Fruit

[Pipsqueak]

Can I feed our chins fruit? If so which kinds and how often?

 

[GorillaJTA]

Simple answer. No. No fruits or vegetables ever (even raisins). Stick with an unfrosted shredded wheat, old-fashioned rolled oats, dried rosehips, organic rosebuds, a plain cheerio...
Mine only get wood chews as a treat.

 

[Jenn]

ditto. Treats should also be feed very sparingly as they really don't need them. The exception would be wood chews/sticks. As I only have one chin, I give her a few sticks a day and she always has wood chews available.

 

[Laurie]

Agreed with Gorilla and Jenn--NEVER any fruits or vegetables of any kind dried or fresh. The reason? Too much sugar, especially in dried form. Sugar is deadly to chins therefore needs to be avoided at all costs. Gorilla's suggestion for treats is excellent, please use any of those as a treat for your chin.

 

[ticklechin]

Sugar in a chins digestive system means fermentation, fermentation produces gas, chins can't burp so the gas expands and untreated the digestive tract can rupture and the chin can die. The simple answer on why chins don't get sugar.

 

[Chin_Up_Sunshine]

Chins should never have any kind of fruit or vegetable. Some vets will tell you otherwise because they think that chinchillas are similar to other small rodents like rats/guinea pigs/rabbits. This is not true. Do a quick search for treats and you'll find mounds of information on there.
I have a few rosehips that I've given a couple times, but "treats" for my chins are when I hand feed them their pellets, hay or buy them different kinds of chew toys like wood, loofah or pumice.

 

[starleomach]

Like everyone one else said no fruits or veggies.

 

[Pipsqueak]

thanks everyone we were curious about it because the food we bought for them had some dried fruit in it!

 

[Chin_Up_Sunshine]

A lot of chinchilla "food" at pet stores has a ton of junk in it that is extremely unhealthy for them. Some chinchilla friendly brands are Mazuri, Oxbow and Purina Rabbit Show Chow (this is the only rabbit food safe for them, not all are). Pet stores tend to charge a ton for these (and they're often more stale as they've been in storage for a while), so I recommend buying from the vendors on here. It's cheaper and you can buy in smaller amounts so it will stay fresh.

 

[broderp]

A lot of chinchilla "food" at pet stores has a ton of junk in it that is extremely unhealthy for them. Some chinchilla friendly brands are Mazuri, Oxbow and Purina Rabbit Show Chow (this is the only rabbit food safe for them, not all are). Pet stores tend to charge a ton for these (and they're often more stale as they've been in storage for a while), so I recommend buying from the vendors on here. It's cheaper and you can buy in smaller amounts so it will stay fresh.

Respectfully to all,

I've wondered about this. I know what everyone here says (some will even say some fruits are OK) but if fruits were so bad, how can so many food manufactures get away with this? I also have books written several authors that say raisins and some fruits are acceptable. (I also have books that say fruits are bad).

Rather than just say that pet stores sell crap food and 'we' know better, is there any study or proof that shows chins fed pet store foods or treats with raisin, papaya or other "no-no" sugars have a higher mortality rate or higher rate of intestinal issues than those who don't?

I'm not in either camp, and do once in a blue moon give raisins, (maybe one raisin each every 2 weeks) but mostly give Cheerios or plain shredded wheat as treats.

We use Nutraphase feed (looks like plain pellets with no treats in it) along with lots of timothy hay and of course they chew anything wood in their cage. They seem to be growing larger, there energy levels are the same as always and their poo is normal. This is no different than when we first got them and fed them the 'cheap pet store' feed with tons of treats, along with many more raisins and Papaya. (before educating ourselves.)

As an engineer, I tend to rely more on fact as well evidence from educated trial and error. Everyone has their opinion, and everyone has their own facts and swears by them. Its hard to decipher this sort of thing sometimes. :wacko:

I don't disagree that the name brands favored by so many are good, I question if the others are really so bad. Many times people jump on a bandwagon just because someone "who knows" made a recommendation. This information gets repeated as Gospel without no working knowledge other than here say.

