Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[mb30]

heya...i was wondering if anyone uses arkvits as a supplement for their chins? if so, is the reptile arkvits the correct one to get? i was just reading up a little and many people seem to use this. i just want to know if the reptile arkvits is the correct one to get and to make sure they dont make arkvitsbspecifically for rodents. thanks in advance

[chinclub]

If you are feeding a quality chinchilla food and hay you do not need to use a supplement.

[GrayRodent]

I just looked up the ingredients in reptile arkvits. I think this could actually be poisonous to chinchillas because of the high phosphorous content. Keep in mind that the only thing chinchillas need to stay healthy is hay so pelleted diet is actually more than they need. Providing supplement on top of that can be very unhealthy.

What diet are you feeding now? Some types of pellets can be bad and others can be very good.

[mb30]

okay, i shall hold off on the arkvits.

I'm currently feeding beaphar chinchilla care plus and oxbow timothy hay.

a rose hip a day for treat as well as apple sticks and various other toys in the cage.

Nothing is wrong with my chin...i just saw quite a number of people talking about they give arkvits daily...a little pinch...to help with vitamin a and calcium intake.

[GrayRodent]

Sounds like your chin's diet is doing well enough. If your friends are giving arkvits for reptiles you could actually end up reducing their calcium because of the high phosphorus. You do want some there to increase calcium intake but in very high levels it can leach it out of the blood through the intestines from what I understand. If you want to supplement calcium it is effective and safer to use calcium powder and rely on the phosphorus that is supplied in their regular diet to do its work. I used a crushed up calcium supplement pill and gave it to my first chin when I suspected his diet was poor and insufficient before I got him. I only supplemented for a couple of weeks. Once the calcium is built up it usually stays in the system so you don't have to do it long term and a proper diet will maintain it.

[mb30]

yeah, i wouldnt say it was a necessity...i just thought it might of been a way to keep the ol chinchilla even healthier.