- Kitten milk can be purchased at pet stores, veterinary clinics, or online.
- Be sure to hold baby chinchillas upright when feeding them to prevent choking.
- Feed kits every 2 hours for the first 2 weeks of their lives, then every 3 or 4 hours for the remaining 4 to 6 weeks.
What foods are safe for chinchillas?
What Can Chinchillas Eat List
- Dietary Basics. This article deals with the somewhat “controversial” topic of diet and nutrition. ...
- Chinchillas Dietary Adaptations. ...
- Chinchilla Pellets – The food of Choice. ...
- Hay – the Fiber Provider. ...
- Hay Alternatives. ...
- Supplements. ...
- Treats. ...
Are chinchillas good beginner pets?
👉 Are chinchillas good beginner pets? Domestic chinchillas can be kept as pets. Because of their high-strung disposition, they are not usually considered to be good pets for small children. However, chinchillas can be very friendly animals if sufficiently acclimated to human touch as kits (babies), making them excellent pets for patient owners.
What are some foods chinchillas can eat?
What Vegetables Can Chinchillas Eat?
- Celery. There is no doubt that celery is one of the healthiest and tastiest vegetables out there. ...
- Potato. Potato is a starchy root vegetable that can be cooked and consumed in a variety of ways. ...
- Carrot. Carrots come in many shapes and sizes. ...
- Kale. ...
- Alfalfa. ...
- Squash. ...
- Sweet Potatoes. ...
- Lettuce- Green Leaf, Red Leaf, and Oakleaf. ...
- Dandelion Greens. ...
- Parsley. ...
How much food should you give to a chinchilla?
Scientifically speaking, however, little is understood about the ideal chinchilla diet beyond the need for lots of roughage. Most chinchillas will eat one to two tablespoons of pellets a day. While they are not prone to overeating, for freshness it is a good idea to feed a small number of pellets at a time.
Do baby chinchillas need milk?
Kitten milk can be purchased at pet stores, veterinary clinics, or online. Be sure to hold baby chinchillas upright when feeding them to prevent choking. Feed kits every 2 hours for the first 2 weeks of their lives, then every 3 or 4 hours for the remaining 4 to 6 weeks.
How do you take care of a baby chinchilla?
0:235:02How To Care For Baby/Young Chinchillas - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAlso don't give them too many treats because they are so young it's really easy to make their sugarMoreAlso don't give them too many treats because they are so young it's really easy to make their sugar levels become unstable. So too many treats can be very dangerous for young chinchillas.
Do chinchillas drink milk?
Treatment of Lack of Milk in Chinchillas In order to overcome a lack of milk in a mother chinchilla is to provide hand-raising for the kits. You'll have to feed them replacer milk every two hours so they can begin to gain weight and thrive.
When can a baby chinchilla leave its mom?
8 to 12 weeks oldKits typically are left with their mother until they are 8 to 12 weeks old. They depend upon her for care and protection. They also learn behaviors and some socialization skills from her. Males should always be separated when they reach 8 weeks old and moved to a separate cage.
What is the best age to buy a chinchilla?
An ideal age to purchase your chinchilla is 10 weeks. When you first take your chinchilla home, they will be understandably skittish and scared. However, with a good routine and regular handling, your chinchilla will begin to feel safe and will start approaching you with curiosity and willingness.
How old should a chinchilla be when you buy it?
Never take a chinchilla away from his mother until he's completely weaned. By the time a chinchilla is somewhere between 12 and 14 weeks old, he should be ready to say goodbye to mom and leave for his new life in a new home.
What chinchillas cant eat?
DO NOT FEED your chinchilla with the following: asparagus, avocado, peas, cabbage, corn, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, rhubarb and rhubarb leaves. Other dangerous foods are banana, sunflower seeds and peanuts.
What human food can chinchillas eat?
Chinchillas need around a tea spoon a day of fresh greens. Fruits are only to be given as treats as they are high in sugars. Chinchillas can eat small amounts of fruit such as: Apples....The following vegetables can up make the majority of a chinchillas' core diet:Carrot.Kale.Alfalfa.Celery.Potato.Sweet potatoes.Squash.
What is the best food for chinchillas?
Food and Water 80-90% of a chinchilla's diet should be high quality grass hay, such as timothy hay or orchard grass hay. Your chinchilla should always have hay available. Pellets should be plain, hay-based pellets, with no seeds, nuts, or dried fruit.
How do you bond with your chinchilla?
0:535:44Ways To Bond With Your Chinchilla - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo pretty much you just bring your chinchilla out of their cage. During their playtime. And this isMoreSo pretty much you just bring your chinchilla out of their cage. During their playtime. And this is best when they are active so in the evening.
How fast do baby chinchillas grow?
