Hi Kirby! Welcome to the Chinchilla Club Forum and to the Wonderful World of Chinchillas!
The URL cadillactaste listed is
not to tell you where to go for your chinchilla food, but was to ask you
if the food pictured there is what you are giving your chinchilla.
There are many places to get chinchilla food that is good for your chinchilla. Personally, I recommend the one Ralph and Barbara Shoots offer on their site: (
http://www.shootschinchilla.com/miscellaneous-for-sale.htm) , Traditions Chinchilla Diet (
http://www.chinchillas.com/estore/detail.aspx?ID=1) [there are other websites that also offer Traditions also], Oxbow Chinchilla Diet (
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16624 ON Line shopping) OR check for a store/vet in your area that carries Oxbow Chinchilla Products at:
http://oxbowanimalhealth.com/contact/find_products OR Mazuri Chinchilla Diet (
https://www.mazuri.com/Home.asp?Products=2&Opening=2) OR Mazuri can sometimes be found in the better pet stores and in some WalMarts. ...
The order I have them listed is the personal preference in which I would want to use them. I'm very picky my little ones get the best I can give them, so anything I recommend I would use for my own little ones.
... We got our chinchilla about 2 years ago at our local humane society. He was said to be about 4 years old at the time. Ever since we got him he has had problems with drooling. We have taken him to the vet many times. He has been on antibiotics, had x-rays,and he even has had his teeth filed down and some rotten ones removed. He always ends up still drooling. He has never been a chewer. (We had a chinchilla before and she chewed everything) We have tried lava stones, mineral wheels,wooden blocks and sticks, basically everything you can find for a chinchilla to chew, and he does not like any of it. He also does not eat his hay. We feed him Kaytee chinchilla fiesta. Has any one had problems like this with their chinchilla or have any suggestions? We love him dearly and want him to be better.
Bless you for taking this little chin into your home to care for it.
But, I hate to be the one to tell you ... More than likely the former owner did not take proper care of this little one and once they discovered he had tooth problems (malocclusion), they also found out how much it would cost to keep him and decided they did not want to put out that kind of money and dropped him off at the local humane society.
{
The former owners did not deserve to have the honor of having such a precious little one.}
A chinchilla with tooth problems as severe as you list, has problems that will probably never go away. This will be an uphill battle for the rest of his life. Even with a good chinchilla diet, there will be certain things that you will probably need to do.
#1) Change the chinchilla pellet brand a.s.a.p. to one that does not have treats in it. Your little one is not only eating the treat part of the food you are giving him now because it 'tastes better' ... but also because it is softer. When a little one has the tooth problems yours has, it's gums and teeth stay sore and tender. If you have ever had a cracked tooth, a sensitive tooth or something stuck between your teeth ... you know how that hurts and you know you would not want to try to eat something hard, because it would make it hurt worse. Sooooo ... you will probably have to grind the pellets to dust, then add just enough water, yogurt or goat's milk or pedialyte to it to be able to form little balls [about the size of raisins] and give it to him to eat. If you make several, just store the extra ones in an airtight container in the refrigerator and take them out as needed.
#2) He needs the nutrients from the hay ... you can also grind them in a food processor or blender and add that to the pellet mix OR make separate little raisin-sized footballs of the hay to give to him.
#3) The vet might recommend Critical Care for your little one. I make my own 'critical care' by putting the alfalfa hay, a good grade of chinchilla pellets, and natural oats (from a farm store) in the blender to pulverize it, {do not remove the lid until it has all fallen to the bottom of the container or you will have a green cloud of chinfood in your kitchen
} allow it to cool first and then, add acidophilus .... just be sure to refrigerate the acidophilus bottle after opening ... and the homemade 'critical-care'.
#4) Treats that are good for him and will help him are: dried papaya, dried rose hips, a nibble or two of a fresh banana or fresh kiwi or fresh papaya (
fresh - not canned).
#5) He need calcium for his teeth ... a cuttle bone [found in the bird part of the pet store] can be used ... just break off pieces that he can hold in his hand ... if he refuses these, I would add a little to the mix above in the blender
before adding the acidophilus.
#6) If he will not use the wood chew sticks ... use Popsicle sticks with yogurt or a
tiny bit of Nutri-Cal [in the dog and cat section of the pet store] smeared on one end of it. Do not use very much ... Nutri-Cal has lots of vitamins in it, but it also has lots of sugar in it ...
use only a tiny bit of it.
Keep us posted on how things go!
Jo Ann
P. S. I see Debbie and I were posting and looking up things at the same time, so I may have repeated some of the same advice .
