Feed & Water

A chinchilla’s diet consists of two main things: pellets and hay. Treats are not part of your animal’s daily diet!

Basic Feed, the pelleted Diet:

Chinchillas require a specialized diet that is a base of pellets. Many pet stores carry chinchilla food, however a common complaint is that the food is stale and not of the best quality. There are many feed stores that you can get premium chinchilla food, and because it is in bulk, it costs much less than the pet store brand. Yes, this means you will have to buy more, but you are normally savings several dollars per pound and providing your animal with a higher quality diet.

Higher quality feeds specially designed for chins are Oxbow, Tradition, and Mazuri Chin. There are select rabbit feeds, such as Manna Pro Show Rabbit and Purina Advanced Nutrition Show Rabbit that are all safe feed for a chin, however the majority of rabbit feeds are not safe for chins, so please do not make this judgment call on your own. Those rabbit feeds that have been determined safe come for decades of experience from chinchilla ranchers.

On average, your chinchilla will eat 2 heaping tablespoons of pellets a day, but its best to free feed.

Hay:

Another aspect of a chinchilla’s diet is hay. This should be offered on a free feed basis, which means that the hay is available, all of the time. I heed hay cubes that are mainly comprised of timothy hay, however alfalfa is also in the diet. Alfalfa hay cubes are too high in nutrients and fat for a chinchilla to just eat it straight. When picking out your hay, either loose or in cakes, make sure that it is totally dry. If it is not, your chinchilla can get diarrhea, or have seizures from mold and bacteria growing in the hay. If you feed cubes, crack the cube in half, and see if there is any moisture or discoloration. If so, throw the bag of hay cubes out, or take it back to the store you bought it at. Hays that can be fed to chins are timothy, timothy/alfalfa mix, and bluegrass or oat hay.
I highly recommend KMS Hayloft at www.kmshayloft.com .

Treats:

Your chinchilla will greatly appreciate you if you give them a treat. Unfortunately chins can look so cute that treats are easy to overfeed. An acceptable treat that can be offered is 1 mini shredded wheat square (no sugar or powder) about 1-2 times weekly. Other acceptable treats are dried cranberries giving on a very limited basis and these also must be tightly monitored as they may cause diarrhea or bloating. Often times dried apple branches or manzanita branches, which are used as chew toys, can work great as a treat as well!