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12
JUL
2014
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Providing a healthy and well-balanced diet for your chinchilla is essential to his health and will ensure he has the best quality of life possible. Most health problems stem from an owner providing incorrect nutrition, which can be avoided with good education.
With so many chinchilla food options out there, how do you know which is the best for your pet? Consider a day in the life of a wild chinchilla. He would spend 70% of his time above ground searching out or 'foraging' for food while keeping a beady eye out for predators, to make sure he wasn't going to end up as someone else's dinner!
His diet would be mainly made up of grasses, hay, herbs and bark - all high fibre foods! His territory would be the equivalent of around 30 tennis courts meaning he'd get a lot of exercise every day searching out food across that area. The chinchilla's whole existence has evolved around this high fibre diet.
Many chinchilla owners do not take into consideration a chin.. [More]
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Tags :
Chinchilla Feeding Guidelines , Feeding Chinchillas in South Africa , Chinchilla Food South Africa , Correct Diet For Chinchillas , RSPCA Feeding Guideline For Chinchillas
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29
JUN
2014
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Chinchillas are attractive pets – they’re friendly, cute, and low maintenance. Chinchillas are suitable for many ages, in big cities or the country, for both new pet owners and those dedicated to chinchillas. However, chinchillas are not the same as cats and dogs. You wouldn’t take care of a horse the same way you’d take care of a dog. You wouldn’t take care of a hamster the same way you’d take care of a goldfish. Similarly, chinchiillas have some needs that are different than the needs of other types of pets.
One of the most common problems with owning an exotic pet (reptile, chinchilla, bird, etc) is that very often is it difficult to find information on proper nutrition. Although caring for a chinchilla seems simple, feeding them is not quite as straightforward as buying a bag of dog food at the pet store. Chinchillas are strict herbivores. Unlike dogs and cats, chinchillas’ digestive systems are built to efficiently digest toug.. [More]
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Tags :
Chinchillas And Hay in South Africa , Feeding Chinchillas In South Africa , Chinchilla Food South Africa , Chinchilla Diet South Africa , Chinchilla Nutrition
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26
JUN
2014
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Just as people are becoming increasingly aware of how many preservatives, hormones, synthetic dyes and chemicals are present in many conventional food sources, and how detrimental they can be to human health, so are they realizing that synthetic chemicals are not good for their beloved pets, either. The health craze that has been sweeping the modern world hasn’t stopped at human food. Your veterinary technician will agree: high quality pet food is worth the price.
People need healthful, nutrient-rich food with plenty of vitamins and minerals and as few chemicals and “fillers” as possible for long life and an overall sense of well-being. So does your pet. High quality pet food usually costs a bit more because rather than using cheap, empty ingredients, quality pet food is packed with protein-rich nutrition, with natural rather than chemical preservation. If you can afford it, buying high quality types of pet food is altogether worth the money for the benef.. [More]
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Tags :
Avoiding Bad Ingredients In Small Animal Petfood , Dangerous Preservatives in Guinea Pig Food , Bad Ingredients in Chinchilla Food , Ingredients To Avoid In Rabbit Food , Avoiding Bad Pet Food Ingredients
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24
JUN
2014
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Your chinchillas may start off as quite timid pets, but with plenty of love and enriching activities, they can become quite lively creatures. Chinchillas can be quite inquisitive and should be introduced to new activities and games for the duration of their 10-15 year life. Here are just a few enrichment activities.
Enriching activities for your chinchilla?
Chinchillas are prey animals, and they will spend plenty of time hiding until they become comfortable with their surroundings. They’re likely to enjoy hiding away almost as much as they love running and jumping. The enrichment activities that you choose for your chinchilla should address these natural desires – and their need to chew. You may want to consider:
Creating tunnels,
Adding boxes to hide in and jump from,
Ensuring that different levels of the housing are moved occasionally, or
Providing a chinchilla safe wheel (with a smooth surfa.. [More]
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Tags :
Enrichment Activities for Chinchillas , Chinchilla Food South Africa , Caring for Chinchillas In South Africa , Feeding Chinchillas , Chinchilla Toys , Chinchilla Cages South Africa
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12
JUN
2014
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Hay should form the foundation of a rabbit’s, guinea pig’s and chinchilla’s diet and you need to make sure you are feeding a plentiful supply each and every day. There are a number of different types of hay available and certain things you should look out for before feeding, so in this post we aim to walk you through them…
timothy grass
Pay Close Attention…
Before offering the hay to your pets make sure it is clean, free of dust and smelling fresh. To keep it at its peak you need to store the hay in a sealed bag in an area free from damp because it can quickly spoil. Keep it tightly packed because air helps it to become dry and brittle, which needs to be avoided. Hay retains a wonderful aroma, so have a smell – you should be able to smell the aroma of a grassy meadow.
