lettuce?

[pufflestoose]

Hi I started to feed my 2 little chinchi's a small handful of lettuce a day. The vet we took them to said we should, but I''ve been hearing that I''ve been hearing that vegetables are bad for them, while other people say its good for them. Which one is right?

 

[tunes]

No lettuce. Give them hay.

 

[javachin]

Do not give them lettuce. I've heard of vets suggesting and even providing their own chinchillas lettuce, and I was surprised. Supposedly they never had problems with it, but I personally would not risk that. As Tunes said, give them hay.

 

[Riven]

Give them hay and more importantly find a new vet. If your vet doesn't know about basic chin care then they'll be utterly useless in an emergency.

 

[pufflestoose]

ok thx, i also give them hay so i'll just stop giving them lettuce too. I'll also try to find a new vet

 

[jbcstratton]

If you are looking for safe treats, plain cheerios or plain shredded wheat can be given, of course in moderation.

 

[pufflestoose]

thx! i've heard of giving them cheerios before but kept on for getting to give them some.

 

[marinecorpswife0803]

Unless the vet is an Exotic vet I wouldn't listen to them.

 

[meowmixkittymeow]

I'm no expert, but on the very rare occasion that i'm eating tacos in my room, i'll give my chinny a lettuce shred or two (not any that has touched the meat. The last thing i want is a cannibal chinny - she already nibbles a little too hard on my fingers)...though i'm not sure about giving it every day....

 

[ArmyWife]

I LOVE my exotic vet but I will say, he did try to get me to give my chins vegetables. I didn't argue with him, I just ignored it

 

[Cuddlebug]

Lettuce can give them diarrhea or bloat. Stay away from it.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Guess I'll be the one to go against the grain.

It is correct that chinchillas don't NEED vegetables in their diet. In the wild they are not "garden groomers" like rabbits are. Hay and pellets are quite adequate.

That being said, from a nutritional/veterinary standpoint, dark leafy greens can be a nice healthy treat for them. TREAT means it should not make up more than 5-10% of their diet. Think about how much they eat in pellets and hay, and that equals a very small amount of greens. As with any treat they should be introduced gradually into the diet.

I've tried greens with a couple of chins that were not eating, in an effort to get them to eat SOMETHING. One nibbled on them, and one completely turned her nose up on them. Some good greens are romaine, green-leaf and red-leaf lettuce. No iceberg lettuce.

 

[ticklechin]

I feed wheat grass, they can have as much as they want at playtime and in the 12 years I have used it on many many chins there have been no issues. Rather see a dark leafy green fed than sticky raisins or papaya.

 

[AZChins]

Alicyn - if you give them the dark leafy greans, do you remove the center rib of it? I have always heard that the rib in particular was something that could give the chins gas because of the cellulose in that makes it harder to digest. The higher moisture content can cause diarrhea - most likely because it's different from what the chins are used to eating.

I think that one of the problems with vets is that they don't have the personal experience with chinchillas and may give out advice that they assume is correct because it is true for similar animals like rabbits and guinea pigs.

I've heard quite a few vets tell people that it's alright to feed kale and other greens that I always thought would be bad for the chins. What do you think about those? I think that the stalks and center spines of the greens would probably be an issue. A lot of people use dandelion leaves as well...and there has been a trend towards people feeding all sorts of dried leaves. (Bay leaves, herbs, etc.)