Required Hay

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Devi Xiao

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 7, 2013
Messages
170
Location
CA
Looking at the ingredients in pellet feed, I noticed that the first ingredient is hay. That being said, is it really required to give chinchillas hay if they're already getting the nutrients from the pellets? I know I've heard that it helps grind down on the teeth, but couldn't that also be resolved by providing lots of wood to chew on?
 
Hay also adds more fiber to the diet, as well as entertainment in the case of loose hay. More importantly though chewing on wood and other chew toys only wears down the front teeth, chins don't normally actually eat the wood so it never gets to the molars. Chinchillas are one of the unique rodents that all their teeth grow not just the front so you need them to grind up more material then just pellets to wear the molars down too.
 
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