Sometimes, knowing what to feed your chinchilla can seem a bit of a challenge. There’s many different sources of advice, and many of them differ – not greatly – but enough to sometimes make you doubt whether you’re giving your chinnie the very best diet possible.
Chinchillas are considered exotic pets – and we think they’d be happy with that. After all, every chinchilla we’ve met thinks he’s pretty important (and so he should!). But very often they get lumped together in the same group as other small pets, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and the like. But the nutritional needs of the chinchilla are quite different from these other types of small pets.
Take pellets, for example. For chinchillas these are considered a staple element of their daily nutritional intake, unlike that of rabbits or guinea pigs. They are hay based – either grass hay or legume hay – but how on earth do you know which type to feed? Or when to feed? And does it actually make any difference?
Energy out equals energy in
The best way to consider which type of pellet to feed is by how much energy your chinchilla uses on a daily basis. If he’s (or she’s) really active, or perhaps recovering from an illness, growing, pregnant or nursing then he will need a higher protein intake. So you need to understand that legume hay based pellets have a higher protein level than that of a grass hay pellet.
Feeding legume hay pellets to a chinchilla that doesn’t really need that much protein or engery will only make him fat. So you do need to choose your pellets with care.
Another thing to take into account when choosing a suitable pellet for your chinchilla is the ingredients. Much the same as food labeling for human consumption, the highest level of ingredient is listed first; and this should always be some kind of hay. If it’s not, then shop elsewhere.
One other ingredient that should definitely not be in a chinchilla pellet is any animal by-products – such as animal sterol. The pellet should also be low in any types of fat or oil – and this includes seeds, peas, nuts or corn. Chinchillas cannot metabolize fats very well, and these can cause fatty liver disease.
If you’re at all unsure about whether your pellets are the best you can buy for your chinchilla, have a chat with your vet. They will always be happy to advise you.
Thanks for dropping by, and till next time – love those chinnies!
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