Chinchilla food crumbling

[CocoChins]

I'm a new chinchilla owner and I'm wondering if my chinchilla is ok. I've had him for about 4-5 days and the first 2 days he was eating his pellets just fine, then I just noticed yesterday that his pellets were being crumbled. He isn't discharging from his eyes or nose and is acting quite usual (either than the fact that he is crumbling his food). can someone tell me if this is normal?

 

[Amethyst]

Is he eating his hay ok? chewing on his toys? If so I think you probably just have a messy eater. Some parts of the pellets must just taste better, lol. It's not uncommon for chins to take a bite or two of a pellet then drop it and grab another. My guys do that, I just dump the crumbs and give them fresh pellets everyday. Watch for drooling, runny eyes, runny nose, pawing at the mouth, stuff like that, which would signify a tooth or mouth problem.

 

[CocoChins]

Hes eating his hay just fine and chewing his toys and acting normal. His food howhever is still being crumbled. Im just worried because the first few days he was eating fine and then he randomly began crumbling his food.

 

[Amethyst]

A change in how he eats after only having him a few days means nothing, you wont see his normal behavior in the first days being in a new home. He is likely starting to settle in a little and feels safe enough to fall back into his normal (messy) eating pattern rather then trying eat carefully as to not leave any trace of his existence in case there are threats. If you are really concerned you can take him to the vet, but from what you have posted it doesn't sound necessary.

You should also be keeping a record of his weight. Weight loss is normally one of the first signs of a problem, and weight lose plus crumbling his food is more of a sign that there is an issue since it shows he isn't eating his food. You want a scale that measures in grams (most kitchen scales) and digital are easiest to read since chins don't sit still. Weigh him at least about every week or two (some people weigh them everyday). A weight fluctuation of about 10-20 grams from day to day is perfectly normal so long as it goes up and down (generally because they've just eaten, drank, peed, or pooped), and not just down at each weighing.

 

[Unicorn777111]

I'm a new chinchilla owner and I'm wondering if my chinchilla is ok. I've had him for about 4-5 days and the first 2 days he was eating his pellets just fine, then I just noticed yesterday that his pellets were being crumbled. He isn't discharging from his eyes or nose and is acting quite usual (either than the fact that he is crumbling his food). can someone tell me if this is normal?

Swee Swee does the same thing. Picks up a pellet after sniffing all of them. Takes one or two bites and drops it .Then picks up another one and does the same thing. I just leave the crumbles there in her dish til she eats them.