Not eating or drinking?

[Chelle]

Hey,

I've only had my Chinchilla for a couple days now. He doesn't appear to be eating though & it doesn't seem like the water level in his bottle is going down. He has eaten the few raisins I've given him & he does nibble on some hay, but not his pellets. Could this just be because he is still nervous & scared?

 

[starrynight0621]

Perhaps. Are you using the same pellets he had before you got him? Also, is he pooping?

 

[Chelle]

I'm not sure what he was eating before I got him. & yes, he is deficating...it is just that his food levels don't seem to be getting any lower.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

Probably. Most chins don't drink much so you might not notice the level dropping right away. PLEASE stop giving him raisins. They are VERY bad for him and he should be eating his pellets/hay not raisins. No fruits (especially dried) or veg. should be given to chins.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Definitely stop the raisins. They can cause problems with his digestive system as can any fruit or vegetable, fresh or dried. If he is pooping, he is eating. He just doesn't do it while you are looking.

 

[Lillybabe]

What quality pellets are you using? I have found even the Kaytee hay usually smells fresh, etc. but their pellets are really dusty/low quality. You should invest in some high quality hay, Oxbow is a good brand and even PetsMart and other chain petstores sell it. High quality pellets should also be offered. Tradition, Mazuri, Oxbow, PANR (which is a rabbit food) are all recommended by various people for chinchillas. Mazuri however is often the easiest to find locally. I would check a local animal feed store, like for horses and such (not a chain like Farm and Fleet) as they might have more. When the weather is warm I can get very fresh hay as one of the feed stores actually grows it themselves.

Maybe he isn't eating as much as you'd like him to eat because he doesn't like the food being offered. I agree with everyone else who mentioned the raisins. Rolled oats are a good treat option as well as unsweetened shreaded wheat. Treats of course should only be offered in very small amounts (a pinch, half a bite sized shreaded wheat) a couple times a week.

 

[tcraighenry]

The last batch I got of Oxbow Timothy my little chin didn't like that much (I can tell when hay to pellet ratio goes down.) We did buy her this though:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003FM7JZY/ref=oh_o01_s01_i00_details

She loves it!

 

[Lillybabe]

Where'd you get the Oxbow? I've found places like PetsMart, especially in areas without a lot of chin owners, have their hay on the shelf for a long time. My little guy would snub hay unless it was pretty fresh. I could usually tell based on the smell what was fresh and what wasn't. The problem is you can't really tell that easily without buying the bag. Sometimes I'd look at the bottom of the bag.. if there is a ton of hay dust it's usually not as fresh. However at the feed store I go to they have huge 20lb bags (I think) of Mazuri and almost always very fresh Oxbow as they get much more chin folk and other small animal traffic.

 

[tcraighenry]

@Lillybabe Amazon . But the last batch was bad, she hated it. We gave it to our friends for composting after we got the new stuff. The difference was amazing.

We're city dwellers and don't have a car (thank god for ZipCar,) so it's a lot easier for us to buy off Amazon and know we're getting fresh hay from a good seller.

This is who we bought it from last time:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WFKF9O/ref=oh_o06_s00_i00_details

Shipping took forever too.

 

[mim0saBones]

Try asking the breeder what pellets your chinchilla used to eat. then, Mix his old feed with the new feed you are switching to, and gradually ease him into eating the new thing.
How many weeks old is he? Old enough to be fully weaned off of mom's milk I hope.
And yeah, raisins are going to give him tummy problems...

 

[Chelle]

Oh, wow really?! I had no idea! I read that raisins were okay & fresh fruit too. I haven't given him any fresh fruits but now I know not to start!

I can't remember the brand of food but I know it was the best quality one they had available. I'll double check tonight & see if it is one of the brands you guys have mentioned.

Thanks so much for your help everyone!

 

[Lillybabe]

The thing about chinchillas is... there's a lot of misinformation out there. All the petstores I have looked at have incorrect info on their websites. Many vets even give out incorrect information. It's just so few people really *know* about chinchillas in many areas. People advocate giving rabbits lettuce too... and it causes them bloat. There are harnesses sold for rabbits even though they hop and it could seriously injure them. It's all about what sells. People give their chinchillas raisins and other fresh fruit and they don't immediately die so they say "raisins and fresh fruit are okay!"