How to raise chinchillas (raising methods for chinchillas at different stages)

Feeding methods for chinchillas at different stages

Feeding of young chinchillas

1) The food fed to young chinchillas (before 8 months) is mainly staple food, alfalfa, and timothy. For example: Day 1: timothy in the morning, staple food in the evening; Day 2: alfalfa in the morning, staple food in the evening; Day 3: repeat the first day, and so on.

2) In fact, young chinchillas should use alfalfa as their main food, so as to provide them with enough nutrition. In addition, they should be given only timothy grass for two days a week to reduce their gastrointestinal burden. If they are only given alfalfa and staple food, which leads to soft stools, the weight of the chinchilla will be affected.

3) When chinchillas are young, breeders should prepare enough food for them, and feed them small meals every day, which should not only meet the chinchillas' nutritional needs for food, but also avoid eating too much food and causing the chinchillas to become obese. In addition, it is best not to feed snacks to young chinchillas.

Feeding of adult chinchillas

1) Adult chinchillas (after eight months) are given staple food and grass, and alfalfa is stopped.

2) In addition to preparing suitable staple food for adult chinchillas, you can also prepare a small amount of snacks for them. The snacks that chinchillas can eat are very simple: special chinchilla snacks, or fresh apples, carrots, sand apples or red fruits peeled and diced. For any snack, 1~2 pieces every other day is enough, don’t give more!

3) An adult chinchilla needs 20~40ml of water a day. Chinchillas are very drought-resistant animals, but chinchillas must pay attention to the cleanliness of their drinking water. They cannot drink raw water, at least boiled water, or purified water.

2. Precautions for raising chinchillas

1) Chinchillas cannot eat any fresh vegetables and fruits. The only thing they can be given is apples. Foods with too much water content can easily cause diarrhea in chinchillas.

2) Chinchillas cannot eat peanuts and soybeans. Peanuts contain too much oil, and soybeans absorb water in the stomach and swell, causing discomfort to chinchillas, and may even cause intestinal obstruction and death.

3) Leftover feed and hay should be discarded. They are usually left over by chinchillas and are considered to have no nutrition. We must trust their expert vision.

4) Alfalfa is one of the main ingredients in chinchilla feed. Eating a large amount of alfalfa can quickly fatten chinchillas. But chinchillas should not be made too fat, so alfalfa should be given as auxiliary nutritional grass. Generally, it is enough to give it twice a week. However, chinchillas that have just arrived at home can be given more, because the nutrition provided in large-scale farms often cannot fully meet their growth and development needs. Other hays such as oats, wheat, and barley grass can be used as auxiliary hay to adjust the taste of chinchillas. Remember that chinchillas cannot eat fresh grass, and you cannot just pick some wild grass to feed chinchillas!

5) The chinchilla cage should be placed in a cool, ventilated place, but not in the wind. If the chinchilla is always blown directly by the wind, it will catch a cold.

6) Summer is a sad season for chinchillas, because chinchillas have thick fur, so when the weather is hot in summer, it is best to turn on the air conditioner at home to lower the indoor temperature.

Three rules need to be followed to raise chinchillas

1. Wash your hands carefully before touching chinchillas and their cages

The most vulnerable part of chinchillas is that they have no resistance to fungi, especially young chinchillas with low resistance. Although fungi on human hands from touching coins or feet are difficult to pose a threat to humans, they can easily make chinchillas bald. Once bald, treatment is time-consuming and labor-intensive, so it is better to prepare for a rainy day.

2. Don't feed chinchillas all kinds of food as a matter of course

Chinchillas originally lived in the barren areas of the Andes Mountains in South America, and the food they could consume was very simple. Chinchillas that were rescued and raised artificially after being on the verge of extinction lack digestive enzymes in their stomachs and intestines. Many of the foods that we think are ordinary cannot be completely digested by chinchillas.

Therefore, special feeds should be fed to chinchillas. As for snacks, fresh dried apples, dried carrots, etc. are enough. For any snacks, feeding a little every other day is enough, don't give more!

Most of the deaths of chinchillas are caused by feeding the wrong food. Chinchillas love to eat, but many things are harmful to their stomachs. Some will cause diarrhea after eating, while others will cause hematuria, or sparse hair, or sudden death from intestinal bloating after a period of persistence.

Some people say that I fed my chinchilla something, but it didn't get sick or die? This is like a child crossing the road without looking at the car. It is very dangerous, but it is indeed possible that nothing will happen eight or ten times. However, that is all luck. If something happens, it will be a life-threatening event. I advise the owners who love chinchillas not to try to challenge the stomach of chinchillas.

Third, don't force chinchillas to do things they don't like, and tempt them with food

Fortunately, chinchillas know when they are hungry or full, and they won't eat too much, so you can feed them freely. Handing them food by hand is the easiest way to build feelings.

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