Chinchilla Food, Feeding Hay & Treats

According to the PDSA, the ideal chinchilla diet includes:

• As much high-quality hay as they want to eat.
• Nuggets, which can aid nutrient balance. For Burgess nuggets, please follow the feeding guidelines on the packet.
• Fresh greens – around a teaspoon a day per pet. (Proceed with caution)
• Constant access to fresh, clean drinking water from a suitable water bottle with a metal spout.

In terms of foods to avoid, chinchillas shouldn’t eat the following; cabbage, sweetcorn, nuts, sunflower seeds, lettuce, asparagus, avocado, rhubarb, rhubarb leaves, broccoli and spinach. If you’re ever unsure about a particular food item, then we recommend that you always check with your vet for more information.

Providing your chinchilla with the wrong fruit or the wrong quantities can cause significant stomach issues and potentially even death. As a pet owner, it is your duty to ensure the welfare and safety of your furry friends.

When it comes to fruit and vegetables, please take every precaution, and introduce them slowly to your pet, to ensure they can tolerate them.

Fruit and vegetables that chinchillas can eat include; carrot, celery, potato, pumpkin, squash,  sweet potato, strawberries, pears, apples, blueberries, grapes, raisins and sultanas.

As hind gut fermenters, chinchillas digest much of their food in the caecum and colon (large intestine), which are at the end of the digestive tract. The caecum is where fermentation takes place, and it houses the bacteria that breaks down cellulose, a large component of plants that is otherwise indigestible.

The large intestine absorbs what it can, but much of the nutrients now made available by fermentation are lost in faeces. This is why chinchillas eat some of their poop. It may seem gross to us humans, but chinchillas actually get more nutrition from it, and it helps maintain their gut flora populations. What makes their poop so healthy? High-quality chinchilla food and treats, small amounts of vegetables, and fresh water.