Food Question

[Dom3rd]

So about 7 months ago i got my wife 3 Male Chinchillas or so i was told. Well the other night my wife is in feeding the Chins and she yells there is a mouse in the cage...... well there are now 5 Chins and when i thought we had 3 boys well we have 1 boy and 2 girls. So we are feeding Sunseed Sunscription Vita Prima Chinchilla Formula is this good for them or should we switch to something else?

 

[ChinnyMom]

that's not a good food at all. Sun Seed contains fruit and veggies, and both are a big no no for chins.

i would switch them over to Oxbow personally. that is the pellet i feed my boys and am having good results with it.

other good quality pellets are Mazuri, Tradition, PRCS (Purina Rabbit Chow Show). i'm sure there are a few other brands that are good too, but i can't think of the brand names off the top of my head.

and just want to ensure you have the adult male separated now from the females? don't want any more surprise babies!

 

[Cuddlebug]

Sunseed is not a good feed. Most Petsmarts carry both Oxbow or Mazuri. both are excellent feed.

Now, before you run off to the pet store, separate the male from both females. chances are that your other female is also pregnant. but you will want to try to avoid a breed back with the one that just littered. If you don't have another cage, you will need to buy one.

You will also need to make sure the cage the kits are in is kit safe. the wire spacing should be no bigger than 1/2 x 1 inch. anything bigger and the kits can and will escape.

One other thing is that you may want to put the 2nd female in a cage of her own. It depends on how the two females are getting along with each other with kits in the cage. Often they will help each other, but sometimes, they will fight or harm the other female's kits.

You will need to get a gram scale and weigh the kits once a day, at the same time, every day. If they do not start gaining weight or are losing weight, by day 3, you will need to help mom feed them. I recommend that you read the FAQs in the breeding and babies section to find out what you will need to do.

 

[Dom3rd]

The cage is good i made it so no wire spacing to worry about, and the females are doing good we are keeping an eye on them. now as far as switching foods i see that most of you just free feed so how would you switch if you are free feeding?

 

[ChinnyMom]

being as the Sunseed food is so low quality, i would do a cold switch to a better pellet. this means simply stopping the feeding of the sunseed and switch cold turkey to the good food.

i'm not sure if cold switching while a momma kit is nursing her little ones/is pregnant is good or not, as i don't have any breeding experience. hopefully others will chime in soon on that.

 

[Dom3rd]

Yeah i was just not sure how to do it, hopefully i will hear soon

 

[Dom3rd]

Does no one have any knowledge one switching food while momma is nursing??

 

[liewwan]

Now I've never had a nursing chin, but I would do a cold switch still. What the mama puts in her system is going to end up in the kits from the milk. The better nutrients the mama takes in, the better nutrients the kits gets.

 

[Magic_FROST]

Okay, slow down there. Lots here have the info you seek, but this is a big forum and this topic isnt in the babies section, its in health.

I personally have switched lots of lactating mommas off of crappy food to the good stuff cold turkey with zero problems. I feed Mazuri. In dishes they cant pee in, and as much as they want.

You neglected to tell us if you feed hay, what kind, and how much.

Hay is vital too.

 

[Brittany]

The cage is good i made it so no wire spacing to worry about, and the females are doing good we are keeping an eye on them. now as far as switching foods i see that most of you just free feed so how would you switch if you are free feeding?

Has the male been moved to a new cage yet? Also, you'll need to remove any shelves or wheels because the kits can get seriously hurt on it. All chins, wether lactating or not, need a good quality pellet and plenty of fresh timothy hay. If you're shopping at a petstore I'd go with either Oxbow or Mazuri. I haven't seen any petstores in my area that sell any of the other good feeds.

 

[Dom3rd]

We went and got Oxbow food and Timothy hay, i got a free feeder thing and as far as hay we just put some in as we need to if there is none we just add it in.

OH and as far as the Male yes he is in his own cage now