Pet Habitat South Africa

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07 Jun 2014

Taking Care of Chinchillas

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Nutrition | Chinchillas

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, hay, herbs and bark - all high fibre foods! The chinchilla's whole existence has evolved around this high fibre diet.

Importance of high fibre diet

What is often not understood is that chinchillas need to keep their digestive systems busy with a mixture of two kinds of fibre – digestible and indigestible –moving through the gut at all times.

Indigestible Fibre

Firstly the chinchilla's digestive system needs to be kept moving. They may not need to constantly nibble on grass, hay and bark like guinea pigs or rabbts; but the larger stalkier bits known as 'indigestible' fibre help to keep the gut moving along nicely (the same way bran flakes would do for you and I). If the chinchilla doesn't get enough 'indigestible' fibre he becomes constipated (the same as we do without enough fibre), but unfortunately in a chinchilla the consequences of constipation are fatal.

Secondly, fibre helps the chinchilla to maintain the right balance of 'friendly' bacteria in his digestive system. Chinchillas can’t get enough nutrition from fibre as it first passes through the gut. So they pass it through the gut again. Indigestible fibre is moved through their digestive system and excreted as separate, tear drop shaped, hard droppings. This acts to keep the digestive system moving and stimulate appetite.

Digestible Fibre

The smaller, juicier fibre particles from grass and hay known as 'digestible' fibre are sent to the chinchilla's caecum (the appendix to you and me). Good bacteria in the caecum ferment the fibre (making it easy to digest) which then emerges in the form of clumps of sticky droppings – called caecotrophs. Chinchillas then re-eat the caecotrophs and their systems extract essential nutrition as the digestible fibre passes through for the second time.

This whole cycle is perfectly balanced and dependent on the chinchilla getting all the 'digestible' fibre that it needs. Without all that 'digestible' fibre the cycle is upset and the consequences can lead to bloating and even anorexia, which are all just as dangerous as constipation.

Failing to provide adequate portions of the right kind of fibre can rapidly lead to illness or death. At Burgess, they call the correct ratio of these two types of fibre ‘Beneficial Fibre’. Many people confuse Crude Fibre in dry food mixtures for Beneficial fibre which is not the same thing and is a poor indication of the amount of digestible fibre contained in food.

Growing Teeth

Nibbling all that hay and bark all day in the wild has a second benefit to the chinchilla too. Their teeth constantly grow and so have to be worn down, otherwise they become too long and it becomes painful for the chinchilla to eat. As we know if a chinchilla does not eat enough high fibre, his gut will stop moving and this can be fatal (G.I. Stasis). So that is why we need to make sure he has a constant supply of good quality hay to nibble on that is also rich in calcium (such as Timothy Hay). The nibbling/grinding action of eating the hay keeps the teeth worn down and the calcium helps to keep teeth and jaw structure strong.

Foraging for hay, grass and herbs is what keeps the chinchilla busy and occupied in the wild, and this is no different for our domestic pets. Let's face it - it must get very boring sitting in a cage for most of the day! So giving our chinchillas something to do is very important to prevent them developing behavioural problems. Hiding hay and healthy herbs as well as occasional greens around their cage encourages chinchillas to work a bit harder for their food, keeping them occupied and exercised (of course it's essential to give them lots of additional exercise out of the cage too).

Hopefully it is becoming clear why high levels of fibre are so important to a chinchilla's digestive, dental and emotional health?

It all starts with timothy hay

The foundation of your chinchilla’s diet begins with timothy hay and should form 80-90% of their diet. Chinchillas cannot get enough of it and they need to eat a pile of hay as large as their body every single day. Timothy hay has almost everything your pet needs! Timothy hay provides chinchillas with the right amount of digestible fibre for optimum health. And they need a lot of fibre. They need a vast deal more than humans, and often more than pet owners can imagine.

We can’t stress enough how important a good quality hay is for your chinchilla. It’s sad that this is not the well known fact that it should be. As with most foods, different types of hay are not identical in structure and nutrient content. This is especially true for Timothy Hay, Teff/ Eragrostis hay and Alfalfa Hay. The reason why Timothy Hay is so popular is because it has a high digestibility factor. Let's say for the sake of comparison, that you are feeding your chinchilla a portion of a 2nd cutting hay that was cut when the plant was relatively immature, the nutrition and digestibility are high, and the cellulose content is low. Your chinchilla would be able to digest more of the nutrients out of this hay and would achieve maintenance or weight gain depending upon the size of the servings and the dynamics of this particular animal and his environment or work load.

