New chinchilla, food question?

[Lauren14790]

I got my second chinchilla today, Lola a hetro beige, and right now she's eating kaytee timothy food, I think thats what it's called, and her previous owner gave her alot of treats and not the good kind, so I just wanted to know if it's true you have to wait two weeks before holding and changing their food to oxbow, also her poo is real long and odd colored not like my other chinchilla Bandit, any tips or suggestions are much appreciated, sorry for all the mis-spellings, thanks! Also can they eat corn husks, popcorn, and corn syrup not the partially hydrogented corn syrup just plan corn syrup, the preious owner gave me a ton of treats, most unhealthy for a chin but a few okay ones but they're alll fine for hammies and a few okay in small amounts every so often for a chin...

 

[Siany]

Ive heard alot of people doing a cold switch with food, ive gradually done it. Im not too sure with the poo maybe its because of all the treats, i would keep an eye on it and if it get runny take her to the vets. I also wouldnt give any of that corn stuff although i am guilty of giving corn in the past and they never ate it anyway just pulled it off.

Other people will probably be able to tell you more about the poo and food better than me, but i only order from chin safe sites now to make sure what im giving isnt bad for them.

I hoped i helped a little and welcome to the site

 

[Sdo9396]

I don't think you have to wait 2 weeks to switch over to a new feed. I think they recommend doing a slow transition over a month period. 25% new feed with 75% old feed for the first week. Then, 50/50 for the next week. Then, 75% new with 25% old for the 3rd week. Then, 100% new food the 4th week.

I did a cold switch from Ruby's old food which had treats in it to Mazuri. She had a night where she had orange poops but if was from the old feed she was given which had seeds, dried veggies, and other junk in it. After that, she has had normal healthy poops.

I would get rid of the unhealthy treats and order chin-healthy ones. Many members on here sell healthy treats and wood chews that you can get for Lola. Check the Chin Supplies For Sale section. You can find plenty of goodies there!!

 

[Ash]

When it's a crap food, do a cold feed ASAP and make sure you provide lots of hay to help with the short-term temper tantrum of where the chin refuses to eat the new food. Just remember though, your chin will NOT starve herself, so don't give in and give the Kaytee back to her.

 

[Lauren14790]

Thank you everyone, should I wait a week and not give any treats then see if her pooh is getting normal or just start now and do a slow switch over to oxbow, I'm worried about doing a cold switch even though it seems they tend to prefer the oxbow and eat it first over the other food, also is it true I have to wait two weeks before holding and letting her out of the cage, or is that just a myth, I tried to keep my other chin in his cage for the first two weeks but that didn't end up happening and he's just fine, so should I wait with her?

 

[Jenn]

I think in general, it is best to do a transitional switch, but if their food is really that bad, a cold switch should be fine, along with plenty of hay. Acidopholus tablets, quartered, could be given as a treat and it will also help digestively. Plenty of apple sticks are always ok to give and your chin would probably also view this as a treat.

Every chin is different. If your chin seems comfortable in her surroundings and with you, then you wouldn't need to wait to let her out of her cage or to handle her.

 

[Sdo9396]

You don't have to wait two weeks to hold her/let her out of her cage. However, you should wait until your chin is comfortable enough with you before you do. She will let you know when she is ready. It really depends on the chin. For some, it takes only days while others take much longer.

 

[Lauren14790]

Thanks everyone, I started to switch her pellets today, it seems she didn't eat at all last night, but she already started picking the oxbow pellets out of her bowl over the kaytee one, also she seems to just not be eating the kaytee ones should I just do a cold switch since she wont eat the other pellets or just not give her new pellets til those are gone, but I gave her a cheerio and a oxbow pellet from my hand and she ate it but I offered her one of her keytee pellets and she just pulled away :/

 

[Sandi]

As Ash mentioned, just do the cold switch to the oxbow now and offer plenty of fresh hay ). It's best you do not offer any treats while transitioning to the new feed.

 

[Lauren14790]

Wont doing a cold switch mess up her digestion system or since the pellets she has now are crappy it wont effect her, she wont even touch her kaytee pellets she just eating the oxbow ones and leaving those...

 

[Sandi]

Wont doing a cold switch mess up her digestion system or since the pellets she has now are crappy it wont effect her, she wont even touch her kaytee pellets she just eating the oxbow ones and leaving those...

She's pretty much doing the cold switch herself so just leave the kaytee out of her food bowl. Treats could mess her up more than the cold switch. If you are giving her fresh hay and oxbow pellets she should be ok.

 

[Lauren14790]

Thanks, Sandi, I just took her old pellets out, hopefully she'll be fine! And I wont give her any treats till I notice a difference in her poos.

 

[rbarile92]

I switched my chins over to the Timothy Brand Food because that is all they had around my area. It messed with two of my chins digestion system. Do a cold switch because I had to go to the vet because of it. That type of food just doesn't do well with their stomachs. So I am now just buying lbs. of Purina Show Chow from people on here(what they were originally on).

The Timothy Brand food pellets are too big for them to chew on and it makes their poop very large and moist to the point where it crumbles in your hand. I had to switch off of it instantly.

 

[Lauren14790]

Thanks, rbarlie92. Since I shouldn't give her treats til she's fully eating her new pellets and everything is good with that, so far she is eating about a tablespoon a day of them and she's picking at her hay, I figure by the end of next week she'll be eating normal, can I give her new chews, loofah and pumice or will toys also mess the cold switch up like treats do and just wait til she's eating normal to give her those too?

 

[ChinnyMom]

i'd definitely give her things to chew on, she needs them for her teeth.

 

[rbarile92]

Thanks, rbarlie92. Since I shouldn't give her treats til she's fully eating her new pellets and everything is good with that, so far she is eating about a tablespoon a day of them and she's picking at her hay, I figure by the end of next week she'll be eating normal, can I give her new chews, loofah and pumice or will toys also mess the cold switch up like treats do and just wait til she's eating normal to give her those too?

You can most definatley give her new chews, loofahs and all those other goodies. They like to chew on those to keep their teeth good and healthy! So put some of those in and let us all know how she is in a little bit!
I'm sure she will be fine
You're such a good mommy!!

 

[Lauren14790]

She has her chew Ka-bob thing fulled with pine blocks and apple wood, but I got them some new chews and I wasn't sure if it would be okay to give her toys until she was eating normal, and I don't wanna give my other chin any of the toys til I know she can have them too, I gave her a piece of loofah and she just ignored it and continued to eat some hay and pellets I'm just happy she's eating! But I'm not sure if she's a big chewer, her last owner had givin her wood that looked treated(I thought it was plastic at first) and it wasn't even chewed and she hasn't touch the new wood I gave her but she did attack the one piece of williow wood I gave her by hand maybe its just the ka-bob thing she doesn't like, it's odd she's not liking her pine and apple wood chews though, I think I'll try a piece of pumice with her tomorrow, but so far my other chin is loving the loofah, it's his first time for loofah!

 

[rbarile92]

I would just give her some time!
She is probably not used to so many things all at once, or she isn't used to being so spoiled!
She will eventually chew on it, just watch for her little chew marks every day. She will probably start chewing on it within a few days or at night when she is all by herself and when she is very active.
My chins like it best when I hand then the things to chew on, they think it is better that way for some odd reason so I know what you are talking about.
If she doesn't chew it, then just take it out and try something different.
Of course leave the pine in there for her because that is the bets for her.
Though, she is probably still getting used to it all and she is probably confused as to why so many things are in her cage all at once!
She just doesn't know what to chew first : )