Question about pellets & treats

[vimkgt]

Hi all,

Hope you all can help me with some feed questions for my chinchillas.

I'm currently in China right now... We actually can get Oxbow and Mazuri chin food here. They sell it for about $25 USD for a 10lb bag, and while we try to get it whenever it's available, it's out of stock online and in shops so often that I'm not counting on it as a regular supply. The shops say the breeders all horde it for themselves so it often doesn't make it to the retail channel...

In the meanwhile, I have a few alternatives:

Jolly brand food:
Seems to be typical pellet food from a large food manufacturer that mostly makes rabbit and hamster food. It's alfalfa meal based with a very small amount of whole dried rose hips and alfalfa blocks mixed in. No other junk "treats" mixed in there. The pellets look and smell kind of similar to Oxbow.

Crude Protein: 18%
Crude Fat: 3%
Crude Fiber: 18%
Moisture: 7%
Calcium: 1.5%
Phosphorus: 1.0%

Ingredients: Rose Hips, Corn Meal, Soy Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Yeast, and "Salt + Vitamins & Minerals" (not listed by greatest volume like in the US... it's just a random list)

China Chinchilla Club brand Food:
There's a "China Chinchilla Club" that either makes their own or resells a lot of specialty chinchilla stuff. Nutrition analysis seems mostly OK, and lots of people in China recommend it, but I bought a big bag of this this and it just doesn't smell or look right to me. The pellets are really short and about twice the width of normal pellets, with a strange smell, almost chemically, instead of the crushed grass smell that Oxbow has. Plus the color is more beige than brown.

Crude Protein: 17.0%
Crude Fat: 2.17%
Crude Fiber: 24.50%
Calcium: 1.43%
Phosphorus: 0.60%

No mention of anything else, and it's really dry, I think because they put silica gel packs in there to remove moisture, which doesn't seem appropriate for this type of food I think?

Ingredients: Alfalfa Meal, Barley Meal, Corn Meal, Soy Meal, Salt, Calcium Powder, Vitamins A/B/C/D3/E/K, etc (not listed by greatest volume like in the US... it's just a random list)



The rest of the food we can get here is the trashy kind with fruits and veggies mixed in. Any opinions on the 2 options above? My other option is to get Mazuri, which is in stock more often, but it's ridiculously expensive ($120 USD for a 25lb bag), or Oxbow Young Rabbit pellets, which seem to be in stock more often, but still not a good supply. Or I can stock up a bigger supply of Oxbow, but I don't know if it'll stay fresh long enough for this to be a good idea.


On another note, are the following treats safe to give? I can't find rose-hips in the stores here and don't know what it's called in Chinese to look it up online

• Dehydrated lemon slices, for Vitamin C
• Dried Goji berries
• Dried rose buds (not rose hips, but the actually small flower bud part. It's sold for human consumption here, usually used in tea)

Thanks for the opinions

 

[ticklechin]

The corn meal is a problem, it can cause digestive problems.

 

[ppsamm]

well, the chinchilla food u have mentioned like mazuri and oxbow are much more expensive in Singapore than in China. We do not much trust the brand that you have mentioned like Jolly....so most of the chins people are still using mazuri and oxbow since they are one of the best trusted feed.

u should be able to find rosehip in brands eg jolly or alex.

 

[Tagna]

For the treats rose buds are fine. I know many people that use those. I would not give the lemon or goji berries. I have seen more people using those goji berries but I won't use them. Rosehips are the main treat I give.

 

[Brittany]

I know you have limited options, but I just want to throw this out there. If at all possible I'd avoid any 'treats' mixed with the pellets, even something healthy like a rosehip. You run the risk of the chin just digging for the rosehips, and leaving the pellets.

 

[Cuddlebug]

No lemon, no goji berries. Fruit is a big no-no for chinchillas. The rose buds are fine. As far as the feed goes, both of them have corn in them. Chins should not have corn.

 

[vimkgt]

I know you have limited options, but I just want to throw this out there. If at all possible I'd avoid any 'treats' mixed with the pellets, even something healthy like a rosehip. You run the risk of the chin just digging for the rosehips, and leaving the pellets.

That makes sense, when I used that food before I filtered out the rose hips and alfalfa cubes and just fed them as treats. Kinda 2 for 1 hahaha

 

[vimkgt]

The corn meal is a problem, it can cause digestive problems.

Ahh, thanks Dawn, didn't realize that. I'll probably just use Oxbow Young Rabbit food then if I can't get a hold of their Chinchilla food. The nutrition analysis and ingredient list is almost identical, just some small variation in amount of some ingredients, and no corn.

 

[Spoof]

Rose buds and petals are a great treat, as are the rose hips you are picking out of his food. Goji berries are fine in moderation as are the occasional oat. )

 

[mishellyshel]

i dont know much about the pellets mentioned.

i would not give the lemon peel. all my chins love rose buds (well they like the petals). I also give my chins goji berries in moderation, which means a couple times a week....not every day. I do give my boys a plain mini shredded wheat if you are able to find that.
My boys do not love Cherrios but i know that some members also give them in moderation. other flowers they enjoy are dried organic dandelions and dried hibiscus flowers. hope that helps.

 

[Brittany]

Hi all,

while we try to get it whenever it's available, it's out of stock online and in shops so often that I'm not counting on it as a regular supply. The shops say the breeders all horde it for themselves so it often doesn't make it to the retail channel...

Is there anyway you could contact any of these breeders? If you only need a small amount they may be willing to sell it to you from their supply? Can you find out who the distributor is who imports it to China? They may be willing to order extra bags just for you.

when I used that food before I filtered out the rose hips and alfalfa cubes and just fed them as treats. Kinda 2 for 1 hahaha

:thumbsup:

 

[vimkgt]

Finally figured out how to get rose hips over here. Apparently there are 2 words for rose and I was looking for the wrong one. Doh... anyways, herbal tea stores here have dried whole rose hips and cheap too, about $3 USD a pound. I have a bit of a cold right now so I put a few of em in my tea too for the VC and to see what it tastes like... really really tangy, even more than lemon tea I think. And a bit woody too somehow. Probably won't be stealing too many more of them from the chins... haha