If this same field of hay had been allowed to grow for another week, for example, the indigestible portion of the plant would have increased, making the hay less nutritious and less palatable, and the amount of digestible energy that the animal is able to extract from that hay is decreased. It would now become necessary to feed a larger size portion of this more mature hay to achieve the same maintenance levels for your pet.

This digestibility factor is the determining factor as to how much "good" your chinchilla will get out of a particular type of hay. You can feed a large volume of hay that is low on the digestibility scale and keep the chinchilla at his ideal body weight, but if feeding a highly digestible hay (hay that has a high RFD and is high in nutrients) one would obviously need to feed a smaller amount to maintain the chinchilla at his ideal body weight. Within the confines of each cutting (1st, 2nd, 3rd) it is possible to have varying percentages of "digestibility" depending upon the stage of maturity of the plant at the time of harvesting.

Local hay versus timothy hay

Hay should be green in colour, with a pleasant aroma. A very sickly smell can indicate overheating and is to be avoided. Avoid hays that are more “straw” like in colour, as this can indicate excessive sun exposure. This will reduce the hay’s nutritional value in terms of vitamins and minerals. Brown hay should also be avoided as it can indicate rain damage.

Another way to assess hay is to look at the leaves and stems. The leaves have a higher level of digestible nutrients than the stems and thus a larger leaf content is desirable. If the hay has a higher proportion of rough, thick stems and a very low leaf content, it generally points towards a less nutritious batch.

Teff and Eragrostis are perhaps two of the more widely used hay varieties in South Africa. They are often very palatable and provide a good amount of fibre without providing too high an energy value. The major disadvantage of these hays is that the nutritional value can range hugely from good to extremely poor quality. The quality will ultimately depend upon stage of growth when cut, fertilization, and environmental factors. Always select these types of hay carefully, looking for optimum harvesting stage, colour and leaf to stem ratio.

Timothy Hay on the other hand is a lot greener in colour and is very rich in protein, vitamins and minerals when compared to most hay sold in local pet shops, and the reason why it is slowly gaining popularity in South Africa. Timothy Hay is the perfect food for chinchillas because of its abrasive, long strands which help to keep the animal’s teeth worn down and because of its high digestible fibre content, it meets the nutritional demands of chinchillas perfectly. Notice all Burgess Excel Herbage and Forage timothy hay products display the amount of beneficial fibre (%) on packaging.

At Burgess, after years of research with leading experts in this field, they developed The Excel Feeding Plan as an easy five step guide to help owners ensure chinchillas get all the fibre, vitamins and minerals they need for a healthy balanced diet. The Excel range is based on all the natural foods a chinchilla would get in the wild, which is why it is the UK's No 1 vet recommended range of food for chinchillas.

Pellets versus dry food mixtures

Burgess Excel Chinchilla nuggets contain 100% natural, wholesome ingredients, are naturally high in Beneficial Fibre for digestive health and have added vitamins, minerals and prebiotics. Because they’re not a muesli-style mix, they prevent selective feeding. A healthy adult chinchilla needs only about a heaped tablespoon of nuggets each day. If he is still hungry, he should be encouraged to eat more hay.

If you choose a high quality food pellet such as Burgess Excel Chinchilla nuggets, you’ll be sure that it has been developed with your chinchillas’ needs in mind and will contain all the nutrients, and all the vitamins and minerals that your pet needs to grow up healthy and happy. A top quality food will have more natural ingredients than a cheaper food and it will be tastier for your pet too.

When you choose a new food for your chinchilla, especially one that is going to be a lot better for them than that which they’ve been used to, it can be tempting to throw away the old food and get them straight onto the new one, but it’s always wise to introduce a new food gradually over 14 day period to allow them to get used to it. Doing this will eliminate the chances of any digestive issues that can be associated with a sudden change of food.

Since almost 90% of Chinchilla’s diet is timothy hay, nuggets or pellets are more like vitamin supplements which is why nuggets/pellets or any dry food should only be 10% of diet. But historically chinchillas have been fed mostly muesli type foods with little hay or grass. Some of these muesli foods even claim on packaging that it is a complete diet and feeding of hay is not necessary. These foods can be quite high in starch and sugar, and the elements that are really healthy, like the grass pellets often get left behind - as chinchillas (like children) will tend to choose the 'sweetie' like bits. This means they get an imbalanced diet, and miss out on essential fibre and other important vitamins and minerals.

Muesli foods are also low in fibre and causes your pet to consume less hay and water which slows down gut motility. Recent studies by scientists have discovered in April 2013 that any dry mixture food or what is commonly called muesli mixes is now the major cause of deadly urinary tract infections, digestive and dental diseases for chinchillas, rabbits and guinea pigs.

