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I need some advice about my Chinchilla's?

Apr 25, 2009 by Kat Pat | Posted in Other - Pets

I love my chins and they love treats! I feed them well. I feed them an all natural organic food. They love these Timothy Hay seed balls. They also love raisins. I know that they can eat some fruits and I like to make them mini "fruit salads" but what fruits can I give them? Are there anymore food items I can give them or anything around the house...treat wise?

Of course your chins love treats! Just like kids love candy bars! The question is, would you shovel candy bars into your kids mouths? No, of course you wouldn't. Part of being a good parent is providing a healthy diet for your kids. It's the same thing with chins. You need to be in control of their diet, to provide them with the healthiest diet you can.

First, the seed balls. Chins don't need, nor is it good for them to eat seeds. Nuts are the same. Nuts are too high in fat and can affect a chinchilla's liver as well. Another thing to stay away from. On top of those two things, there needs to be some kind of binding agent, which in pet store junk food tends to be honey. Not only can honey harbor botchulism, but it is also just another sugar.

Second, one raisin every week or two is fine, more than that? No. Chins do not digest sugar well at all. They are hind gut fermenters and too much sugar is not healthy for them, even "natural" sugars contained in fruits. There are people who will argue the fact that chins can handle fruits and vegetables, but the majority of the chinchilla community (especially here in the US) will overwhelmingly tell you no. No fruit salads. You could end up causing bloat in your chin and it's very, very hard for a chinchilla to recover from that. It's excruciatingly painful and it makes them go downhill very fast.

Safe treats: Bite sized, nonsugared shredded wheat; dried rosehips; the occasional cheerio; lots and lots of safe wood chews, i.e., apple, pear, cholla, manzanita, pecan, etc. For a complete list of chin safe woods, please see this list: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/sh owthread.php?t=34 Be sure that they are from a safe source (check the classifieds) and that they have been prepared carefully to make sure it is safe. You can also stuff a toilet paper tube with hay. It's a toy and it's a treat.

People assume that their chins need to have their diets spiced up, when in actuality, it is the human who needs it spiced. There are two things to remember with a chinchilla -- don't kill your chin with kindness and KISS (keep it simple stupid). Good quality pellets (Nutrena, Tradition, Mazuri, APD, Oxbow), good quality hay (not pet store hay), and fresh water daily. These are the things your chin NEEDS. Anything other than that, you need. A very basic diet is the healthiest one for your chin.

Another important thing to remember: If it comes from a pet store, it most likely is junk. Pet stores are out to make money. They don't care of it's healthy for your pet. So just because it has a picture of a chinchilla on it, it doesn' t make it safe. The only thing I could recommend from a pet store are certain types of beeding, hay and pellets (Oxbow and Mazuri). That's it. Anything else, I steer all my customers away from.

If you would like to ask more questions about chins, and get answers from owners/breeders/rescues, please join http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com. There is a wealth of information and experience on forum that is available to chin owners. Read through the FAQ's on safe treats, and read through the link I provided above for safe woods.

mewithoutYou - Timothy Hay (Live)

(Real at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA on July 11, 2009) mewithoutYou - Timothy Hay On a stone-cold December, just before dawn As the sun said &#39 ...

New Timothy Hay Update

www.farmerdave.biz this is 2nd cut hay. scrutinize the website for hay. its fresh good hay not like the dry, hard stems and exensive hay at petsores ...

mewithoutYou - Timothy Hay (Sleepover Shows)

see more of our videos at sleepovershows.com

So Many Mobile Applications To Choose From, So Little Time

by Timothy Hay | Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

As the offerings in Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) App Store swell to nearly a million free and paid applications, the abundance and variety of apps is both a blessing and a curse for consumers.

While there is an app to match nearly every desire, finding exactly what you want in the App Store can be a daunting project–so much so that it’s now considered good business simply steering users toward what they’re after.

Appolicious Inc., which uses a Web-based service to do just that, has raised $1.5 million from Apex Partners, after having raised a seed round of $500,000 from the same firm in May.

“In the real world, you just turn to your buddy and say, ‘What’s the best app for football scores?’ That’s what Appolicious is,” Chief Executive Alan Warms said.

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