Chinchillas grow quickly, and they should be fully grown at around two years of age. Their growth rate will be affected by their diet, health, and genetics. So, when you get a chinchilla, their adult size may differ.
What do chinchillas eat?
What do pet chinchillas eat? Chinchillas require a high fiber diet and should be offered grass hay (such as Timothy hay or other low calcium hays such as orchard grass, oat hay, or meadow hay) free choice (available 24 hours a day). Hay should be the main component of their diet.
Can chinchillas eat treats?
Can I offer my chinchilla treats? As a rule, chinchillas don't require treats, although an occasional offering of various fresh, low calcium green vegetables or an occasional piece of high fiber fruit (such as a slice or apple). Do not offer any people food without checking with your veterinarian first.
Is alfalfa good for bladder stones?
While alfalfa may be offered occasionally, it should not serve as the sole source of hay as it is too high in calcium and could result in the development of calcium-containing bladder stones.
Brief Baby Chinchilla Timeline
This brief timeline will give you some idea of the major steps involved in caring for a baby chinchilla. We’ll go into much more detail on everything further down in the article.
How Baby Chinchillas Are Born
Although chinchillas may seem like an exotic or mysterious pet, there is nothing fancy about how a chinchilla gives birth. A chinchilla gives birth in the same fashion as most mammals.
Baby Chinchilla Size And Weight
Part of ensuring that your baby chinchillas are healthy and getting the nutrients they need is ensuring that they are growing properly.
How To Get A Baby Chinchilla
To get a baby chinchilla, you obviously have the option of having a male and female chinchilla breed on your own.
Baby Chinchilla Pricing And Ongoing Cost
When you purchase a baby chinchilla, the cost is going to vary based on the color or mutation of the chinchilla you desire.
Best Cages For Baby Chinchillas
Part of providing the best care possible for a chinchilla requires that you put together an excellent chinchilla cage for them.
Dust Baths And Baby Chinchillas
Avoid dust baths during the initial days after your baby chinchillas are born.
What are some good treats for chinchillas?
Less fattening treats include leafy greens and root vegetables like carrots. Chinchillas may be given one teaspoon of the healthier treats every day. Herbs like dandelion or parsley can be given to a chinchilla several times a week in small amounts. Dried rose hips are a very healthy treat with lots of fiber and Vitamin C.
What do chinchillas like?
Chinchillas particularly enjoy dried fruit like peaches , cranberries, bananas, and apples, and they also love sunflower seeds and unsalted nuts. They will also happily devour treats sold at pet stores. Less fattening treats include leafy greens and root vegetables like carrots.
How long does it take for a chinchilla to switch brands?
The chinchilla should gradually be given increasing amounts of the new brand and decreasing amounts of the old brand. It should take a week to complete the switch. Treats should be given by hand and never placed in the food bowl.
Do chinchillas need water?
Chinchillas should always have access to water. Vitamin C supplements can be added to the water. Salt blocks and wheels can also provide a chinchilla with minerals that might be lacking in his diet. Chinchilla Guide Home.
Can chinchillas have pellets?
Chinchilla pellets are grass-based, and they contain the right amounts of proteins, roughage and fat to keep the chinchilla healthy. Pellets made for other animals like rabbits or guinea pigs should not be given to a chinchilla, for they can make the chinchilla sick. Chinchillas should always have access to water.
Can chinchillas eat raisins?
Some people use raisins as rewards to train a chinchilla. People who do this cut the raisin into small pieces beforehand, so they don’t give the chinchilla too many raisins during a training session.
Can watermelon make chinchillas sick?
Watery fruits like watermelon can give a chinchilla diarrhea, while some vegetables like corn can give them bloat. The methods used to process and store corn also expose it to mold and fungi, and those can make a chinchilla seriously ill. Sources: rspca.org.uk. chinchillaguide.com. chinchillacare.org.
What are some good treats for chinchillas?
Common healthy treats for Chinchillas are Rose hips, non-frosted Shredded Wheaties, Old fashion rolled oats, Alfalfa hay, and an array of chinchilla safe herbs.
What do chinchillas chew on?
As a Chinchilla chews on their hay they grind their back molars together keeping them short and trimmed.
Why do chinchillas bloat?
Excess moisture in their food will lead to bloating. Bloating is a hazard because chinchillas can not relieve themselves of any gasses, meaning without intervention they can pass from buildup. Nuts + Seeds are high in fat. When a chinchilla is fed a diet high in fat they become prone to ailments like fatty liver disease.
Can you feed a rabbit pellet to a chinchilla?
