Compressed Hay But Not Cubes?

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brinfe

Active member
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
30
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Soo...I need a little advice. I have a chinchilla whose molars are being trimmed once a year. The vet suggested I get hay cubes in a different shape so she would have to use those back teeth more. She's never eaten loose hay so we give her hay cubes instead. She has wood shelves and hanging toys she chews on but she's never been a BIG chewer. I would much rather her wear them down naturally than spend ~$200-$400 at the vet every year.

Do hay cubes come in any shapes other than cubes? Maybe stars, triangles, etc? Have you seen these sold anywhere or know of someone that makes them? I have not found anything in my internet searches :banghead:. I would prefer for it to be timothy hay because she's on alfalfa pellets. Any other suggestions are welcomed too!! Thank you.
 
As far as I know they only come in cubes, but other shapes would not make a difference in how much she eats them. Even a different shape is still going to get bitten by the front teeth and chew up by the back teeth in the same way and amount. Loose hay I think is better then cubes since the hay is in longer stands, requiring more chewing. You can try other kinds of grass hay, it doesn't have to be timothy. Alfalfa is a legume hay, so you just need a grass hay to balance it out. Different types of hay are also chewed differently, if you are able to get different types of loose hay that may help wear down the teeth better. For example, my guys get alfalfa based pellets, so they are given hay cubes, loose timothy, and another kind of grass hay (at the moment I think I have meadow hay), that gives them a variety of types of hay to wear down the teeth. Depending on the brand of hay cubes you get maybe try loose hay from the same company? It'd be the same hay so if she likes that cubes she would like the loose. Or tried different hay companies and hay types? To encourage hay consumption have you tried mixing alfalfa in with the grass hay? Alfalfa tastes better and can cause some chins to want to eat more. Another option is either buying or making a hay mix, I know a lot of chins go crazy over Fuzzies Kingdom foraging hay for example.

Just so you know, wood shelves and chew toys only work for wearing down the front teeth, you need hay to wear down the back teeth (pellets don't wear down teeth, they are too soft).

Another thing I'm wondering is, why are the molars growing so fast that they need yearly filing? Is it just that the chin is not eating enough hay? and if so why not (pain, doesn't like what hay offered, etc). Hay should make up about 70% or more of their diet, to give you an idea of how much she should be eating. Or are the teeth misaligned so they aren't wearing down properly? I would assume you have also gotten x-rays done every year to make sure the roots are not involved too? Not chewing enough can be caused by root elongation, basically causing it to hurt every time they press down on the molars.
 
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