Be consistent…
Fibrevores have a sensitive digestive system which does not cope well with frequent or rapid change. You should try and stick to a .. [More]
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Tags :
Hay For Health And Happiness , Timothy Hay South Africa , Hay supplier , feeding timothy hay , rabbit food , guinea pig food , chinchilla food
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07
JUN
2014
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It’s important to feed your chinchilla the right food. Chinchillas like all animals have quite specific dietary requirements and shouldn’t be fed food meant for other animals. Food that is meant for rabbits, or a generic food designed for all small mammals will not have the right balance of nutrients for your chinchilla. Vets report that 80% of chinchillas that come into their practice have a health problem that is directly related to poor diet. Common ailments are constipation, overgrown teeth, obesity and other problems related to these primary issues. The good news is that many of these are easily prevented if owners understood a bit more about what their chinchillas should be eating and why.
Consider a day in the life of a wild chinchilla. He would spend 70% of his time searching out or 'foraging' for food while keeping a beady eye out for predators, to make sure he wasn't going to end up as someone else's dinner! His diet would be mainly made up of grasses, .. [More]
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Tags :
Taking Care of Chinchillas South Africa , Choosing Right Chinchilla Food , Chinchilla Food South Africa , What Is Right Chinchilla Food , What Do Chinchillas Eat , Feeding Chinchillas , Chinchilla Food Sour
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06
JUN
2014
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Fibre facts:
Fibre is the most important ingredient in rabbit food. It is essential for normal wear of teeth. So much so that FEDIAF state “For the health and well-being of a rabbit good quality hay should be fed at all times”.
Daily fibre intake is essential to the rabbit to maintain normal:
gut function
dental wear
fermentation in the caecum.
Fibre comes mainly from plant cell walls.
Plant cell walls containing lignin, cellulose and silicate phytoliths are also important for salivation and dental health.
Plant cell walls consist of polysaccharides associated with;
glycoproteins
phenolic compounds
acetic acid
lignin
Fibre definitions:
Digestible fibre – a young growing plant cell has primary cell walls, which contains fermentable or digestible fibre. This fibre supports caecal fermentation.
Indigestible fibre – older plants develop secondary cell walls, which cons.. [More]
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Tags :
Fibre Facts On Pet Food Labels , Fibre Facts & Definitions , Pet Rabbit Food South Africa , Chinchilla food South Africa , Pet Guinea Pig food South Africa , Timothy Hay South Africa , Teff Hay , Rabbit Hay ,
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01
JUN
2014
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Last April there was a lot of publicity over some joint research by the the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and Burgess Pet Care into the effects of diet on rabbit’s health. The paper with the results was just published and I thought I’d summarise some of the findings for you.
What they studied
Thirty two dutch rabbits were neutered, vaccinated and divided into four groups to feed one of the following diets:
Extruded nuggets with hay (EH)
Muesli with hay (MH)
Hay only (HO)
Muesli only (MO)
They were then monitored over an 18 month period to observe the impact of the diets. The researchers measured things like how much food they ate and what came out the other end, and took x-rays of their teeth at regular intervals.
Hay Intake
Unsurprisingly the hay only group had the largest hay intake, but there were also differences between the Muesli-Hay and Nugget-Hay groups, with the Nu.. [More]
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Tags :
Muesli Versus Pellets Research Revealed Into Rabbit and Guinea Pig Food Diets , Pet Rabbit Food South Africa , Pet Guinea Pig Food South Africa , Chinchilla Food
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28
APR
2014
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This is a question we are often asked… Can I feed my Chinchilla Rabbit Pellets?
The answer we always give is a resounding “no”. Chinchillas have a similar digestive system to rabbits and fibre is a core part of their diet. However, their nutritional needs are quite different which is why Burgess formulated Excel Nuggets specifically for Chinchillas. Consistently feeding rabbit nuggets or rodent pellets to a chinchilla can cause illness, so please opt for a food that has been specifically formulated to meet their needs.
This is also why we would suggest that rabbits and chinchillas are not kept together as pets. As with rabbits, a chinchilla’s teeth will continue to grow throughout his life. They can become overgrown and this can be fatal. A good, coarse fibre filled diet, including Burgess Excel feeding timothy hay, will help to keep teeth in good shape in addition to wooden chew objects for gnawing.
If you spot that your chinchilla i.. [More]
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Tags :
Feeding Chinchillas The Right Diet in South Africa , Chinchilla food South Africa , Chinchilla pellets , Muesli Chinchilla food , Lucerne pellet , Muesli Chinchilla food , Chinchilla breeder , Timothy Hay
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26
APR
2014
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Hay should form the foundation of a rabbit, guinea pig or chinchilla’s diet and you need to make sure you are feeding a plentiful supply each and every day. There are a number of different types of hay available and certain things you should look out for before feeding.
What's the Key to Good Hay?
There are three main factors when it comes to choosing a good quality hay, no matter what variation it may be:
It must be fresh and sweet-smelling with no musty smell.
It must be free from excessive dust.
It must have been stored out of direct sunlight, in a dry location, in a container that is NOT airtight. (Sealing hay in an airtight container encourages the growth of potentially deadly mold toxins).
Know your Hay
In South Africa we have Teff Hay due to our warm climate conditions. It is almost brown looking (a little green but not much), and it is soft to the touch. Teff Hay has a lower protein and nutrient content than Timothy Hay, depending on the growt.. [More]
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Tags :
Teff or Timothy Hay In South Africa , Timothy Hay South Africa , pet rabbit food , pet guniea pig food , chinchilla food
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