Chinchilla Diet and Nutrition

Sarah Hamilton, Grandeur Chinchillas

Understanding Chinchillas & Diet

Whether people know, do not want to know, realise it or not, most problems and illnesses that the domestic chinchilla will suffer from is indirectly or directly caused by dietary influences.  Chinchillas have evolved and adapted to deal with a diet completely different from a rabbit, guinea pig and other rodents, and so care must be taken NOT to feed Chinchillas on another animal’s diet such as rabbit and/or guinea pig pellets which is quite common even with breeders sadly, but there is a warning with doing that.
Many chinchilla owners say that they cannot get their chinchilla to eat proper designed chinchilla pellets, and so turn to mixed food, rabbit or guinea pig pellets.  Please remember that chinchillas DO NOT have a gall bladder so these foods are very unhealthy for them, causing so many major problems either sooner or later, even without your knowledge if you do not know what to look for, so it is very easy to say nothing is wrong, than something is wrong. 

The Main diet such as pellets is the wrong place to take short cuts or the cheaper option as it is called, if money is an issue DO NOT get a Chinchilla!  Chinchillas are complete junk addicts, very much like so many of us with Takeout or Chocolate over broccoli, Chinchillas WILL stuff themselves with food that tastes nice or anything other than Chinchilla Pellets, as chinchillas have NO regard to it's nutritional content, you do not see them running to see what is in the food which is something to keep in mind.  This can be frustrating for the person making an effort in making a healthy life for the Chinchilla!  Some rescues, I have spent months trying to change their food over to proper chinchilla Pellets, but eventually it gets done by persistence and the thought of what I would rather for their health.
Avoid ALL seeds, they are high in fats and oils. Again chinchillas do not have a gall bladder and cannot deal with the fat efficiently. This can lead to conditions such as fatty liver disease which is eventually fatal.  Many people add seeds i.e. bird mixes, or seeds similar.

Chinchillas in the wild will eat a variety of dry plants, dry shrubs and dry grasses.  They will consume (all dry not fresh) stalks, stems, leaves, shoots, fruits of a certain cacti and roots, depending on what time of year it is, but all of this is from plants that will not grow at ‘our’ normal level, so is only available at a level of the Chinchillas home.  I have gone into their Wild Diet more, and also included photos of their natural habitat in “The Chinchilla”.

I will also go through this in ‘Teeth’ section. Chinchillas have 20 teeth, which all grow continuously throughout the life of a chinchilla so chinchillas require food (such as good quality chinchilla pellets.  Rabbit pellets are to soft for chinchillas) that are hard and need allot of chewing, just as they would receive all the time in their Wild Habitat.  A diet that is too low in fibre and/or high in protein (or equal amounts of Fibre and Protein) will not only eventually cause Liver Failure and deficiencies, but will also result in the teeth not getting worn down correctly, then problems will start.
Their digestion is not very good at coping with rich foods, therefore treats need to be kept to a strict minimum, or none at all.

Amounts & What to Look At 
This really depends on age and the Chinchilla, chinchillas that are very active will need more.  Young Chinchillas especially weaning ones will gorge like no tomorrow forcing health problems and bad habits including behavioural problems such as using food as security, so you want to be very strict.  Just observe your Chinchilla for a few weeks and see what the eating habits are like, and most importantly keep an eye on weight if they are not eating that much and examine them regularly.

A normal healthy chinchilla that is not pregnant, growing or sick, need about 2 tablespoons per Chinchilla, of good quality Chinchilla Pellets a day.  Pellets need to be replaced by fresh pellets every day, to also avoid deficiencies.  It also helps to have a certain amount there as you can then notice if a Chinchilla is ‘off’ it’s food.  If the bowl is empty the next time you feed it then you are not giving enough (keep in mind Females Seasons, Pregnancies and Temperatures), so add a little more pellets to the usual amount you give, but again be careful for young chinchillas.  If there are pellets left the next time you feed it then you are giving too much, so cut back a little.  Remember Chinchillas will not eat all of their food at once, but over the day and night, they only eat until they are full.

