Now, lets talk more about the healthy treats that you should feed these exotic animals. But if you want to own both of these pets, the question running in your mind right now is, do chinchillas get along with cats? Again, you can head over to our dedicated page herewhere we share all of our recommended food products for your chinchilla and the best place to purchase them from. This can lead to blockages and other health issues. For instance, chinchillas were observed eating " Puya berteroniana ", a type of succulent plants . Avoid feeding dried fruits. Lets now take a look at each of these and see why you need to only offer foods that are high in these nutrients sparingly. You may also be able to give your chinchilla treats like rose petals, rolled oats, or even non-frosted shredded wheat. If you have to leave your chin alone for up to 24 hours, ensure you leave out plenty of food and water to cover the time span. It is important to remember the natural chinchilla diet is mainly made up of hay and grass, with some twigs and leaves in between. Here are useful tips you should follow to ensure peaceful coexistence between these two: Whereas your cat and chinchilla might eventually learn to live with each other, dont expect them to be best friends. Find & Download the most popular Chinchilla Animal Vectors on Freepik Free for commercial use High Quality Images Made for Creative Projects. They can be offered much variety of good quality and clean hay like timothy hay, orchard grass, alfalfa hay, oat hay, or meadow hay. As such, its best to look for a reputable brand of dry food made specifically for chinchillas. Both Chinchillas and Hamsters Are Small Rodents. They also need to have access to fresh water at all times. Always offer small amounts of sugar to your chinchillas and seek advice from your vet if you still arent sure. The foods below are considered unsafe or too unhealthy to feed to your chinchilla and therefore should be avoided. Hay should account for anywhere between 80-90% of your chinchillas food intake so from these numbers alone its clear to see that good quality hay is undoubtedly the most vital part of your chinchillas diet. While long term overfeeding of sugary foods can cause problems such as tooth decay and obesity, even overfeeding sugary food just once and cause diarrhoea and gas. and always check to see if the fruit is recommended for chinchillas and what quantities it should be offered in. and how to get rid of itContinue. Oxbow Essentials Deluxe Chinchilla Food. Raisins and dried cranberries. Chinchillas have a rounded ears, plump furry bodies, short legs, and long tails. Some people believe that chinchillas can eat dog food, but this is not a good idea. Homeopathic and herbal remedies. A tablespoon or two each day is appropriate for most chinchillas. Its always best to check before you offer your chinchilla a new fruit just to make sure its safe and to see just how much you can offer them in one sitting. Later in the post, we will show you how much hay, pellets, greens and fruit your chinchillas should ideally eat per day. As long as your chinchillas are eating plenty of their regular food so that they are receiving the right nutrition, there shouldn't be a problem. Their diets should consist of 30 percent fiber, 14-16 percent protein, 35 percent carbohydrates, 3.5 percent fat/oil, 4 percent sugar, 6 percent minerals and 7 percent moisture/trace elements. Oxbow hay (low dust/hypoallergenic) From allergies to zoomies, we have dogs covered like fur on a sofa. Hay that is recommended for your chinchilla. This is the case when you own a cat and chinchilla because cats are natural predators, whereas chinchillas are rodents and are, therefore, prey. Reasons Why Theyre Smart. Chinchillas, for the most part, eat a really basic and simple diet that consists of very few foods. The chinchilla will be stressed out by calm cats too. Also note: the initial interaction shall be concise, lasting only a few minutes. This is because wet cat food contains a lot of moisture and, as such, its difficult for chinchillas to digest. To try to mimic this rough vegetation, the mainstay of pet chinchillas diets should be hay offered in unlimited quantities. Approximately 75% to 80% of your chinchilla's diet should be made up of fresh hay. Cavies Know Their Body and Can Regulate Their Guinea Pig Food Intake. To make sure that your pet eats food properly, you need to make the feeding time fun. Therefore, its best if you minimized contact between these two pets. This is because cats have an innate hunting instinct. our recommended food products for your chinchilla and the best place to purchase them from. If you do this, your chins diet should easily fall into this low calcium and even lower phosphorus model providing you stick to safe and recommended greens and veggies. When cared for and fed properly, chinchillas can make great pets. If a chinchilla were to eat dry cat food, it would likely experience digestive issues and may even die. 3 Human Foods For Chinchillas: Final Thoughts. Alfalfa hay is usually recommended for young, growing chinchillas. Instead, you should only feed them a healthy, balanced diet that includes lots of fresh green leaves and grass. A few hamster owners were concerned that their buddies would have trouble eating it because of its size and shape . Unfortunately, though, this doesnt mean that its going to provide your chinchilla with the nutrients they require. Fruits and Veggies - Fresh fruits, fresh greens, and other veggies are a healthy part of your chinchilla's diet as well. It is the purest type of water available and it does not contain any bacteria. Adult chinchillas are recommended to eat timothy hay as this provides all the nutrients your chinchilla needs and in the correct quantities. In conclusion, make sure to feed your chinchilla with care and monitor their diets properly. chinchillabreeders.