Help with Chinchilla food+Question about fur?

[zoocrew26]

Hey guys,
So i've had my chinchilla, Kiara, for about 3 years now. For the first 2 1/2 years of her life, i didn't really know much about chinchillas (i wasn't purposely being a bad pet-owner, i really thought i was taking care of her the way you are supposed to). So for that time period, i didn't really play with her because i didn't really know how to, and she stayed in her cage all the time (she DOES have a pretty awesome cage though, a bit on the small side, but she had--and has--plenty of cool toys). I fed her a petstore mix called Charlie Chinchilla, which she ate pretty well. And that was her life.
Well about 6 months ago, i decided "ok, even though she's boring and doesn't play, i guess i'll make it so she can run around my room for a few minutes a day". So every night i would put allllll my stuff away, and i would let her out for a whopping 20 minutes lol, under supervision.
I didn't want to have it any longer, because i'm not in my room much, and i didn't want to be sitting there for an hour or so, watching her every move, plus i was convinced she was going to pee and poo everywhere.
Now, about 6 months later, she has still never gotten into anything in my room, she potty-trained herself, and as a result, i let her out of her cage when i get home from work at around 6:15 p.m., and she has free run of my room for around 8 hours a day.
And what a personality change!!! She is SO friendly now, and looooves attention, and is all over me when i walk into my room. She is VERY smart too, when it's time for her to go to bed, i tell her "go in your cage", and she hops on in, and waits for her treat for being such a good listener.

Anyways, onto the food question. Since she has been able to free-roam, she has gotten incredibly skinny. She doesn't eat her Charlie Chinchilla food anymore, and i really don't know what to give her. She won't eat any food inside of her cage anymore (except for yogurt drops, which she loooves), and i don't want her to be sitting there starving, so i leave the bags of my other pet foods open and let her dig through the bags and eat what she wants, or if the bag is closed, she'll go over and sit on it and crinkle it so i know to open it for her. I'm probably teaching her really bad habits, i know, but i'm so worried that she is going to starve. So far what she seems to like is my guinea pigs pellets (Nutriphase), and she also likes Mazuri Rat and Mouse Diet (they're lab blocks--i'm going to be switching to Harlan Teklad Lab Blocks soon tho). So is it okay to just try and stick a mixture of those in her cage, or should i continue to let her have her own buffet outside of her cage? lol.

Also, i know that chinchilla's aren't supposed to get their fur wet, cuz it makes it gross, i guess. But one of the things she does when she's out of her cage, is she sits in front of my heating vent. And i know that she sweats, because her neck and chest fur is kind of mangy. Will this hurt her? I mean, it's not like i force her to sit in front of the heater, she just likes it. And i'm not planning on showing her or anything, so is this more of an appearance thing, or can it actually hurt the skin?

Sorry this is so long lol.

[nancycccslp]

Have you checked out www.chins-n-quills.com ?

I think Menagerie is a better person to answer your questions, but I'll try; I've had my chin for about 4 years now.

First of all, good job letting her out of the cage.  Chins love exercise and they need to bop around.  My chin's cage is 3X2X4 and he still gets out to race around and make trouble.  HOWEVER, I do supervise him; I'm afraid of him nibbling on wires, etc.  He loves to suddenly appear on my lap, peer at the computer, then bop off again.....................

The food issue is more concerning to me.  Without weighing the chin you don't really know if she's losing weight or if her coat is going flat, making her appear thinner.  Chin guts are very sensitive and if they go off their food it's not good.  They can really digest only hay; their pellets are basically hay and they need unlimited hay every day.  Guinea pig food, if it is ONLY pellets and not that extra crap, is not AWFUL but not the best.  Rat blocks are no good.  Like everyone else, they will eat nothing but crab if you let them.  Sunflower seeds, corn, those "multi-colored things" in the other animal's food; not good at all.

The change in appetite, along with "ratty" looking fur, concerns me.  It could be a health issue, it could EASILY be a tooth/maloclussion issue.  I would stop the other animals' foods, offer a high-quality chin chow (Oxbow is very good) plus unlimited Timothy hay, and get a vet check.  I'm leaning towards teeth needed a trim, making it hard for her to eat her food.  Also, do you give her dust baths a couple of times a week?  They really need that to keep their wonderful coats "wonderful."

[zoocrew26]

Have you checked out www.chins-n-quills.com ?

I think Menagerie is a better person to answer your questions, but I'll try; I've had my chin for about 4 years now.