If you can get these 3 things together, you'll have a healthy well-nourished chinchilla. A quality pellet can be made specifically for Chinchillas or you can choose to feed a high quality rabbit pellet. A lot of the pellet selections sold at the pet store are not "quality pellets". In fact, they're junk food riddled with fruit, nuts, fillers, ...
Can you use compressed hay for chinchillas?
Or you can purchase compressed hay cookies for your chinchilla. Choosing any of these will greatly reduce the amount of hay-dust in your home that may be affecting your allergies. Treats. While it can be nice to treat our pets, something important to understand is that it's mostly for us.
Do chinchillas need sugar?
Fruits + Vegetables contain a lot of natural sugar in their natural and dried forms. Pet chinchillas do not need this excess sugar. This excess sugar can resort in your Chinchilla becoming ill. Diabetes, hyperglycemia, and hypoglycemia are all risks when feeding a sugary diet.
Simple Steps in Caring for Baby Chinchillas
These simple steps start with separating mom and dad. This must be done a week before the birth of the kits. Otherwise, mom and dad will mate again. This can happen even before the new kits are born. Mom getting pregnant this quickly puts a hardship on her well being and it’s best not to allow this to happen.
In Depth Information on the Care of Baby Chinchillas
First, you may want to know if all baby chinchillas survive. You may find it a bit sad that 70 to 80% of all kits live into adulthood. That means that if you are breeding chinchillas you will see some deaths.
Conclusion
As you see, taking care of baby chinchillas isn’t hard, but there are things you need to pay attention to so that if something goes wrong you’ll recognize it right away and do something about whatever it might be. I hope you found this blog post useful, if you have any comments and questions, be sure to leave them below.
How many babies can a chinchilla have?
1) The Average Litter Size Is Two Kits. It’s normal for chinchillas to have small litters, averaging at two baby chinchillas. image credit kishimoto/flickr. Chinchillas can give birth to as many as seven kits but it’s very rare.
How long does it take for a chinchilla to mature?
Chinchillas can reach sexual maturity as early as 10 weeks so it’s important to separate males and females to avoid inbreeding. You want to avoid inbreeding because kits could be born with health complications and birth defects.
How to keep a baby warm?
Problems occur when the litter is too large for sufficient care of all kits. You can help keep kits warm by placing a heating pad under the cage so only one area is affected. You’ll need to monitor to make sure the kits aren’t being overheated.
How long do you have to wait to wean a baby?
Kits can be weaned from their mothers as early as 8 weeks, but it’s suggested that you wait until kits are 12 weeks and weigh 200 grams before separating from mom.
Can you move a chinchilla to a bigger cage?
You can move them to a larger cage once they have been weaned from their mother. Having a good chinchilla cage in place before you need it is a prudent things to have if you know babies are on the way.
Can a kit run after birth?
Unlike most newborns, kits are active shortly after birth. They can run and climb and will injure themselves if they fall from a high distance. For this reason, you should stick to a simple single-story cage with wire bars no wider than ½”.
Do chinchillas produce milk?
Mother chinchillas usually produce enough milk to keep her babies fed but if the litter is too large or she has trouble with her supply, you will need to try hand feeding kits. Hand feeding involves feeding kits homemade formula designed to replicate a mother’s milk using a syringe.
Why is it important to make sure that your baby chinchilla does not escape?
It is very important to make sure that your small baby chinchilla do not escape because they do not know how to take care of themselves when they are out of the cage. This is especially when your house is not yet chinchilla proof.
How long do chinchillas breastfeed?
This is because their digestive systems are not strong enough to take in adult food. They will usually continue to breastfeed for 3-4 weeks before starting to eat hay and pellets. If you intend to adopt a chinchilla baby, you’ll need to take extra precaution.
What are some examples of chinchillas?
Examples of such issues may include broken limbs, ear infection, eye cataracts, etc.
Can you separate a baby chinchilla from its parent?
With the exception of its own parent, if you have other existing adult chinchillas in your house, it is best that you separate the chinchilla baby in another cage for the time being. This is to prevent accidents like biting or adult chinchillas jumping onto the kit and injure it.
Can chinchillas climb up?
It is important that you do not install ledges or standing points that are too high in the cage. The baby chinchilla might be able to climb up, but jumping down is a different story. Try to arrange everything on the ground level. If you want to install fanciful ledges, wait till they grow older.
Can chinchillas fall?
Chinchillas love to climb and jump naturally. But that does not mean that they will not fall and get injured. In serious cases, a fall might even be fatal. This is especially true for a chinchilla baby whose feet are not strong enough to withstand the impact of a fall.
Can chinchillas be treated over the counter?
Most symptoms can be treated with over the counter medication s. But because we are dealing with a baby chinchilla, the best advice to ensure the lifespan of this kit is to bring it to a vet. Read more about chinchilla lifespan in this post .