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. On the other hand, the natural hamster diet is mainly . What Nutrients Are Important For Chinchillas? You'll need to make sure you'll be sharing your home with an animal that suits your lifestyle, available space, and even your personality type. Feeding any type of cat food to your chinchilla is a bad idea, however, feeding them wet cat food is one of the worst things you can do. Dog food is not nutritionally balanced for chinchillas and can make them sick. Fruit is a food that can be offered to your chinchilla as a treat. Answer (1 of 2): Why would you want to do that? However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. Pets are adorable, but having different species in your home might bring about some issues with some of them incompatible. There is, however, no harm in using this type of water providing they get enough minerals from elsewhere. Following this diet routine is to make sure your chinchilla doesnt turn into a malnourished animal. Are Chinchillas Territorial? It comes with a water bottle and food dish as well, all priced under $20. Thank you for supporting us on our journey as we continue to publish content with the aim of helping owners care for their pets in the best way possible! The chinchilla's digestive system is incompatible with these foods due to their high water content, high acidity, high vitamin C content, high fructose content, and low fiber content, as well as their . Just make sure that they are safe. Dry foods are made entirely from grains and other similar products. Food items that need to be provided to them continuously are hay and clean drinking water. These exotic animals need chinchilla food pellets every day, a well but in a much more controlled quantity. You should never feed a chinchilla hamster food, as it is one of the worst blends of ingredients for chinchillas to consume. 2.2 Dried Fruits And Herbs. As wet cat food is so soft, itll have absolutely no effect on keeping your chinchillas teeth to a safe length. If this is a problem you were undergoing, reading this insightful article has enlightened you to understand better if cats and chinchillas can get along. "Hay should be offered free choice 24 hours a day and should be the main component of your chinchilla's diet." Hay should be replaced daily with fresh hay to prevent bacteria and mold growth. This is important because these two pets have brains that are programmed to act differently. Give your chinchilla space from the cat, which sees it as a prey. Chinchillas can eat leaves and twigs in captivity, yet these types of food are more difficult to find when not in the wild. What Owners Must Know! Some comments from a popular forum AGAINST giving raisins include: 1. 2 Human Food Chinchillas Can Eat. This leads to severe pain as they chew, in addition to drooling and possible eye discharge from upper tooth root pressure on tear ducts. Its important to offer your chinchillas an unlimited amount of fresh hay in their cage daily so they can continually consume the large amounts of fibre they need. Chinchillas are so cute and such intelligent animals that make great pets. You can give these things in moderation but make sure to avoid nuts and seeds as they are way too high in fat content. The hamster food will not be nutritionally beneficial to them. Chinchillas also need their diets to be supplemented with pellets to round off and balance their nutritional needs. Chinchillas should be given 1-2 tablespoons of pellets per day, and Bunk-Hatch recommends Oxbow Essentials. There are chinchilla hay pellets and hay cubes available as well. ; The long-tailed chinchillas will feed on insects, such as moths and grasshoppers, and bird eggs if the opportunity presents itself. Semi-dry foods consist of dried milk and grain. We recommend that you stick to simple and researched greens and vegetables rather than experimenting with all sorts of different options that really arent needed, remember, a chinchilla only needs a simple diet to be both happy and healthy. There are animals who have a harder time controlling their eating (we're not alone humans!). The quality of the ingredients used by manufacturers to make cat food varies enormously. Chinchillas are also known to love flowers. You can preset the desired amount of food amount for your cat to eat and keep it healthier. cute cat; Cat cartoon; cat eat; 1. Fresh greens, such as dark green lettuces, should also be given to provide additional water and fiber. Get practical pet health tips, articles, and insights from our veterinary community delivered weekly to your inbox. This cage features a plastic and wire mesh construction with a built-in wheel and hideout. They are very sensitive animals but can be great friends if you know how to take care of them. Make sure to read the product form to know what you are getting when buying treats. 4. Chinchillas love dandelion leaves. So, what exactly do chinchillas eat? Chinchilla's natural environment is the Andes mountains. Chinchillas can eat a wide variety of natural food like hay, vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, berries, dried plants, and herbs. On the flip side to this, if your chinchillas have more phosphorus than calcium in their diet then this can also cause health problems with muscle development, bones health and growth. By contrast, cats require a diet high in both fat and carbohydrates. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon and other companies linked to on this site. 3. You can find out exactly which variety of Cheerios is safe to feed to your chinchilla right here, then check our easy to follow guide here. Much like many other rodents, a chinchillas teeth continue to grow throughout their life, so they need food that will help to stop them from overgrowing. Chinchillas with these signs should be examined immediately by a veterinarian to have the lodged material extracted. The small animals love their leafy snack so much that they can live off it alone. We ship to everywhere in Canada, and can deliver your package right to your door! There is very little difference in the nutrition provided between timothy hay and orchard grass hay. First off, you should always feed your chinchilla a healthy, balanced diet. As such, its impossible for chinchillas to eat the same diet as cats. Overfeeding of fresh greens also can lead to soft stool or diarrhea. One of the Pocket Pets Forever is a website for lovers of pocket pets. For this reason, we have chosen to list the most common greens and veggies that owners often choose to feed their chinchillas and that we can validate are safe using veterinary sources such as the. Well, you should try to distribute the appropriate amount of food around their cage instead of handing them their feed in a bowl. But can rabbits eat chinchilla food safely? To be more specific, the diet should have 30% fiber, 16% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and the rest should be filled with fat, minerals, and sugar. Following a healthy diet will maximize your chinchillas lifespan. If you want to give them something extra special, then you can include some fruit snacks, peanut butter, cheese, or eggshells into their food bowl every once in a while. Guide + Chart. Those leaves, while not as pretty as daisies, are a healthy and natural food source for your chinchillas. Chinchillas dont need a whole lot of greens in their diet but they are still important in the right quantities. Long-tailed chinchillas are primarily herbivorous. Persians (the Chinchilla is in the Persian or Longhair cat family) can carry a gene that leads to kidney failure (called autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease) through the development of cysts in the kidney. Strong expertise in both dogs and cats. Even though this might sound really confusing, if you follow the feeding guide later in the post then you should have no issues with over or underfeeding greens to your chinchilla. Their mum is a chinchilla Persian Semi-long haired silky & soft coat and their Dad is a red . Fruit can cause problems to chinchillas such as. Chinchillas can't eat blueberries for a variety of reasons. Chinchillas require large amounts of fibre in their diet for their digestive system to function correctly. But guinea pigs are actually really good at eating slowly and reading their body. Chinchilla Image Credit: Veera, Shutterstock. You should thus monitor it at all times to make sure it doesnt hunt down your chinchilla. This means it should comprise 35% carbohydrates, 30% fiber, 15% protein, 4% protein, and less than 3.5% fat. This acrobatic animal eats food with a sweet smell as they are very picky. The short answer is no. Chinchillas in captivity often require a balanced diet of low fat, low moisture, low carbohydrates, and high fiber. So, what type of hay do chinchillas eat? If your hamster has consumed any of these items then please seek veterinary advice. The best way to safeguard your chinchilla from your cat is by placing its cage far from the reach of your cat. Even though your chinchilla and cat might get along just fine, its advisable never to leave these two pets unsupervised or unattended when interacting with each other.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'smallpetshq_com-portrait-2','ezslot_20',176,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-smallpetshq_com-portrait-2-0'); With that said, for your cat and your chinchilla to get along are two different things you must consider before getting these two pets living in the same house. Calcium and phosphorus play an important role in your chinchillas diet, albeit a complicated one. For a healthy domestic animal, you need proper food and a diet plan. The kittens get lots of attention and handling, so grooming and cleaning the eyes will be easy in the future. Protein: should be between 16% and 20%. Milk and other dairy products are animal products and not appropriate for herbivores. (Later in this post, we will share the exact brand of timothy hay we recommend you purchase as well as the cheapest place to get it from). Chinchillas are among the most intelligent and fun pets to have. Always keep an eye on your cat even after your chinchilla and cat have started getting along. What is more, this intelligence defines how much they will learn about their, Read More Are chinchillas Smart? This is because cats instinctive desire is to hunt down rodents while chinchillas tend to be more reserved and usually love hiding.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'smallpetshq_com-mobile-leaderboard-2','ezslot_13',177,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-smallpetshq_com-mobile-leaderboard-2-0'); Therefore, before you can even test whether your cat and chinchilla can get along, the first thing to do is establish each of these species personality traits. The average pet chinchilla lifespan is 15-20 years So, for a chinchilla to have healthy digestion and be free of illnesses like dental disease and digestion troubles, you need to choose the best chinchilla food that is healthy and appetizing. Feed them right, and youll have a happy, cuddly pet for many years. Some dos and donts for having chinchillas as pets are listed below. If you give the chinchilla time to first get used to you and its surrounding before meeting your cat.