Eating lots of pellet and not much hay?

[Morrigan]

I've free fed my 2 chins Oxbow since I got them about 2 years ago. They also have constant access to timothy hay, at least until they pull it out of the hay holder and scatter it across the cage bottom, and then won't eat it because it's been on the cage bottom...

So they eat mostly pellets, with small amounts of fresh hay twice a day when I refresh it. They're eating at least a cup of pellets a week, maybe more.

I did just set up a new hay holder, so I'm hoping that will keep them from trashing it, so they have fresh hay to eat all the time.

Is there serious consequences to eating so much more pellet than hay? What should I be on the lookout for? They seem as healthy and active as ever, no serious weight gain or loss, still pooping like normal.

It'd be a lot less trouble if they weren't such willful little creatures!

 

[sheena lee]

I don't think it's bad, as long as they have access to hay. If you're refreshing it twice a day, then they're probably eating a good amount of it even if most ends up on the floor!

 

[AZChins]

They should be alright if they are eating their pellets and at least some hay. What I do is only give out hay once at night. It makes them think they are getting a treat and they seem to eat more doing it that way. You could try only giving hay once a day. Skip a day of hay and then see if you can get them to eat more. With chins anything that you have in the cage in abundance will be more ignored than if they think there is a shortage or they can only eat it/chew it for a limited time. If they think it is a treat, they will eat more.

But, if they are eating a little hay and a lot more pellets, it isn't the end of the world. Hay is a wonderful thing for them to fill up on as much as possible though...anything you can do to encourage consuming more hay is a good thing.

 

[jbcstratton]

You could try different kinds of hay or hay cubes as well. As long as they have chew stuff as well like sticks and hays they should be wearing their teeth down.

 

[javachin]

Try hay cubes and maybe giving hay every other day or so.

 

[aznmexaggie]

Some chins are picky. You can try mixing in different varieties of grass hay with their timothy or a bit of alfalfa hay. Some chins can become lazy chewers because pellets are easier to chew since they crumble easily. Sometimes offering hays with different textures and flavors will entice them to eat more.

 

[Morselchip87]

My chin has recently stopped eating as much hay also. I noticed this happened when I started switching him from the generic pellet to the Oxbow pellet. He would stop eating the generic and only eat the Oxbow plus some hay. Now that he has all Oxbow, he barely touches his Timothy Hay. I give a little more than a Tablespoon of pellets each evening and he's been eating it all. He also gets 5-6 twigs each evening to chew on as he likes. Since his poop hasn't changed and he's still just as happy, I'm not too worried. It just must taste better to him.

 

[Anne-Lise]

Hay is essential for the teeth, but the amount each chinchilla eats varies a lot. Some of my chins will eat soooo much hay, they never waste any, and some will eat just a little bit. As mentionned before, as long as they do eat some hay, it's fine.

 

[JessiKate]

I know this is a relatively old thread but my chin used to eat alfalfa hay and he went nuts for it! Then I moved and unfortunately he couldn't come with me for a while so I sent him to my dads so my sister could take care of him. Anyways he was there for about 8 months give or take, and they switched him to Timothy hay, which he is way more picky with. I've had him back for about 2 months now and I noticed he went from hardly eating his hay, to not eating it at all, and I found out he has dental issues, which is why he wasn't eating his hay!! So hopefully your chins are still eating some hay and nothing like this happens to them!

 

[Cuddlebug]

My chin has recently stopped eating as much hay also. I noticed this happened when I started switching him from the generic pellet to the Oxbow pellet. He would stop eating the generic and only eat the Oxbow plus some hay. Now that he has all Oxbow, he barely touches his Timothy Hay. I give a little more than a Tablespoon of pellets each evening and he's been eating it all. He also gets 5-6 twigs each evening to chew on as he likes. Since his poop hasn't changed and he's still just as happy, I'm not too worried. It just must taste better to him.

Why are you limiting his pellets to one tablespoon per day? If the bowl is empty, you need to give him more food. Ideally, you should put in enough food in his bowl that there is a little left over when you go to feed him again. Chinchillas normally do not over eat so they can be free fed without becoming fat.