Pet Habitat South Africa

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15 Jun 2014

Choosing Chinchilla Pellets

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Nutrition | Chinchillas

South Africa is a country with little or no research on small animal feeding much less chinchillas. We pretty much dependent on foreign know-how to care for our chinchillas. Two of the most critical parts of a chinchilla diet are timothy hay and pellets. However, our choice of chinchilla food in South Africa is very limited. Timothy hay should be the main diet of chinchillas. Alfalfa hay can be fed in small amounts to young and undernourished chinchillas.

Why is a good-quality pellet essential?

As mentioned, along with hay, pellets make up the majority of your chinchilla’s diet. Therefore, careful consideration needs to be given to the various brands on offer, and, which is the most suitable. Don’t be misled into believing that rabbit or guinea pig food make good alternatives to chinchilla pellets, as this is not true; they have very specific dietary requirements and need a food that can offer this. There is a fairly substantial amount of choice, so take the time to read labels carefully, and weed out any that mix additional food items in with the pellet. Where chinchilla food is concerned, it should always be a case of quality over quantity.

What’s wrong with a pellet muesli mix?

Many inexpensive versions mix pellets with other food items, such as corn, rolled oats, rosehip, seeds, etc; the cheaper the brand, the more likely that unsavoury and unnecessary extras will appear on the ingredients list. These additional ingredients are not necessary for a balanced chinchilla diet, and in some cases, can lead to serious health concerns such as fatty liver disease and digestive tract problems. Furthermore, a chinchilla will always pick out the bits he prefers from a mix, which is invariably those that have very little nutritional value, leaving the pellets behind.

What should a good pellet contain?

A good pellet should include everything a chinchilla needs to be healthy. It is essential that the pellets are high in beneficial fibre (not crude fibre), as this is the most important component, and should include no less than 35% (the more the better). Protein should also be high, at around 15%. The first ingredient listed should always be a good quality hay, such as alfalfa or timothy; and the pellets should not contain any artificial preservatives or additives, or any other “by-products”.

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.

We believe that no single chinchilla food can be labelled as “complete”. Your pet’s dietary requirements are complex so you need to feed a combination of foods to satisfy his needs. In South Africa, we tend to feed our chinchillas too much dry food and less hay, only 20-50% hay. These chinchillas will have slower gut motility, putting them at a higher risk of gut stasis, a condition which is often fatal.

Chinchillas fed on large amounts of dry mix foods, tend to have weak and sensitive digestive system – resulting inability to absorb vital nutrients from pellets. Nobody will tell you how many chinchillas in South Africa are faced with higher risk of abnormal growth of teeth after two years . This often develops into painful dental disease, or in extreme cases ‘large abscesses’ around the jaw or eye sockets.

illegal chinchilla food sold on gumtree

In South Africa, we have noticed a lot of illegal cheap chinchilla food being sold on gumtree. These foods are not registered with the Department of Agriculture and most of them have no label. They usually consist of two types of pellets and mixture of other ingredients. We don't know what quality of hay was used to make the pellets and most likely no vitamins, minerals or any prebiotics were added.

These foods are extremely low in fibre and what is shocking is that some pet stores and breeders are recommending this illegal food as a complete diet to chinchillas. Chinchillas are exotic animals, and as a responsible pet owner, you should fed them the correct food irrespective if imported chinchilla food are expensive. These locally made dry mix foods may be cheap, but is not healthy and most definately will be the cause of some digestive or dental disease which will develop after a few years.

If you cannot afford to feed chinchillas the correct chinchilla nuggets/pellets, then you should not own a chinchilla in the first place. And remember, the trick to a healthy chinchilla diet is to increase the timothy hay consumption and reduce dry food consumption to a 80:20% formula. Avoid feeding dried oats, as in large amounts can result in constipation and even death.