Is rat food a no-no?

RagingMoon1987 · Dec 5, 2016

I got my first chin a week and a half ago. He seems happy with the food I'm giving him (it's specifically designed for chins), but I have a question. Before I owned Bentley I had two rats. The rats died of old age and I still have some of their food left over in an airtight bag. Would it be safe to give this rat food to Bentley, or should I toss it out and let the squirrels have it? Any help y'all give me will be greatly appreciated; I love Bentley and I don't want to make him sick with the wrong food, but I also want to give him a little variety so he won't be bored with what he's got.

Chinmama · Dec 6, 2016

I would keep him on the chinchilla food. The rat food is probably not formulated for a chinchilla, and a switch in food can cause digestive upset.

tunes · Dec 6, 2016

Rats are omnivores, chinchillas are herbivores. No, I would not feed the rat food to the chins. Stick with chinchilla pellets that are specifically formulated for them. If you need a list of good pellets, we can give you that. Generally stuff from Wal-Mart or Petco/PetSmart are not great feeds.

RagingMoon1987 · Dec 6, 2016

You guys are great, thanks. Yes Tunes, if you'd give a list I'd appreciate that. As I said above, this is my first chinchilla and I want to give him the best life possible.

RagingMoon1987 · Dec 6, 2016

Squirrels it is, then! Y'all are awesome! A list would be greatly appreciated too, tunes. I read last night about oxbow pellets being good for chins and I'd like to get some for Bentley if that's true.

tunes · Dec 7, 2016

Oxbow chinchilla
Nutrena Naturwise 15% rabbit
Tradition chinchilla
Kline Diet
Manna Pro Show Rabbit
APD Timmy Pellet Ration for Guinea Pig and Chinchilla
American Pet Diner (APD) Alffy Pellets
PANR Nutrition
Purina Rabbit Chow Show Natural AdvantEdge
Mazuri

A lot of chinchilla feeds you have to order online just because they aren't in your area. One that you can "usually" find easily enough is Oxbow, because some pet store chains carry it. I feed Nutrena and you can find that at TSC, Bomgaars, etc. It's also pretty cheap.