Treats for Your Chinchilla

Chinchillas would also crave for treats and supplements. Since a pet chinchilla is special to their owner, it's not surprising that they would want to reward their animal with a treat. However, the owner must know that this can only be done in moderation. Too many of these can cause the chinchilla's sensitive digestive system to go out of punch. Not only will they gain weight, their lifespan would be reduced.   

Chinchillas should be given very little in the way of extra treats -- never more than a teaspoon a day. Cubes of Timothy or Alfalfa can be bought directly from pet stores. Nuts can be given in moderation as treats. . If you're going to give your chinchilla treat, give them raisins. This is something that chinchillas love to eat. Raisins and dried fruit are favourites, but high in sugar so should be fed in very small quantities, and infrequently. Raisins can be used as treats for taming chinchillas, but you can make a raisin go a long way by cutting it into several small pieces They should only be given three to four raisins a week. If the chinchilla is a baby or a young one, half a raisin will do. Try not to feed more that 3 or 4 raisins per week.  

Rose hips are another recommended treat as they are high in vitamin C and other nutrients (check your health food store). Most commercial treats for chinchillas will be too high and sugar and fat and are best avoided. There is much conflicting advice about what sort of treats are okay; check with your vet if you are unsure about anything you are feeding your chinchilla. 

Make sure that you consistently feed your chinchilla with the same brand of supplements. Their digestive system tends to get easily irritated with sudden changes. 

Though we don't normally think of twigs and branches as anything special, your chinchilla will likely view them as a terrific treat. Twigs from apple trees and other safe trees can be given to your chinchilla. Make sure any wood you use has not been treated with pesticides. 

Chinchillas also like fruits. You can add carrots, apples, pears and bananas as a treat to their diet. A raisin or two (remember they have small tummies) would be a great treat once a week.  

It is ok to give your chinchilla treats but keep in mind that these pets are nocturnal so make sure you give them treats during the day when you can catch them up so they will learn to associate you with a treat.  

You can also let your chinchilla chew on un-splintered wood treats, these are good for their teeth and one or two a week will not hurt. If you give them something to gnaw on, let it be white pine or apple wood.  These wood types are good for their teeth and won't cause damage.  Pine boards can also serve as a bottom platform for a chinchilla's feet when they're walking on a wire mesh material in their cage.  Any other type of wood may not be suitable for them. 

Stay away from cedar, plum, plywood, cherry, fir, spruce and any other wood that can be harmful to their teeth. If you're not sure which wood type is good for them and which isn't, check your local pet store. They can assist you with your chinchilla's needs. Sometimes your chinchilla will let you know it wants a wooden treat by clasping the cage in its mouth and it will bang the cage.  

Make sure you buy the Aspen wood chips because chinchillas tend to eat their bedding and pine and cedar chips can make them sick.   

Dried fruit, without sulphite preservatives, is fine.  Examples of this are a blueberry, a grape or a tiny apple slice.  If your chinchilla has diarrhoea, you can give them wheat (spoon shredded size) or rolled oats minus the preservatives.  Raw, black oil sunflower seeds that are used for feeding birds are good for the animal's outer coat.  You should not feed your animal cabbage, corn or lettuce.  These would be heavy on the digestive system.   For a good treats for your chinchilla, try National Geographic, Forage Mix Chinchilla Treat size: 10 Oz .

When feeding them, the treats should be fed separately from anything else, including pellets.  If you mix them, they will not eat the pellets and just go for the treats instead.