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,600],'smallpetshq_com-mobile-leaderboard-1','ezslot_10',191,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-smallpetshq_com-mobile-leaderboard-1-0'); This gives your chinchilla enough time to be comfortable with the surroundings, with this especially crucial as theyre very social creatures. The most common flowers you can feed your chinchilla include rosebuds, rose petals, calendula flowers and cactus flowers. In the wild, chins consume very small amounts of fat in their diet so offering them a high-fat diet that their gastrointestinal tract isnt used to can lead to more digestive problems. They need to have variety in the boring food they eat while also getting all the nutritional requirements met. Timothy hay should be offered in unlimited quantities so your chinchilla can graze and feed on it continually throughout the day, again, more on the exact amounts of food to offer your chin each day later in the post. Hay which is sweeter and has more nutrients, should be mostly given to young chinchillas and only occasionally to adult chinchillas. The bottom line is, chinchillas dont need treats, but if you feel bad or want your chinchilla to be happy, then you can give them treats occasionally. The brand that we would recommend using is Oxbow as their pellets are of a high quality and are fortified with vitamins such as vitamin D3. Finally, chinchillas need foods that help to keep their teeth grounded over time. Besides, Read More Are Chinchillas Cuddly? Hamster food is made largely of things that would be harmful for a chinchilla to eat. However, this isnt something they enjoy doing. Foods You Can Feed to Your Chinchilla as Treats Include: Rope Hips are considered one of the healthiest treats you can offer your chinchilla. The popular cereal Cheerios are also seen as a treat that chinchillas can eat due to their dried nature and high amounts of fibre. Hard objects, such as branches from non-toxic fruit trees (like apple, pear, and peach trees), can be given to promote chewing and teeth wear, but toxic trees (like cherry, cedar, plum and redwood) should be avoided. Provide hay in your chinchilla's cage at all times so it has something to graze on. Thankfully, nowadays, there is a variety of hay available so that you can choose the hay type that your chinchilla loves the most. 2.2 Nutritional requirements. Cat food comes in many different varieties: wet, semi-dry, and dry. Dried Cranberries. The body of an average chinchilla grows to about 10 inches long, but it can range from 8 inches to 12 inches, and its tail will typically be about 5 inches in length. I would suggest to avoid fruits like Apples. Cats with a chinchilla coat pattern have white undercoats and tipping on the back, tail, head, and flanks. Cats are feline predators that are known for hunting rodent prey like chinchillas. For these two pets to live in harmony with each other, patience and constant supervision is necessary. Purebred Chinchilla's. $1,200. This will ensure that they look for it, as they had to look for the food in the wild. Merrick dog food is a premium quality food, made with human grade meats and a selection of vegetables. Instead, offer your adult chinchilla timothy hay or other low-calcium grass hays, such as orchard or meadow grass. You should do this by giving your cat ample time to become used to the new smell while making sure your chinchilla remains in the cage. Studying the plants that chinchillas eat on a regular basis was particularly interesting for those scientists. So, what should you feed a chinchilla? Here is a breakdown of the nutrients your chinchilla needs in their diet and in what percentages. Two such posts that we have recently published are. You can repeat the process for a few days, gradually increasing the time frame. Good hays include alfalfa hay, timothy hay, orchard grass, and blue grass. All four have unique and beautiful personalities & are ready for forever homes. And of course too many raisins can cause diarrhea. Because of the sensitive nature of a chinchillas digestive tract, sugar can be extremely harmful even if its fed in moderate quantities. In fact, when given the choice between dry cat food and fresh grass, chinchillas choose the latter every time! Collect. They shouldn't be used in place of a proper diet of chinchilla pellets and hay. Alfalfa hay is usually recommended for young, growing chinchillas as it helps them to put on weight quickly but this is usually only offered until the age of around 9 months old. On the flip side to this, if your chinchillas have more phosphorus than calcium in their diet then this can also, cause health problems with muscle development, bones health and growth. Made in USA; On Sale; Up to 25% Off: Select . If you want to get a pet chinchilla, you should take into consideration some important things before buying them. Once this condition occurs, there is nothing that can be done other than to provide pain medication and soft foods. By doing this, you can be confident that your chinchilla doesnt suffer any physical harm plus is safe from any stress. 2.1 Fresh Vegetables. Cats are carnivores (meat-eaters) whereas chinchillas are herbivores (plant-eaters). So, can rabbits eat chinchilla food? 2.6 No Sudden Dietary Changes. The food has to be given in a timely fashion and should have wholesome nutrition that can fulfill your pet chinchillas required dietary requirements. Chinchillas will eat plenty of native plants in the wild to give them a good balance of minerals and vitamins essential for optimum health. Yes, they can, as harmful bacteria can be crossed from your cat to your chinchilla, causing it a severe illness. For this reason, we have chosen to list the most common greens and veggies that owners often choose to feed their chinchillas and that we can validate are safe using veterinary sources such as the PDSA. Offering too much or too little of one food group can cause your chin to have digestive and even health issues.