet of a rodent, whose digestive tract is designed to digest food rich in fiber. Herbal granules contained in ready-made food for chinchillas cannot fully satisfy the animal's need for fiber.

Juicy food (vegetables, fruits, fresh herbs) are sources of vitamins and microelements for the animal’s body. You can feed your chinchilla the following foods:

• pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, root parsley, celery;
• apples, pears, melon, watermelon, seedless grapes, plums, bananas;
• berries of rowan, hawthorn, viburnum, rose hips, barberry;
• dried meadow grass, tops of legume garden plants, leaves of dandelion, honey, nettle and quinoa.

Combined feeds

Purchasing ready-made specialized mixtures greatly simplifies the care of feeding animals. The compound feed recipe is developed by scientists specifically for different groups of animals - young animals, pregnant and lactating females, adults. The composition meets the needs of the chinchilla and is balanced in the amount of proteins and fats.

In addition to ready-made food, the pet must be provided with hay. Occasionally you can pamper the animal with a treat.

At home, chinchillas happily eat food from the following brands: Little On, Waka, Vitacraft, Versel-Laga. Preference should be given to granulated food, from which the pet will not be able to choose the most delicious pieces, ignoring the rest of the food.

Vitacraft

Little He

Waka

Vercelles-Laga

Juicy feed

When thinking about what to feed your chinchilla, you must not lose sight of succulent food. They form the basis of the animal’s diet. Juicy food is: various greens and fresh grass, fruits, root vegetables and vegetables.

List of foods allowed for feeding:

• Tomatoes,
• cucumbers,
• Zucchini,
• Pumpkin fruits,
• carrots,
• Sweet potato.

The fruits the animal eats most readily are:

• Figs,
• Sweet pear varieties,
• Apple,
• Banana,
• Red grapes (green - only sweet varieties),
• Various berries.

The most recommended greens are:

• Clover,
• Dandelion leaves and stems,
• Alfalfa,
• Stems and leaves of common nettle,
• Vegetable tops,
• Tree branches.

It is recommended to feed succulent food in the morning and afternoon, and grain food in the evening. The combination of these two types of food can cause digestive upset.

Menu of a pregnant female

A pregnant chinchilla may eat a little more than usual. This is normal, but you should not overfeed her, otherwise the female’s health will suffer greatly from obesity. Nutrition during this period changes slightly. Veterinarians advise including in the diet of chinchillas:

• sprouted grain;
• food of animal origin (eggs, milk, cottage cheese);
• more protein due to an increase in the proportion of grains;
• apple;
• bee bread 1-2 balls per day;
• alfalfa, strawberry leaves, calendula flowers;
• rosehip, hawthorn;
• flax seeds;
• cereals;
• vitamins and mineral supplements;
• calcium: a quarter tablet of calcium gluconate or 1 tablet of Excel Calcium per day.

Calcium deficiency is dangerous for pregnant females: it causes eclampsia, which without treatment leads to the death of the animal. You need to exclude mint, thyme and lemon balm from your diet.

Peculiarities of chinchilla nutrition at different periods of life

When compiling a diet for a domestic chinchilla, it is necessary to take into account the physiological characteristics of the body, characteristic of different periods of the rodent’s life.

Pregnancy

A pregnant chinchilla requires special care and proper nutrition. The diet should be varied and balanced. During this period, the female’s appetite improves, so the daily food intake needs to be increased. The feeder should always have a supply of fresh and healthy food.

Additionally, you can include vitamin supplements intended for pregnant rodents in the main menu. Barley and sprouted oats are very useful for expectant mothers. They contain a large amount of vitamin E, which is necessary for the proper development of the fetus. If it is deficient, the pregnancy may be terminated.

2-3 weeks before giving birth, the chinchilla should be fed with pieces of dried apples. After the rodents are born, the herbs calendula, alfalfa and strawberries are introduced into the diet of the nursing mother. These herbs improve lactation.

Growth period

For small rodents, the basis of the diet is nutritious concentrated food low in fat and sugar. You can feed your growing pet ready-made granulated food from leading manufacturers. They contain a balanced amount of nutrients - vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and other components, selected taking into account the physiological characteristics of the young body.

Disease

For various reasons, a chinchilla can develop various diseases that worsen the pet’s general condition and its appetite. A veterinarian prescribes proper nutrition for a sick rodent, taking into account the disease itself and the characteristics of the body.

During illness, the chinchilla must be constantly fed with clean drinking water. If the rodent refuses to eat on its own, the owner can feed it paste-like food using a pipette. Additionally, vitamin and mineral complexes can be introduced into the diet. Detailed nutritional instructions for a sick rodent are issued by the attending veterinarian.

In our store you can buy balanced and healthy food for pet chinchillas. The assortment includes high quality products from the world's best manufacturers. Also available are cages, feeders, drinking bowls and other items for a comfortable and healthy life for an exotic pet.

What berries does a chinchilla eat?