 

[Chin_Up_Sunshine]

A long response

Granted, this will be biased, but I've based a lot of my responses on the articles posted here and also based on my own knowledge of the species. The fact that chinchillas are an herbivore tells me that the species should eat only grasses and herbs. Fruits and vegetables are high in sugar. I am concerned about stasis, bloat, and chances of rapidly crashing sugar highs which is why I don't feed my chinchillas fruit. I know about stasis and bloat based on information I've gleaned from articles like this.
The sugars in fruits and vegetables are also a problem as I don't have a way to brush my rodent's teeth. Cavities can be a problem for things outside of just humans.
I also put a lot of trust in people who have healthy animals for up to 20 years and feed them only the basics of their diet: pellets and hay. When I first started reading on chinchillas, what I found also said raisins and nuts were acceptable. This information also stated that chinchillas only lived around 6 years. I absolutely draw a correlation to high fat and sugar diet= shorter expected lifespan and low fat and sugar diet=longer expected lifespan.

In speaking to my exotic vet I was informed that high sugar and fat foods were not recommended for a healthy chinchilla. Even places like Kaytee recommend that high fat diets aren't good for your pet:

"You will probably find that your pet chinchilla loves Hay products. Nutritional high quality pellet foods are suggested for chinchillas because they have very sensitive digestive tracts. It is extremely important to know that they cannot process fatty foods efficiently, and this means foods with a high fat content should be avoided! Fresh veggies and foods with a high water and moisture content should also be avoided."

but they know that if they sell it, people will buy it, so they still have products like:

KAYTEE® Fiesta® Treats are a fun way to add variety to your pet’s diet. Fiesta Treats are a nutritionally fortified blend of seeds and carefully selected fruits, nuts and vegetables. KAYTEE Products is dedicated to the health and well being of your pet. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS: Feed in a separate dish or sprinkle directly on their daily diet. Treats add variety and can be fed up to 20% of the total food intake.

Common sense still tells me that treats shouldn't take up 20% of any animal's food intake. Do some people give the occasional high sugar treat? Sure. And honestly, as a general rule I'm a fan of moderation, so I can't say that a single raisin is going to kill a chinchilla. But I still feel that new owners need to at least be aware that this is NOT a healthy treat. I think of it like any child: high sugar foods are not a food substitute and can lead to huge complications. Personally, treats are really for people to spoil their pets. Why would I spoil my pet in a way that I know is negatively impacting his/her health when there are better and safer treats I could be giving them that are actually good for them.

 

[ChinnyMom]

i was considering the nutriphase food and even bought a bag of it before i was able to find oxbow in one of my local petsmarts. the issue with nutriphase is that it contains corn near the top of the ingredient list (meaning the corn content is high), and corn is considered one of those things that aren't good for chins (and really for any other creature either, corn has no nutritional value and is used often as a filler).

as others have said, fruit and vegetables are not good for chins.

 

[Luci]

great post, chin_up! "like"

 

[Chintastic!]

My theory on why companies like Kaytee make these foods is because they want you to spend more money buying their products. They give you unhealthy options because they look pretty. If you feed your animals the foods they offer then your animal will probably not live as long(as chin_up mentioned.)

If they dont live as long then you will be sad and compeled to buy another one. Then you will spend even more money buying their products. Its sort of a vicious cycle. They make us think its healthy so they make more money.

 

[3CsMommy]

I can't point you to studies, but I can highlight this: The oldest known chinchilla, according to his pedigree, was 27 years old when he died. He lived birth to death with a breeder in the UK, eating pellets and hay.

I have yet to see anything indicating a pet chinchilla has lived that long. I realize, mathematically speaking, that 27 year old chin might be an outlier, but then again, we hear of a lot of chins from breeders reaching 20+. Not so with pet chins. The 'why' isn't necessarily explained w/out more study, but that seems to point to a correlation between simple diet and longevity.