So why do pet shops in South Africa sell muesli or dry mixture foods and why do we continue to feed our chinchillas these foods when they aren’t a natural part of their diet. Most people assume that if a pet shop or reputable breeder sells these foods, then it must be okay. We assume that manufacturers must have specially formulated the ingredients for our domestic pets. We assume it is all they need and we assume that it’s a straight forward matter of placing some food in a bowl and letting our little chinnie gorge. But when he suddenly dies at an early age, we are confused and don’t understand the reasons why.

Muesli mixes and dry extruded foods where originally manufactured to feed and fatten up chinchillas bred for fur industry. The fact that it is still sold in pet shops doesn’t mean it’s okay, it just means that the food has not changed much in decades. And yet again just because the pet shop or your chinchilla breeder sells them , we assume these vitamins, salt blocks, fortified ‘healthy’ treats, dental chew toys and fun shaped sweet treats are suitable to give to our chinchillas. Again - they are not remotely necessary. The very odd one wouldn’t harm a chinchilla as such but regularly eating them will and if fed on a balanced high fibre diet your chinchilla will not require any supplements or treats or salt blocks because they will get everything they need from the foods you provide.

Excel Nature Snacks

These healthy, nutritious natural snacks are ideal for chinchillas as they promote emotional health, preventing boredom and encouraging bonding and interaction between you and your pet. They can be fed daily because they're packed with goodness, and all made with pure, natural ingredients. Some are specially designed to be fed by hand which helps pets to get comfortable with human attention.

Chinchillas can be fed fresh greens to give additional fresh vitamins and nutrients and to provide some variety. Leafy greens is a great source of Thiamin or Vitamin B, but you need to be careful about what you feed them, and how much.

A plentiful supply of fresh, clean water must always be available.

Your chinchillas will love to eat fresh fruit and vegetables – but too much of a good thing is actually very bad for them. Around a teaspoon every day or every other day is perfect for an adult chinchilla. Some foods should be avoided altogether and you should be careful never to overfeed – because that can cause bloat, which can kill.

GOOD - apple, blueberry, carrot, celery, grape, orange, potato, pumpkin, squash, sweet potato. The snack that chinchillas love most of all however is raisins.

BAD - asparagus, peas, cabbage, corn, lettuce, broccoli, rhubarb & rhubarb leaves, spinach.

Beware of illegal chinchilla food in South Africa

We found that some chinchilla breeders in South Africa are making their own chinchilla food and selling it as balanced diet. Firstly, since these foods are not registered with Department of Agriculture, they are illegal. The leading vets in UK has recently announced that there is no such thing as a complete balanced diet for chinchillas, rabbits or guinea pigs. A balanced diet is when your chinchilla eats 90% high quality hay and you supplement diet with a small measured quantity of pellets and vegetables. The dry food should only be 10% of diet, seen more as a vitamin supplement.

So how can these illegal dry food mixtures claim to offer your chinchilla all the fibre and nutrients. Where are these pellets made? Are the pellets made of high quality hay and do they add necessary vitamins and minerals? What kind of chemicals do they use as preservatives? Because these foods are extremely low in beneficial fibre, they add some hay to the mix in an attempt to increase the fibre content. The result, chinchillas will eat more of these dry foods instead of hay, even though you may have plenty of hay in their cage.

Once their diet is more dry food than hay, they will develop dental diseases such as malocclusion and their digestive system will not function properly. These breeders will never tell you how many of their chinchillas die at an early age due to poor breeding and lack of correct type of fibre in their diet. Wooden chew toys may help them to grind down their front incisor teeth, but only eating vast amounts of abrasive long fibre in timothy hay will grind down the back molar teeth.

If you feeding your chinchilla a diet of mostly dry food, instead of 80-90% hay, then you doing something seriously wrong. You may save money in short term by buying this cheap food, but in long term you will end up with very expensive bills from frequent visits to the vet to help fight dental disease and other digestive problems.

Chinchillas doesn’t appear to be suffering…

They are prey animals. For this reason they suffer in silence for the most part. They will communicate that something is not right however if you pay attention properly. The further you stray from a natural diet that they’ve evolved to accommodate, the more health issues and upset we cause our chinchillas. Chinchillas are silent sufferers. They are prey animals so will try their utmost best not to show they aren’t happy, are in pain or suffering etc.

Recap. The wrong diet can:

✘ Harm the chinchillas gut flora and good bacteria
✘ Cause G. I Statis
✘ Kill a chinchilla
✘ Cause blood poisoning
✘ Cause a fatty liver
✘ Cause skin irritation and infections
✘ Cause over grown teeth
✘ Cause abscesses
✘ Cause jaw rot
✘ Aggravate arthritis
✘ Cost you an awful lot in vet bills