How's my chinchilla diet layout?

[Sunnyastounded]

I feed both my chins unlimited Oxbow pellets and Oxbow timothy hay. As a treat during playtime I offer two rolled oats to each chin. As a bedtime snack I offer half of an unsweetened shredded wheat to each.

Am I offering too many treats? Is there anything I could add to improve? Also, would adding ten strands or so of Oxbow's alfalfa hay as a daily calcium supplement and as a way to add variety be a bad idea?

Note: the chins are and their poo are healthy.

 

[Silverrose]

Personally, I think that is too many treats. I only give food treats once, maybe twice a week. As an alternative to an edible treat, you can give them a stick to chew on. They are none the wiser and think that is a treat as well! I don't see a problem with giving a few strands of alfalfa. Although, you may want to try alfalfa cubes. That way, it is another hay option for them, as well as a toy. If they don't eat the hay cube, they at least enjoy throwing them around and gnawing on them a bit.

 

[greychins]

I personally wouldn't give them the shreddie every night, but that's just me. I really live by the less-is-more philosophy - they get treats here, but it's more like maybe 2 times a week for things like shreddies, if that. For the smaller treats like oats, I don't see a problem with a few a day.

I think the alfalfa would be fine. Our chins get a locally grown hay mix - it's timothy, alfalfa, orchard, and rye... so they get alfalfa every day and they do perfectly fine on it. So a little bit won't hurt. We also do the hay cubes - though the ones we get are the alfalfa/timothy mix... some chins like them, some chins won't touch them... so the actual loose hay works better in some instances.

 

[Sunnyastounded]

I forgot to mention that I do offer them a baked apple tree twig cut from my own apple tree each day. And I am currently looking into the hay cubes. How does everyone else feel about my treat giving and alfalfa hay addition?

 

[Sandi]

The 2 that have responded, as well as I feel that giving the shreddie every day is too much. There is no such thing as a bedtime snack for chins. If you feel you need to give them something then add another apple stick. The alfalfa hay is fine to give the way you are doing it.

 

[Vcchinchilla]

my chins get pellets everynight at 9pm (doc wants them to eat more hay)
so when i get home they've finnished all the pellets and still have 1/3 of hay left
so i give them a "treat" which is measured ammount of vitamins, they think it's a treat which will = love mom more =D

and then play time consist of commands, one of them can do mutiple so every succesful sequence = treat
going to bathroom is treat

coming back from a run = apple sticks

odd time being cute = loofa

my treats/vitamins are from fuzzies kingdom
they tell you how much you can feed them i think it was 1/2tsp
so measure that out and keep pinching it out from there =D by the end of the night you'll have left overs or none at all

i give up finding healthy treats here and there it's better for me to have someone already mixed done for me
then there's no worries!!!

since human food so horrible for them -_-..

 

[Sunnyastounded]

From what I understand, everything is okay except the shredded wheat treat. Perhaps if I give half a shredded wheat once or twice a week (and that day I don't give any rolled oats) would that be better?