Basic nutrition

[user 15900]

Hello!
I am looking forward to getting my first chinchilla!

I lost the list i made a few years ago about what percentage of different types of food can be in the pallets, so I would highly appreciate it if someone could help me and tell me what I should be looking for?

What is the best diet plan for the chins?

 

[Amethyst]

This link might be what you are looking for Food for thought on feed! it gives a rundown and explanation of the nutrients that should be in the pellet food.

If you are looking for specific pellets that are good, the best are Oxbow Essentials (NOT the other formulas) and Mazuri, if you are over in UK the best food is Science Select. If you don't live somewhere that has any of those foods you can compare what food you can get with those to see which is closest.

 

[tunes]

There are many different types of feed and I hesitate to say which is the "best" because different feeds work for different chins. My entire herd is on Nutrena Naturwise rabbit and they do really well on it, other people feed Tradition and have excellent results, many feed Purena Rabbit, and so on. Try to find the best feed you can in your area or online. Generally feeds sold in supermarket type stores are not good feeds - those sold in Walmart, etc.

 

[Amethyst]

There are many different types of feed and I hesitate to say which is the "best" because different feeds work for different chins. My entire herd is on Nutrena Naturwise rabbit and they do really well on it, other people feed Tradition and have excellent results, many feed Purena Rabbit, and so on. Try to find the best feed you can in your area or online. Generally feeds sold in supermarket type stores are not good feeds - those sold in Walmart, etc.

Yeah I guess I should have said some of the best chinchilla foods , was just trying to give examples of good species specific foods to compare other food to. Opinions vary and there is a lot of debate between the pet owner world and the breeder world when it comes to what is best for chins. You start trying to compare food from other countries to rabbit foods and you may end up going too far the wrong direction with nutrients and ingredients thinking "well this one isn't that different to the rabbit food" but when compared to chinchilla food it is a lot different.

 

[user 15900]

Thank you a lot!

 

[Lilfluff ferocity]

I second the oxbow and maz. Dont use rabbit food as it is not the right nutrients for chinchilla(like feeding a hawk parrot food), they don't over eat for the most part. Just no mixes and keep hay available. If you feed treats dried rose hips, dried dandelion, dried mint, ect, not rasains as it leads to fatty liver and diarrhea.