Nobody wants the Chinchilla they bring home to get sick. In fact nobody wants an unhealthy pet at all. That’s why we have pets in the first place, to love and care for them. In the case of a Chinchilla, they are not a common household pet therefore there is not a lot of common knowledge on how to raise them properly. The most important part of raising a healthy pet Chinchilla is keeping them on a clean diet.
The Chinchilla diet is not confusing. It consists mostly of pellets that you can get specifically for Chinchillas. This is because the Chinchilla digestive system acts differently than other animals which mean that the Chinchilla needs more roughage than actual nutrients. However if you can’t find ones specifically for Chinchillas then rabbit or guinea pig pellets could be substituted instead. The basic ingredients include corn, alfalfa meal, molasses, oats, wheat germ, soybean oil meal, and added vitamins and minerals. A complement to pellets would be loose hay because it provides fiber in their diet. If you don’t have any loose hay lying around then Bermuda grass could substitute as well.
When feeding your Chinchilla the key is consistency. You can feed them once or twice a day but the chinchilla will determine that for you. Try two times a day at first and if you notice that there is still food in the dish when you go to feed him the second time them lower it down to just once a day. After you’ve determined how many times he likes to eat then create a routine for him. This is very important because Chinchillas like routine and get stressed when things keep changing. This stress can actually shorten their lifespan. Also keep in mind that Chinchillas are nocturnal so they’re breakfast might be just before you go to bed. So try and determine when the best time of day to feed him will be.
We all love giving treats to our pets and if you’re going to give treats to your Chinchilla then the best options would be to give him raisins. Chinchillas love raisins but be careful not to give them too much or they will over eat them. Usually once or twice a week should be fine. They also like dried fruit like blueberry, grape or tiny apple slices. Just make sure there are no sulfite preservatives in them because this is too hard on their digestive system. Raw, black oil sunflower seeds that are used for feeding birds are also an option. This is good for the animal's outer coat. One more thing, don’t mix treats with pellets because then they’ll assume their food includes raisins in it and will stop eating the pellets until you put the raisins back in causing them to eat too much treats instead of real food.
It is also important to include enough water in a Chinchillas diet. However don’t just give them a large bowl and let them drink for days. You should be changing their water at least once a day so that there is less risk of them catching a bacterial infection. This is also why a bowl is not a good idea. They might knock it over or get food or feces in it and then be forced to drink dirty water because that’s all they have. Use a water bottle connected to their cage that way it stays clean however you should still change it once a day.