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[Pikachu]

Hi, I just got my Chinchilla seven days ago, she is absolutely fine ( I believe ) as her eyes are clear, she eats, drinks plenty of water, and exercises and is extremely curious. However, she doesn't chew that much, she chews her food, but I brought her lava rocks so she could chew on them for her teeth, and she didn't pay any attention to them, so I got her wooden chew block thingys, the moment I gave her one, she nibbled on it for a bit, but now she is completely ignoring them again! Once in a while I see her take up her bedding (aspen bedding) and give it a little chew, but she throws it down after a moment. I am just wondering why she isn't chewing that much. The only thing that has changed a little is her eating habits. The first few days I got her she gobbled up all her food, now she eats a good portion of it, but not as much and not as fast. I don't know if this is just because she knows she's going to get food from me, so therefore she stopped gobbling up as much food as she could.  Anyway, any advice would be apperciated!

[Petco Chinchillas]

First, WELCOME TO THE CHINCHILLA CLUB!!!!!!!

 Well, when I got my chinchilla (a few weeks ago) he didn`t really chew much, but after about a week he was chewing everything!!  My chinchilla ate a whole lot at first but then he slowed down on eating and didn`t eat as much, that was because I was not feeding him as much as I should have.  Then, when I started feeding him the right amount he left some because he was used to being fed the first amount I gave him. Could that be the problem? Could she be getting full by what she is eating and doesn`t have room in her tummy for chewing? (They do eat bits of some of their chew toys) Are you feeding her too much?  Have you changed her food amount? Are you feeding her treats?  If so, how much treats?  Maybe, she is getting her chewing from eating. She may not really want to chew right now because her teeth aren`t bothering her.  Hope this helps.

             That`s my guess to this question!!

  Jessica L.

[Pikachu]

Thank you for your advice.  I do give my chin (Pikachu) the right amount of food, and I only give her one raisin a day. She does eat a lot of her hay though, which is probably filling her up and helping her teeth.

[Jo Ann]

   Welcome to the Wonderful World of Chinchillas!  And welcome to the Chinchilla Club Forum.   

Good answers Petco Chinchillas.   

A few questions answered are needed to give you other possible answers.      Each chinchilla is different, no two are exactly alike, but there are things that will usually fit the bill for most chinchillas under certain circumstances.   

#1  Did you get her from a breeder or a pet store?

#2  Are you feeding her the same brand of food she was getting before you got her?

#3  What brand of chinchilla pellets are you feeding her?

#4  What type of hay (Alfalfa or Timothy) are you feeding her?

#5  Did she have chew sticks and a lava stone where she was before?

#6  How old is she?

#7  How much food do you give her daily?  Pellets?  Hay? Treats?

   Jo Ann

#6  Was she housed with other chinchillas before you got her?

[Pikachu]

1. I got my chinchilla from Petsmart.
2. Unfortunately, when I was buying her food, I didn't think to ask what kind they were feeding her. But, her droppings are the right size, so I'm assuming that I'm feeding her the right brand, because she hasn't been constapaited (sorry if that's spelt wrong). 
3. Nutriphrase gold? I think thats what it is. (I'll check to see if I'm correct tomorrow as I just got in from work and I don't feel like walking down two flights of stairs and waking my dog up).
4. I got timothy hay for her.
5. She did have lava stones, I saw some in her cage at the pet store, but none of them were being chewed on, or had any bite marks on them.
6. I'm not sure how old she is, I have to go to petsmart again to return something I don't need, so I'll be sure to ask. None of the people who were helping me was sure how old she was. However, she was the smallest of the other two she was living with and she's very small. She fits in my palm easily.
7. I give her a tablespoon and a half a day. And about two handfuls of hay, one in the morning and one at night.
8. She was housed with two other chinchillas at the pet store.