First of all, good job letting her out of the cage.  Chins love exercise and they need to bop around.  My chin's cage is 3X2X4 and he still gets out to race around and make trouble.  HOWEVER, I do supervise him; I'm afraid of him nibbling on wires, etc.  He loves to suddenly appear on my lap, peer at the computer, then bop off again.....................

The food issue is more concerning to me.  Without weighing the chin you don't really know if she's losing weight or if her coat is going flat, making her appear thinner.  Chin guts are very sensitive and if they go off their food it's not good.  They can really digest only hay; their pellets are basically hay and they need unlimited hay every day.  Guinea pig food, if it is ONLY pellets and not that extra crap, is not AWFUL but not the best.  Rat blocks are no good.  Like everyone else, they will eat nothing but crab if you let them.  Sunflower seeds, corn, those "multi-colored things" in the other animal's food; not good at all.

The change in appetite, along with "ratty" looking fur, concerns me.  It could be a health issue, it could EASILY be a tooth/maloclussion issue.  I would stop the other animals' foods, offer a high-quality chin chow (Oxbow is very good) plus unlimited Timothy hay, and get a vet check.  I'm leaning towards teeth needed a trim, making it hard for her to eat her food.  Also, do you give her dust baths a couple of times a week?  They really need that to keep their wonderful coats "wonderful."

Thanks for answering!
Like i said, Kiara is really picky regarding food. She has always been this way, the Charlie Chinchilla food is the 3rd type of food she's been on--she randomly decides that she doesn't like a certain food anymore, and will not eat it.
I'm pretty sure her teeth aren't the problem, i've taken a quick look at them and nothing seemed wrong, and also, she does eat yogurt drops (her treats), and my G-pig food, and lab blocks. (and, the guine pig food is soley pellets, and the rat food is soley lab blocks, i agree that the seed stuff is crap.) So i don't know what's up with that. I've read that the Harlan Teklad is really really healthy, for rats and mice anyways, is it not that healthy for chinchillas?
Oh, and i've tried giving her hay (it's on my floor too, where she can eat it if she wants it), and she has never liked hay.
I just found a couple types of food on petsmart.com, that i'd be willing to try with her, are these ok for her?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754056&cp=2767038.2769315&fbx=0&fbn=Pet+Type+1%7CChinchilla&f=PAD%2FPet+Type+1%2FChinchilla&fbc=1&parentPage=family&keepsr=1

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754960&cp=2767038.2769315&fbx=0&fbn=Pet+Type+1%7CChinchilla&f=PAD%2FPet+Type+1%2FChinchilla&fbc=1&parentPage=family&keepsr=1

Like i said, i really don't think it's her teeth, being that she does eat things, just not the stuff she's SUPPOSED to eat. Plus she's not acting sick AT ALL (except her right eye gets gunky sometimes, and there's a little hair loss by her eye, from where she rubs it, but i use these eye-drops that my vet gave me, and that seems to help it), she runs and jumps and is a very happy (but skinny) girl.

As for dust baths, she has a dust house inside of her cage, so she gets to bathe whenever she wants.

[Ratlovingkippy06]

be careful with the sugar level.. They are Very touchy. The only stufff are guys get is what you were feeding her maybe you should do less treats cause they can only have a very very small amount of treat. I just don't want her to get sick

[zoocrew26]

be careful with the sugar level.. They are Very touchy. The only stufff are guys get is what you were feeding her maybe you should do less treats cause they can only have a very very small amount of treat. I just don't want her to get sick

Yah, i am careful with the amount of treats i give her, she usually gets 3 yogurt drops a day, and that's it.

[nakedrats]

3 a day sounds like a lot for as sensitive as chinchilla stomachs are.  I'm not an expert, but I know someone with a chin and it gets no more than 2 raisins a week.

[Lmbswimmer]

Hello - I own 7 chinchillas.

What's good for an omnivore is horrible food for a herbivore.  Rats/gerbils etc... are omnivores their food is horrid for a chinchilla, that could lead to a very, very sick animal.

3 yogurt drops a day are way too much by about 3.  She should not get any yogurt drops - way too much sugar, and they contain dairy.  If you want to give her a treat try papaya enzyme tablets or shredded wheat (non sweetened).  A cheerio or 2 would also be acceptable.  Only 1 treat at most a day. 

Her main diet should be timothy hay, then some alfalfa hay.  You can mix other hays in.  www.oxbowhay.com has wonderful hay and they have a wonderful food for chinchillas.  The Mazuri food that Petco/Petsmart sells is also a very good food, however it is much cheaper through other sources.  I can get a 25 lb bag of Mazuri chinchilla food from a local farm store for under $12.00.  I have since switched the chins to Oxbow because the protein level is lower and since they are older it is a better food for them.

