Problem with food... Where do I get it?

[Chinnylove13]

 So I went to Petland to get chinchilla food, And I saw a guy grab a packet of chin food, but then he put it back saying it had fruit in there. I checked, and it did, but it was DRIED. Is that still bad for chins? Where i live, all the stores sell the same brands.

Thanks,

Lisa

[Jamie]

Jun 5, 2015 0:04:10 GMT -5 Chinnylove13 said:

 So I went to Petland to get chinchilla food, And I saw a guy grab a packet of chin food, but then he put it back saying it had fruit in there. I checked, and it did, but it was DRIED. Is that still bad for chins? Where i live, all the stores sell the same brands.

Thanks,

Lisa

Lisa... fruit , seeds, and nuts are NOT good for chinchillas , he was wise to have it put back.
There are several reasons why they are aren't good but we can start with the most obvious,,, chinchillas will eat treats, and those things
and leave the good stuff causing a bad diet, even malnutrition.

You would be surprised to see what Coco looks like without the fur,,, an animal so small that look about the size of a big mouse or small rat
very small rat. The fur makes them look tons bigger. My chinchilla Lucky used to actually make it under doors with a space about a 1/4 inch
Another reason why he could do that is a chinchilla spine is NOT like ours, its flexible.

Chinchillas have tiny digestive tracts and like horses they are hind gut fermenters , they process their food later, and nuts, fruits etc
can really do damage. They can cause fatty liver disease ( nuts) and diabetes and tooth problems as well.

While a TINY piece of fruit wont kill them as a treat once in a great while ..and I am in fact talking about dried fruit
there are many healthy alternatives so we usually don't think of using fruit in any form to be healthy.

Petsmart carries OXBOW chinchilla food, and Petco carries Mazuri, which are both top of the line and healthy
Other food that is really good would be found at bigger feed stores and would be MANNA SHO PRO..which is SHOW quality food
for Rabbits. There are a few other good quality foods in the US.
In Europe you can get Oxbow from Oxbow international online and a few vendors have it. There is also science selective I think
they call it as well as Bephar food which is great quality.

Oxbow can be VERY expensive at Petsmart , so I buy it at 1/2 price from Dr Fosters and Smith or even Amazon

I got through about 20 pounds a month.

What a great question, very appreciated. Yes please get good quality pellets, no treats in the food.

Hay is the most important thing for our chinnies.. please make sure you always have great hay available

cool

jamie

[Chinnylove13]

Thanks so much Jamie, but I live in Canada. We do have a Petco and Petsmart though, so I'll make sure to check them out.


Thanks,

Lisa

[Jamie]

Jun 5, 2015 8:36:10 GMT -5 Chinnylove13 said:

Thanks so much Jamie, but I live in Canada. We do have a Petco and Petsmart though, so I'll make sure to check them out.


Thanks,

Lisa

Some of our greatest and long time members live in Canada Lisa... If you find any products difficult to find
Ill go on facebook and find them. Forums like this used to be so busy we couldn't keep up
we had 5 people checking ( moderators) 24 hours a day, but since facebook all forums have seen a drop in action here.

We do have a facebook page for Luckys Place but its only to make announcements and emergencies, we dont monitor the page
or really engage in anything there.

I have played / toured with bands all over Canada , doing the Montreal Jazz festival for 10 years in a row
and have been all over the beautiful cool country. You are a lucky person to live there

and yepppppppppppers you can get great chinchilla supplies there

Jamie

[Chinnylove13]

Thanks, we are  going to the pet store tomorrow, so I'll be looking through the isles.


Thanks soooo much for all the advice you've ever given me.

Thanks,

Lisa

[Jamie]

Jun 5, 2015 18:11:57 GMT -5 Chinnylove13 said:

Thanks, we are  going to the pet store tomorrow, so I'll be looking through the isles.


Thanks soooo much for all the advice you've ever given me.

Thanks,

Lisa

Lisa I know you already adore Coco and she you
Those of us "chinnie " people know stuff that the public couldn't get. It borders on insanity sometimes
But cool too

I have had the great pleasure of meeting people from Wonder of Chinchillas .. like the old co owner who lives in the UK
when we met we were instantly family
and funny when we looked at the ripped wall paint and the destruction we both called it "chinnie art!" LOL

Its our pleasure to help you , and we are always learning, each one of us.

This forum is unlike others where there is bickering that happens,.
its a place thats safe, where we help each other, enjoy each other
and Im really glad you're here with Coco... we all are

Enjoy the pet store... and remember we have our forum rescue board and the rescues all have stores that can save you a lot of money
I buy about 80 percent of my stuff online or through rescues

but having a great relationship with a pet store is magnificent
just remember always THEY are stores to sell products, and in some cases to sell animals
they are not there for our animals health , though if you get lucky you could get some proper info from them

No exercise balls, no yogurt treats, no usual junk ( and even dangerous) stuff big pet stores sell

have a great one

Jamie

[piratesmom]

Lisa, I live in Germany and they have almost nothing for Chinchillas here, at least not in the usual petshops, but in the internet I found some good ones, also German shops, but specialized.
For example the good Oxbow products I just can get it ONE single internet shop, that is actually just for rabbits!
Since this Lady had as only one Oxbow products at all, I once wrote her, if she could also order the Oxbow Chinchilla pellets and she did.
I know another shop, for all kinds of dried herbs and it's another internet shop again, where I sometimes order the boys favorite treats ... but although I always look in the regular petshops and sometimes mix the foods, when I found somthing suitable, Im still mainly on the Oxbow products.
Its sure worth the try to google a bit around for it, where it is best to find or not that expensive.


Hugs, Ilka

[Chinnylove13]

A big thanks to the both of you for all your help. I found some food at petsmart, and bought Coco a grass hut. She wont leave it alone now. I'm estimating  it will last 5-7 days. She had another one and she absolutely DESTROYED it!!!

Hugs,

Lisa

[SwirleyS]

Hi Lisa, I live in Canada and found a great place to purchase food and other supplies for chinchillas. She charges only the Canada Post rates. Look up zoey and lily's toy box. Hope that helps