Look for a very low protein, very high fiber content and a Vitamin A content of roughly 14000iu/Kg (and no more). Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin, and excessive levels can cause liver damage, remember what else you are feeding and their possible levels as it all adds up.  Please also check the expiry date on any pellets and other things you buy for your chinchilla as Vitamin A degrades quickly in storage, losing allot of its activity in a short amount of time, why you should also ask or stay away from Vitamin products on special because of expiries (products, depending, have a 3 month safety margin after the expiry date as precaution, BUT this is still no good for Chinchillas). Vitamin A will oxidize, the chinchilla’s body tries to remove this oxidized form from its body, putting a high amount of stress on its body internally, which can cause "yellow-fat disease".  This is a metabolic disease, which also has other causes like from feeding to much protein.  Store chin pellets in a cool dry place to prevent oxidization of the Vitamin A, do NOT freeze, this is not dry unless you can freeze dry, the fridge is recommended.

Remember that chinchillas will eat slightly less in the Summer, but more at Winter, Growth, Breeding time, Pregnancy and Nursing.

Hay MUST be fed along with the pellets every day.  A good handful once a day is enough per Chinchilla.  It is very important to change the Hay once a day and scrape up as much as the ‘old’ stuff as you can, as moldy hay can lead to tummy upsets and fur fungus, so clean up any discarded hay regularly.

Hay provides some relief from boredom (see ‘Fur Chewing’ in ‘Health’ for use of it), excellent roughage, essential and properly balanced Vitamins and Minerals, helps to break down other foods and aids the Chinchillas in the digestive process, so it is an essential part of the diet.  Hay must NOT be Fresh or ‘young’ because this can cause bloat (for this reason also to stay away from Grass and all Greens/Vegetables), so the Hay should be allowed to ‘cure’ for about 5 months after harvest before been fed to any chinchilla, and also look out for weevils.  They do not harm the chin but take Nutrients out of the Hay.  Feed Hay within a year of harvest to preserve the natural nutrients, any older and you can run into problems like Diarrhoea and Deficiencies.  It must not be stored in plastic as mould will form. Machine or fast-dried Hay is the best, the nutritional content in this way is improved, speak with a farmer or if going to a Pet Store, request and ask questions.

Daily Diet Percentage
This is the percentage of what a chinchilla’s daily diet should be:

FATS & OIL - 3.5%
SUGAR – 4%
PROTEIN - 14%
FIBRE - 21.5%
Vitamin D - 32.400
Vitamin A - 14.000
Vitamin E – 80

IMPORTANT: As you can see, seeds and Nuts (refer to “Suggestions for Healthy Supplements & Treats”) are over 20% Fats & Oil, but chins can ONLY have 3.5%, so imagine what it is doing to them.  Things like Millet is also a big NO but many people including breeders feed it, it has 46% Fats and Oils, Protein is also quite high in these ranging from 18% - 48%, when a daily intake of Protein is only meant to be 14%.  Remembering again about the Pellets and Hay which will already be between 10% - 14% depending on brand.

Consideration & Thought
Please think before you feed, everything you feed your chinchilla adds up it cannot be stressed enough, the ‘odd’ Raisin here and there – 70% sugar compared to 4% in the daily intake, the odd Wheatbix here and there.

So many say ‘but it is not much’ mostly because of how tiny the Raisin is in appearance, it is very deceiving, it is what is in the foods not how small the food is.  IT DOES add onto what is already in the Pellets and Hay.  Please look and think.

Proper commercial designed Chinchilla Pellets and good Hay is all that is needed for a chinchilla.  As I said in another topic, if a Chinchilla is Healthy extra nutrition is not needed, ONLY in times of pregnancy, stress, sickness, growth and at a older age.

Copyright © Sarah Hamilton