Her front teeth would not be the issue (99.9%) of the time with teeth issues.  It's the teeth you can't see.  There are different forms of severity with teeth issues with chinchillas.  The easiest and cheapest is spurs.  This is painful because the tooth has a little nub either rubbing on a cheek or the tongue and can be ground off by a vet.  True Malo is very serious, and she is showing the symptoms - gooky eyes is definitely a symptom along with loosing weight.  She would continue eating the yogurt drops because they are soft and cause less pain than pellets.  Malo can be an overgrowth of the teeth into the mouth where some of the teeth need to be trimmed, however in most cases malo is when the roots grow and they grow into the nasal/eye cavity or down into the jaw, and eventually out of the jaw.  This is extremely painful and can eventually lead to your chinchilla needing to be put down.

We currently have 1 chinchilla who has spurs and needs those ground down once a year or so - it's really not a big deal if you can find a vet that is comfortable doing that.

She also needs to be getting dust baths to see if they improves her coat, without the dustbaths she could end up with ringworm or another fungal infection - which is something that she could very easily give to you.

I would also be worried about compaction if she is choosing not to eat, how are her poops?  What do they look like?  They should be long, kind of fat, but not too fat, and firm. 

An awesome supplement to add to, with or to give a sick chinchilla, especially with teeth issues is life line made by Dawna of Chocolate chinchillas http://chocolatechinchillas.com/_wsn/page6.html  I have used this product, and it does work.  She is very honest and will work with a pet owner that needs something asap. 

She should also have plenty of wood toys to chew on, if she is not chewing on wood toys then that increases my belief she has teeth issues, both our chinchillas that have had teeth issues do not chew like the rest of the crew does.  They only chew on softer woods, and are much pickier about which woods to chew on.

One quick test you can do, which should be very insightful is to buy petromalt - the stuff that helps cats pass fur.  Get a non animal flavor and give her a teeny tiny amount.  Do not give this often, we give this about once a month to once a week during high shedding season to help them pass fur.  The key is a very, very small amount, and the interesting thing with this, is most chins, not all with teeth issues will have a hard time eating it because it is so sticky.  They will start swiping at their nose and mouth a lot.  It's really cute, but definitely time to get them to a vet.

If your chin swipes at her mouth at all after eating/chewing etc... she definitely has teeth problems.  Many chinchillas don't show Malo until they are around 4 years old.

The short of it:   Mazuri or Oxbow food, lots and lots of hay, dust baths, and get her to a vet that is willing to x-ray her head and scope her mouth.  They might have to give her a touch of gas to do this.

Good luck, chinchillas are a lot of fun, and are very, very intelligent, unfortunately when they get sick, they get sick.  Being prey animals they hide being sick as long as possible, which is why usually by the time a chinchilla is showing signs of being sick it's too late.  It's not too late for your girl if you get her into the vet and get her mouth looked at.  You should also consider buying a gram scale and start weighing her to see if she's gaining/loosing weight on a weekly basis.

[Ratlovingkippy06]

[/quote]

One quick test you can do, which should be very insightful is to buy petromalt - the stuff that helps cats pass fur.  Get a non animal flavor and give her a teeny tiny amount.  Do not give this often, we give this about once a month to once a week during high shedding season to help them pass fur.


ya i use that for my rabbits as well it works great i just put a little on the fur and they clean it off themselfs.

[zoocrew26]

Well, i think it's her teeth. I've cut down on the yogurt drops, and she only gets 1 a day, at bedtime. And i was watching her eat it last night, and it took her forever, and she kept swiping at her mouth, and as she was eating, she was drooling. 

So i think she is due for a vet visit...

[Lmbswimmer]

She definitely needs to see a vet.  Hopefully it is spurs, your vet may not be comfortable working on chin teeth, so you might need to find a different vet, hopefully your vet will be able to recommend someone.  At the least if your vet is willing to give it a try s/he needs to take x-rays of both sides of her head, and scope her mouth with the small camera (she may need to be given gas to do this).  If it is just spurs on her teeth while she is under from the scoping the vet should be able to "sand" the teeth down.  She will be really sore, and may not want to eat food.  You may have to hand feed her.  If they stop eating and go too long without food their gut will go into stasis and she will die from bloat.

You can create a mush you can hand syringe her from her pellets, the lifeline, and critical care (you should be able to get this from the vet).  I will PM you with a site for more info on hand feeding but it's not a PG forum so I won't directly link it here.  It's a controversial chin site, but the handfeeding/teeth issues threads are worth reading through.