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Have you recently adopted a chinchilla? Congratulations are in order! Adopting a fur baby is a wonderful time of life! You’re happy to have a little furry companion to spend time with every day! While this is an exciting time, don’t forget that your chinchilla will need the right type of food to stay happy and healthy.
If you’re not sure what food is best for your chinchilla, then read on! We’ve put together information on your chinchilla’s dietary requirements each day. And we’ve created a list of the best chinchilla foods you can buy!
Daily Dietary Requirements for Chinchillas
Chinchillas have a very specialized digestive tract. In the wild, chinchillas usually eat a diet high in roughage. They don’t eat anything that contains a lot of fat or sugar. So, your chinchilla will need a similar diet. This means you’ll have to look for pelleted chinchilla food. Make sure the food you buy is not made for chinchillas and other animals. This is because the chinchilla’s diet is very specialized, as noted above.
When it comes to your fur baby’s food, look for pelleted chinchilla food that contains about 16-20% protein, 2-5% fat, and plenty of fiber—about 15-35%. If you’re not able to find chinchilla food, then you can feed your fur baby either rabbit food or guinea pig pellets temporarily. However, don’t feed your chinchilla these foods long-term, as rabbits and guinea pigs don’t have exactly the same dietary requirements. This means your chinchilla wouldn’t receive all the nutrients she needs to stay healthy.
You should give your chinchilla about one tablespoon of pelleted food in the morning and in the evening. However, keep in mind that chinchillas are nocturnal and will do most of their eating at night.
What’s more, it’s a good idea to provide your fur baby with some hay, which adds more roughage to her diet. You can use orchard grass, Timothy grass, and more. She should be able to have constant access t the hay, so she can eat it when she wants. However, be sure to remove any hay that becomes wet, moldy, or old. Hay should be replaced each day with fresh hay to keep your fur baby healthy.
OK, with this knowledge about the nutrients your chinchilla needs each day, now you’re ready to review our list of the best chinchilla foods!
The Ten Best Foods for Chinchillas
Here’s our list of the top 10 best foods for chinchillas!
1). Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla Deluxe Chinchilla Food
Oxbow Essentials provides all the fiber your chinchilla needs each day. Plus, the pelleted food is fortified with the vitamins, and nutrients chinchillas need to stay healthy. These include vitamins C, E, B12, and alfalfa, and more.
This chinchilla food is also great for young chinchillas.
2). Kaytee Fiesta Gourmet Variety Diet Chinchilla Food
Kaytee’s chinchilla food offers a mix that includes fruits, veggies, seeds, and grains to make sure your chinchilla has a varied diet. The blended food comes in a variety of shapes, colors, and textures that are appealing to chinchillas. It also contains alfalfa to ensure your chinchilla receives all the fiber she needs in her diet.
The pellets will provide all the nutrients your fur baby needs each day to stay healthy and strong.
3). Mazuri Chinchilla Food
This chinchilla food isn’t the cheapest available; however, it is a complete pelleted food that will keep your fur baby healthy. The pellets contain the right amounts of fiber and nutrients. The fiber comes from Timothy grass and alfalfa.
They also contain flaxseeds, which is a rich source of omega fatty 3 acids, which work to keep your chinchillas’ skin and coat healthy. What’s more, the food also contains probiotics, which work to aid your fur baby’s digestion.
4). Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Blend Chinchilla Food
Here’s a wonderful gourmet blend from Higgins, which contains all the nutrition your chinchilla needs each day. The food blend contains a mix of dried fruits, hay, dried veggies, and pre-cooked legumes. It’s also fortified with DHA omega 3 fatty acid, which supports healthy fur and skin. Higgins also contains probiotics to ensure your chinchilla’s digestive tract remains healthy.
This food is made with no artificial ingredients.
5). Oxbow Garden Select Chinchilla Food
This is a garden-select complete chinchilla food from Oxbow. The food comes in pellet form and includes the fiber your fur baby needs each day. What’s more, this chinchilla food is non-GMO, which means even young chinchillas can safely enjoy this food.
All ingredients are farmed in the US, and the unique food blend is very similar to the chinchilla’s natural diet in the wild.
6). Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Chinchilla Food
This is another pelleted chinchilla food that provides all the daily nutrition a chinchilla needs. The formula includes Timothy hay and alfalfa, along with protein from oats and wheat. The pellets are also fortified with omega 3 fatty acids for a beautiful shiny coat and healthy skin.
You’ll be happy to learn that this chinchilla food contains no artificial flavors, colors, etc.
7). Vitakraft Vita Smart Fortified Nutrition Chinchilla Food
This Vitakraft chinchilla food is also pellet-based and provides all the nutrition your chinchilla needs every day for a balanced diet. It contains high amounts of Timothy hay, too, so your fur baby will have plenty of roughage to keep her digestive tract healthy.
This chinchilla food is made especially for adult chinchillas.
8). Sunseed Vita Prima Chinchilla Food
This is another high-fiber, nutritious food for chinchillas. It’s based on Timothy hay and fortified with omega 3 fatty acids to keep your fur baby’s skin and coat healthy and shiny. What’s more, this pelleted food contains probiotics to support a healthy immune system and aid digestion.
9). Supreme Petfoods Chinchilla Food
Here’s a great, healthy premium food for chinchillas. It contains high amounts of fiber and essential fatty acids to keep your fur baby’s skin and coat healthy. This food does not contain sugar, which can be harmful to chinchillas.
10). Kaytee Food from the Wild Chinchilla Food
This pelleted food blend contains all the nutrition your chinchilla needs to stay healthy every day. This food is based on the foods that chinchillas eat in the wild. The pellets are made with rose hips, marigolds, sweet potatoes, and Timothy hay.
And you won’t have to worry about harmful fillers, artificial preservatives, or sugar. This food is completely natural and healthy for your fur baby.
There you have it! These are some of the best foods you can buy for your chinchilla. Be sure to buy food that’s high in fiber and avoid any food that contains sugar or ingredients that seem questionable. Your chinchilla’s health depends on the food you buy her. So, buy the best food possible for your chinchilla!
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Kyoko
Kyoko is from a family of 3 and moved to New York with her parents and siblings when she was 13. Kyoko is fond of spending a great amount of time with pets, specifically her beagle Luna and cat Missy. Her boyfriend often complains that she spends too much time giving attention to their animals. Kyoko has written dozens of articles concerning pets and is aiming at owning a pet shop one day!
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