What should I do if my chinchilla isn't eating his pellets?

[yic008]

Hi all,

My chinchilla hasn't been eating his pellets since I don't know when. Every time I give him pellets, he just eats the treats and crackers that come with it. I've changed brands numerous times and was wondering if everyone knows why he's doing that. And if there is anyway for him to start eating pellets. The brands I've tried are Sun Seed Sunaturals Natural Chinchilla Food, Mazuri Chinchilla Diet, and currently Carefresh Complete Food for Chinchillas. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

Chinchilla chow should NEVER have treats in it. Everything you mentioned except Mazuri is absolute junk. If you give a child food and candy, which do you think he will eat. Treats are to be severely limited. They should NOT be seeds or fruits or 'crackers'. Allowed treats are non-frosted shredded wheat (spoon size), an occasional cheerio and rose hips and all the wood he can eat. You could try Oxbow or other brands recommended here (use search bottom for list). Remember since your chin is used to only treats he probably won't eat at first - trying to 'wait you out'. Don't give in to him. It is for his health - he will either die a horrible death or have an extremely shorten life with the diet you are feeding.

 

[Lulilac]

My Barnaby would do the same thing when I was garnishing his pellets with pieces of Charlie Chinchilla. He would vacuum up the snacks and ignore the real food. I slowly weaned him off the Charlie Chinchilla, but he still wasn't enthused about his pellets (I was offering Oxbow).

A got a pound of Mazuri and a pound of Purina Rabbit Show Natural Advantage Formula online. Its nice because you can just get a pound instead of buying a whole bag. Barnaby will actually come down off his high perch to snack on the Rabbit food, so I think thats a winner. He doesn't LOVE it like he does snacks, but at least I know he's eating it.

My other chin, Hugo, came to me eating Oxbow and he seems to prefer that to Mazuri and the Rabbit Food.

A safe snack they both really like are old fashioned rolled oats. I get them from the grocery store for 99 cents a pound. Hugo especially loves them.

Good luck with you chin! They can be such junk food junkies! : )

Lu

 

[tunes]

The first thing you need to do is stop switching food so many times. Multiple rapid food changes are going to cause your chin to have serious gut issues, which will also contribute to him not eating.

If it was me, I would pull him off ALL pellets and give him nothing but good quality timothy hay for 3 or 4 days. No treats, no pellets, just hay and fresh water. Let his stomach settle and let him wean off the constant treats. Then add in a good quality pellet like Oxbow, Tradition, Neutrena, Purina rabbit chow, APD or Mazuri.

Lulilac - Your post has been edited. We don't allow people who have been banned from this forum for their incredibly bad behavior to be mentioned here.

 

[mishellyshel]

i completely agree with Tunes. also make sure your chin has fresh clean filtered water. to encourage hay eating, you could mix a little alfalfa hay in with the timothy. my chins are extremely picky with thier hay, so make sure you get a brand that he likes.

 

[Jenn]

I think it has all been said. You have to be a tough momma and retrain your chin to eat the healthy pellets, instead of the junk food. Stick with one quality food. Have plenty of hay available if your chin remains a bit finicky during this transitional period.

 

[yic008]

Thanks for all of your advices. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

 

[Moiya]

will my chinchilla eat his pellets if i "wait it out" ?

 

[GorillaJTA]

will my chinchilla eat his pellets if i "wait it out" ?

It depends on the chin and the brand. Some chins seem to know that the pellets are crap and will hold out for a better, tastier pellet (eating mostly hay).

I swapped mine from a crap food (kaytee) and did a cold switch (to oxbow) and they took to it immediately. If they don't immediately, eventually they will eat.

 

[ChinnyMom]

yes Moiya, they will. what pellets are you feeding?

 

[ticklechin]

If a chinchilla is not eating pellets, it could be they are acting like children and holding out for the tasty stuff or it could be teeth issues preventing them from eating. If after a day or so the chin is not eating anything, it is hungry and you need to look for a medical issue that is preventing it from eating.

 

[taiker]

know its an old post, but want to know how did the diet change go

 

[LGarl]

I used to feed Kaytee chin food that had 'treats' mixed in and my vet told me to switch to Oxbow pure pellets because the treats are unhealthy. Not only akin to 'junk food' but it's an unregulated product and anything could be in the ingredients. (If I understood my exotic animal vet correctly) Don't cut back on hay to make your chin hungry enough to eat pellets because hay should be the bulk of their diet. My vet advised me to cut back on pellets to make my chin eat more hay because he has a little rough spot on his molar which shows he is not eating enough hay, apparently the chewing on hay wears down the molars.