Pile of Crushed Pellets?

[Morselchip87]

I've noticed that my female chinchilla tends to have a pile of crushed pellets next to her food dish. She's eating the same amount as always (about a tablespoon a day) and I feed the Oxbow pellets. She doesn't eat hay - I still give it to her. She only eats the bark off of the sticks, and doesn't chew on her ledges. I'm wondering if this is something I need to keep an eye on or a hint that she might have a tooth issue? She's about 2 1/2 to 3 years old. I had posted previously about her being underweight when we first got her and started tracking her weight. We've since stopped as she looks and feels healthy. She has a metal Flying Saucer that she runs on every day.

Any thoughts? Is this normal?

Thanks!

 

[Amethyst]

Pellet crumbs could be a sign of tooth problems, especially if it's a new thing. If it's just a small amount and she has always done it it could just be she is a messy eater. Chin's need to eat hay, that is how they grind down their molars (which also grow) and also it adds much needed fiber to their diet. Hay should actually make up about 70% of the chin's diet, that it how important it is. If she wont eat one type of hay try another, and try different brands, some chins are very picky when it comes to hay. Also hay is hay so try all, even the cheap brands, some chins will only eat the cheap brands. Also are you only giving her a tablespoon of pellets a day? or is that all she will eat? Most chins eat around 2 tablespoons worth a day. Pellets should be free fed, as much as they will eat, it's good to measure so you know how much you are putting in the bowl and how much is eaten but it shouldn't be rationed.

Just eating the bark off sticks is normal, some chins just chew the bark off, others chew up the whole stick. With my guys it depends on the type of wood if they chew just the bark or the stick wood too. Does she have chew toys in addition to the sticks? Some chins prefer chewing hanging things instead of stable things like shelves or blocks and sticks they pick up.

You should continue to weigh the chin at least once or twice a month, in most cases weigh loss is the first sign that something is wrong long before they show any other symptoms.

 

[Morselchip87]

Thanks for the quick response. She is a really picky eater. My male eats everything. We've tried different hays, Alfalfa, Timothy, Botanical - the botanical seemed to be working for a while and now she's lost interest in it. All of them were the Oxbow brand. I've bought the timothy cubes of hay, no luck there either. She doesn't like rose hips when we give those as treats, so she gets a couple of oats. The list goes on and on. Poor girl is so spoiled, yet she doesn't know it.

She is given 1.5 to 2 Tablespoons of food a day, but typically only eats about 1 Tablespoon of it. I try to never let the bowl be empty, I fill it every evening before I go to bed. If it's empty by morning, it gets filled then too. So she is free fed. My male eats 2+ Tablespoons. I use the Tablespoon to scoop the food so I know about how much they are eating, and always give them more than what I know they eat.

She's never used her pumice block, or lava ledge to chew on. As far as hanging toys, She has a spindle of ~6 Apple sticks that gets replenished about once a month (probably not often enough). I've tried coconut shells, different toys with loofah, and she never nibbles them - they end up in my male's cage. She recently got an arched bridge thing that we use as a house and put her chinchiller under. She hasn't nibbled this either. If it were in Gizmo's cage, it'd be about 1/2 gone lol.

I'll start weighing her tonight and keep track weekly for a while. I'll buy her a different hanging toy and pick up a different brand of hay. Are there any other varieties/brands out there that you recommend?

 

[Smidgeyy]

My chins absolutely love Small Pet Select. They've never eaten hay like this before so I would definitely give it a try. When I first got it, they loved it so much that they didn't even leave a mess behind. They ate all of it

Now they're a little messier and will toss certain pieces but they're still eating more of it than they were when I was buying Oxbow hay.