 

[Chin_Up_Sunshine]

i was considering the nutriphase food and even bought a bag of it before i was able to find oxbow in one of my local petsmarts. the issue with nutriphase is that it contains corn near the top of the ingredient list (meaning the corn content is high), and corn is considered one of those things that aren't good for chins (and really for any other creature either, corn has no nutritional value and is used often as a filler).

as others have said, fruit and vegetables are not good for chins.

I didn't know about the Nutriphase! My boys were already eating Mazuri when I got them. Corn is a starch and indeed has no nutritional value. I know Mazuri, Oxbow, and PRCS have hay as the first ingredient. At least in America, ingredients are listed based on what is most prominent down to what is least prominent. Thus I've deduced that these brands are best as they mostly consist of the natural diet of the chinchilla. I've honestly never really looked at other brands.

 

[ChinnyMom]

up here in Canada, ingredients are listed the same, with the highest amount being listed first and so on.

one thing i find interesting is that the Nutriphase pellets sold here have a slightly different ingredient list from that on the US's petsmart website. nutriphase does have sun-cured alfalfa as the first ingredient, so it's not the worst chin food out there (nothing like Charlie Chinchilla food!), but definitely not the best either.

 

[Chin_Up_Sunshine]

That doesn't surprise me, actually. America tends to have pretty low standards on what kind of "food" is in the food. Example, Taco Bell's recent lawsuit because their meat was only 36% meat. I know when I travel abroad I often check out American brands because it's made with different ingredients, like Coca Cola in the EU and Canada. It's a whole different experience. Those countries aren't actually okay with Silicone Dioxide being considered a food ingredient.
Granted, some of our places are cleaning up their menus. Even McDonalds uses real beef now. If only we could get rid of the high fructose corn syrup, I'd be a happy camper.

 

[GorillaJTA]

That doesn't surprise me, actually. America tends to have pretty low standards on what kind of "food" is in the food. Example, Taco Bell's recent lawsuit because their meat was only 36% meat. I know when I travel abroad I often check out American brands because it's made with different ingredients, like Coca Cola in the EU and Canada. It's a whole different experience. Those countries aren't actually okay with Silicone Dioxide being considered a food ingredient.
Granted, some of our places are cleaning up their menus. Even McDonalds uses real beef now. If only we could get rid of the high fructose corn syrup, I'd be a happy camper.

You keep your grubby fingers off my sand!!

HFCS that is used now is not much different than sucrose. It is over-consumption of simple sugars in general that is the problem.

 

[broderp]

My theory on why companies like Kaytee make these foods is because they want you to spend more money buying their products. They give you unhealthy options because they look pretty. If you feed your animals the foods they offer then your animal will probably not live as long(as chin_up mentioned.)

If they dont live as long then you will be sad and compeled to buy another one. Then you will spend even more money buying their products. Its sort of a vicious cycle. They make us think its healthy so they make more money.

Not sure I agree, as these "bad" foods are usually cheaper than the quote "good" brands. At least from what I see. The Nurtraphase (argubly a middle road feed at best) was only about $5. The same basic size bag of "good" brand was about $8. I do the 'price per once' type of comparisons all the time. (Its my nature, my wife hates it). 'crap' brands are usually cheaper then the 'good' brands.

I will agree with your last staement, its always about money.

That doesn't surprise me, actually. America tends to have pretty low standards on what kind of "food" is in the food. Example, Taco Bell's recent lawsuit because their meat was only 36% meat. I know when I travel abroad I often check out American brands because it's made with different ingredients, like Coca Cola in the EU and Canada. It's a whole different experience. Those countries aren't actually okay with Silicone Dioxide being considered a food ingredient.
Granted, some of our places are cleaning up their menus. Even McDonalds uses real beef now. If only we could get rid of the high fructose corn syrup, I'd be a happy camper.

You lost me on this. The Taco Bell issue has not been resolved to my knowlege and is still being disputed. This thinking supports my earlier thoughts on people jumping on the bandwagoon on here say. I will say this, even IF the meat is only 36% beef (not much lower then the USDA standard BTW), who in thier right mind is going to TACO BELL and thinking "Hmmm, yummy, prime cuts of beef freshly grilled to order" :laughitup:

Sorry for going off topic. (I get your meaning)