Berries are considered one of the most powerful antioxidants. Therefore, including them in a chinchilla’s diet is not only possible, but also necessary. Adult chinchillas can be given fresh. And for the younger generation - in dried form. In order not to make a mistake and not feed your fluffy with unhealthy food, you can use a summary list of berries allowed for feeding a chinchilla:

• raspberries;
• hawthorn;
• sea ​​​​buckthorn;
• blackberry;
• strawberry;
• strawberries;
• elder;
• all types of currants;
• hawthorn;
• irga;
• viburnum;
• cranberry.

Just don’t try to pamper your fluffy by feeding him delicious berries. If left unchecked, your chinchilla may eat very large amounts of sweet treats. The optimal dose for an adult pet is 1-2 berries per day. It is advisable that they be grown on their own plot of land.

It is also necessary to take into account that berries, especially those with small seeds, can cause quite serious allergies in a chinchilla. Therefore, it is worth introducing them into the diet gradually. First, give the fluffy 1 berry and wait 2-3 days. If no side effects occur, you can increase the frequency of feeding.

If, after eating new treats, your chinchilla constantly itches and behaves restlessly, you should immediately consult a veterinarian. Most likely, the fluffy has an allergy.

Food is tough and juicy

Juicy foods include tree fruits, vegetables, berries, twigs, and herbs. These products contain many vitamins necessary for the proper development of your beloved pet. In the fall, he will happily gnaw on vegetables, fruits and dried fruits. It is also useful to collect chicory, raspberry or spinach herbs.

It is not recommended to give other herbs; the consequences are unknown. It is forbidden to include cabbage in the diet; it causes stomach fermentation. Some veterinarians also do not advise giving your pet a lot of carrots; one ring of dried root vegetables per week will be enough. In order to please your pet with both healthy and tasty food, you can give twigs of apple, acacia, birch or oak. These supplements will improve the chinchilla's metabolism by saturating the body with tannins.

Remember! Before giving a twig to a rodent, it must be thoroughly processed, washed and dried. The branch should be free of fungus, mold and harmful insects.

Specifics of rational nutrition

When thinking through the animal’s menu, you need to remember that the chinchilla is a herbivore, therefore, the diet should always include food with the addition of plants. Every day they should receive special granular mixtures, which also include hay and various supplements (about 2 tablespoons of food). When feeding, you need to observe the animal; if it chooses something tastier, you should reduce the portion of food. It is not recommended to feed the animal often. If the animal is not gaining weight, you need to reconsider what your pet eats; to gain muscle mass, you need to add oatmeal to the food.

Important! The animal's feeder should always contain fresh, boiled water and some hay.

Before purchasing an animal, you need to prepare a large amount of fragrant hay, because this is his favorite and incredibly healthy treat. The hay must be fresh and dry. It helps the animal grind down its long incisors, and it is also useful for the digestive system. In winter, when it is impossible to collect hay in the meadows, it should be purchased at a special store for animals.

What does a chinchilla like to eat?

The chinchilla is a herbivore. The basis of the animal’s diet is considered to be food of plant origin.

In the wild, their main food is cereals and legumes, cacti, shrubs, tree bark, small fruits, shoots, mosses and other vegetation.

In a home environment, a person is responsible for the animal’s diet. Food should be varied and balanced to provide all the body’s needs with the necessary components, vitamins, and nutrients.

Chinchillas care about the quality of their food. They eat in small quantities, so animal owners should be careful when choosing food.

You may be interested in the following articles on the topic of chinchillas: How to keep a chinchilla at home?

Moreover, luxurious fur and irrepressible energy require a large consumption of nutrients. Chinchillas are picky eaters. They will choose the most delicious morsels from the food offered.

But for full development, the animal needs to receive various microelements and vitamins , so you need to try to ensure that the animal fully consumes its portion.

If your pet starts throwing food out of the feeder, it is necessary to reduce the amount of food given out. You can give your pet food in small portions and reduce treats in the diet.

When choosing food for a rodent, it is worth considering that they, like all herbivores, have sensitive digestion .

Firstly, they have long intestines. Secondly, herbivorous animals process hard-to-digest plant fiber. From it they receive the necessary nutrients.

Food for chinchillas should be of high quality and fresh.

It is better to underfeed a chinchilla a little than to overfeed it with treats. The food offered must be:

• quality;
• fresh;
• without traces or smell of rot, mold, mustiness.

Green food should be collected away from busy places, roadsides, and factories. Greens, vegetables and fruits should be thoroughly washed and dried before feeding to the rodent. The food offered must be dry.

Young animals and those individuals that did not receive green food during the winter season should gradually become accustomed to it. Initially, you need to offer your pet such food in small portions, gradually increasing the dose.

In this case, it is necessary to carefully monitor the chinchilla’s well-being.

It is advisable to feed the animal once a day, after lunch or in the late afternoon. This is explained by the fact that the pet is awake in the evening and night hours. Food should be given at the same time.

This way the animals get used to the set feeding time, which has a positive effect on the digestibility of food. If all the food is eaten in the morning, then additional feeding is possible.

Before giving your pet a new portion of food, be sure to throw away any uneaten leftovers and rinse the bowls with running water without adding detergents or cleaning agents.

The daily portion of the pet's main food is 1 teaspoon, hay - 20-30 g , a treat of choice - 1 piece. There should always be boiled or filtered clean water in the animal's drinking bowl.