[Jo Ann]

 

Nutriphrase Gold is full of treats/fruits.  If you place a bowl of spinach and a bowl of icecream in front of a child and give them the choice as to which one they want ... they will usually choose the icecream (a treat) and leave the spinach ... the same with chinchillas.  They need a good high quality chinchilla pellet diet that does not have additives.  Shoots, Traditions, Mazuri and Oxbow are the only one I personally recommend.

Some chins naturally chew more than others.  I have some that will go through a lava stone in two weeks, while others still have some left 3 months later.  When they do not chew very much, or seem to prefer to chew softer parts of their food, it could also be due to sensitive teeth ... something only a vet would be able to help you with.  Tooth problems in a chinchilla are not minor, they can be devastating.  Chinchillas need, at all times in their cages, a lava stone, pine chew sticks and hay to help keep their teeth worn down to the proper size.

Sounds like you have a fairly young chinchilla, and I doubt seriously that Petsmart will be able to give you a birth date for the little one.  National chain stores get their chinchillas, as a rule, from a distributor, who buys them in bulk from various breeders/ranchers. 

Most chinchillas will eat between 1 and 2 tablespoons of pellets each day, over time you learn just about how much they need.  I always make sure their food dish is never empty and always empty the food that is left over from the day before.


It is always possible that the other chins she was living with were keeping her away from the food and once she knew it would be there all the time (with no one to keep her from getting it) ... she simply slowed down on the amount she was eating.

   Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

My chins hardly touch the lava rocks but love the small animal mineral chew blocks. They are like big hunks of chalk that you can attach to the cage. I break them up into small pieces and give them sometimes too.
She does sound pretty young so you may find as she gets bigger she'll chew more, and or everything.
Welcome to the world of chinchilla and the Club.

[Pikachu]

Thank you for the advice everyone. Pikachu (my Chin) chews on tons of hay, so I believe that is wearing down her teeth, she also loves paper (but I try to keep it away from her), I give her toilet paper rolls to chew on, but if she starts eating it, I take it away from her, and she also loves the moldings (but I obviously can't let her chew that!) so, she is chewing quite a bit more. 

[Petco Chinchillas]

Good.  Chewing just takes time!!

[Pikachu]

I guess it does.

[ahappycamper]

Thank you for the advice everyone. Pikachu (my Chin) chews on tons of hay, so I believe that is wearing down her teeth, she also loves paper (but I try to keep it away from her), I give her toilet paper rolls to chew on, but if she starts eating it, I take it away from her, and she also loves the moldings (but I obviously can't let her chew that!) so, she is chewing quite a bit more. 

Pikachu, how do you know when Pikachu is actually eating the things she chews on? Personally, when I see Po has chewed half of his lava rock, it is impossible to find the rest of the bits of the lava rock, so I assume he just swallows and eats it.

[Jo Ann]

   Chinchillas gnaw on the lava stones ... the rock/pumas comes off in a powder form.  The 'powder' can be mixed in with the bedding, be in the chins coat (lava stones are made of the same thing as the dust bath dust) and/or small amounts may even be ingested.  If they are ingested, as a rule, it is in very small amounts and will pass through their system.  I have even seen some chins that will get their dust bath dust in their mouth, then grind their teeth.  (A healthy chin with good teeth is his own dentist.     )

   Jo Ann

[Pikachu]

Thank you for the advice everyone. Pikachu (my Chin) chews on tons of hay, so I believe that is wearing down her teeth, she also loves paper (but I try to keep it away from her), I give her toilet paper rolls to chew on, but if she starts eating it, I take it away from her, and she also loves the moldings (but I obviously can't let her chew that!) so, she is chewing quite a bit more. 

Pikachu, how do you know when Pikachu is actually eating the things she chews on? Personally, when I see Po has chewed half of his lava rock, it is impossible to find the rest of the bits of the lava rock, so I assume he just swallows and eats it.

Well, I know because she puts the toilet paper roll down and starts chewing, swallows, then goes for another bite. If she does it too much, I take it away from her. But she usually just chews on everything.