Chinchilla Community Forums

Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: Meeko on September 16, 2013, 06:36:04 PM

Title: Eating Regularity
Post by: Meeko on September 16, 2013, 06:36:04 PM: What would you all consider normal for eating? Meeko seems to eat a lot, but everything I've seen says I should always keep a good, consistent supply of food in the cage. I just want to make sure I don't get him too fat!
Title: Re: Eating Regularity
Post by: GrayRodent on September 16, 2013, 07:35:05 PM: Chinchillas will rarely overeat unless you give them too many treats. They must eat small amounts numerous times a day to stay healthy. An adult male weighs about 500g and eats about 2tbps of pellets per day plus hay. It is weight loss that is the biggest health concern with rodents. If you give treats it should be two raisins per day maximum.
Title: Re: Eating Regularity
Post by: Morrigancharm on September 17, 2013, 06:01:41 PM: What type of food are you feeding him? Do you keep hay (loose and cubed) in there with him all the time? I keep mine on a schedule for feeding as well. Chinchillas LOVE routine. I feed mine 2 tablespoons of Mazuri Pellets twice a day. Once in the early morning and once in the late afternoon (their wake up time). I keep loose fresh hay in their cages all the time, any time I see it getting low, I add more. I also keep the cubed hay and give them each a half cube per day. The two kinds of hay ensure your chinchilla is wearing down his teeth properly and preventing a tooth problem later on. The loose hay (I believe) allows the chin to wear down both back and front teeth, where the cube hay only wears down the front. (Don't hold me to that, I may have it backwards!) But the point is that to keep both available all the time should be enough to allow him to eat as much as he needs to without you worrying about him gaining or losing weight.
It is also a good idea to weigh your chinchilla about once a week or every two weeks and keep a record of it. That way you can detect any extreme change immediately and possibly be more helpful to him if something is wrong. :)
Title: Re: Eating Regularity
Post by: Snickerdoodlesmom on September 17, 2013, 06:05:41 PM: What brand do you use?
Title: Re: Eating Regularity
Post by: Morrigancharm on September 17, 2013, 06:17:32 PM: Not sure if the question was directed at me or not ;), but I use Purina Mills Inc. Mazuri Chinchilla Pellets.
Title: Re: Eating Regularity
Post by: Snickerdoodlesmom on September 17, 2013, 06:19:04 PM: Lol, not at you :) I use Oxbow. Doodle loves it!!
Title: Re: Eating Regularity
Post by: Morrigancharm on September 17, 2013, 06:31:37 PM: If nothing else, we are giving the original poster some brands of food to think about then! :D
Title: Re: Eating Regularity
Post by: GrayRodent on September 17, 2013, 07:40:01 PM: I use Oxbow myself but I read that Mazuri is better.
Title: Re: Eating Regularity
Post by: Snickerdoodlesmom on September 18, 2013, 07:10:17 AM: It's certainly cheaper :) But Oxbow is available on Amazon and I don't want to go through the hassle of changing Doodle's food again.