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[LYChinchillas]

Hey guys! I just updated my blog with an entry all about what I feed my chins. If you have a spare moment, feel free to read it - and to agree, or disagree with the points. http://lychinchillas.com/2014/11/12/the-ly-chinchillas-diet/

Thanks

Lisa

[kageri]

I try to only suggest the more mainstream foods for treats but on an international forum we have discussed small amounts of fresh foods that would be similar to the wild diet and I have a supplement of 1part BOSS (sunflower seeds), 2 parts flax seed, and 1part wheat. I actually fill these feeders every other day with pellets in the bin and a layer of supplement in the tray underneath. http://brisky.com/image/cache/data/856-500x500.JPG .  They seem to have removed them and the information from their site since my last order but the feeders are really small.  They barely hold 2 days worth of pellets for a pair of chins.  I save the oats for handfed treats.  They are fairly high fat and the sunflower seeds are high fat so I use the wheat instead.  We tried the occasional almond slivers but they wouldn't eat them.  Nuts have some healthy fats in them.  Important omega 3 fatty acids, especially in walnuts, fat soluble vitamins that are unstable in hay, and useful proteins so they have merit but I don't suggest much of any of that to the average person.  You never know what they will decide to call a treat or supplement size portion and most groups will threaten hanging if you investigate any seed or nut.  I already got flamed to death on chins and hedgies for simply questioning a certain pellet the ranchers like to suggest.  I did not feel I should feed or suggest feeding something with unnamed ingredients (forage products), byproducts, and animal protein along with molasses rather high on the ingredient list.  It's all the stuff everyone in other animal nutrition areas say to avoid.     So yea.. once bitten, twice shy.  Someone else can start the threads that contain things other than mainstream diets. 

[LYChinchillas]

I try to only suggest the more mainstream foods for treats but on an international forum we have discussed small amounts of fresh foods that would be similar to the wild diet and I have a supplement of 1part BOSS (sunflower seeds), 2 parts flax seed, and 1part wheat. I actually fill these feeders every other day with pellets in the bin and a layer of supplement in the tray underneath. http://brisky.com/image/cache/data/856-500x500.JPG .  They seem to have removed them and the information from their site since my last order but the feeders are really small.  They barely hold 2 days worth of pellets for a pair of chins.  I save the oats for handfed treats.  They are fairly high fat and the sunflower seeds are high fat so I use the wheat instead.  We tried the occasional almond slivers but they wouldn't eat them.  Nuts have some healthy fats in them.  Important omega 3 fatty acids, especially in walnuts, fat soluble vitamins that are unstable in hay, and useful proteins so they have merit but I don't suggest much of any of that to the average person.  You never know what they will decide to call a treat or supplement size portion and most groups will threaten hanging if you investigate any seed or nut.  I already got flamed to death on chins and hedgies for simply questioning a certain pellet the ranchers like to suggest.  I did not feel I should feed or suggest feeding something with unnamed ingredients (forage products), byproducts, and animal protein along with molasses rather high on the ingredient list.  It's all the stuff everyone in other animal nutrition areas say to avoid.     So yea.. once bitten, twice shy.  Someone else can start the threads that contain things other than mainstream diets. 

Lol! Yeah, writing about slightly controversial issues definitely feels like venturing into hot water.  At the end of the day, I feel like most owners suggest the safest, most mainstream route for chin diet and care, because you're right - no one knows which snippet of your suggestion people will choose to embellish and carry out in less responsible ways. Oh well - it's like raising and feeding children; methods of raising them are high debated, and there's no one right way (although people will INSIST that there is). 

[GrayRodent]

Don't worry too much about controversy here. We invite everyone to discuss chinchilla topics. If anyone gets abusive there will be consequences. I check this board no less than 5 times a day.
Thank you for your contributions on our forum.

[GrayRodent]

I know treats get abused and that too much of anything, even if it is good, becomes toxic at some point. Personally I'm always skeptical about things unless it is proven with animals actually being on the diet for several years without issues, and preferably over several chinchilla generations. Even more preferably is to have a good necropsy at the end of each generation. If something is safe it will prove to be safe.

For regular pet owners I'll always recommend things that have been long established to be safe even if it's a mediocre product. Typically their pets are companions and most pet owners don't understand how to monitor and care for pets if something does go awry which has led to chinchilla losses in the past.

For people who want to experiment I see nothing wrong with experimenting when there are good reasons behind the experimentation. Especially when the owner is well educated, understands the risks and knows how to monitor and manage problems that may result. It can lead to better diets and better health for everyone's pet especially when it proves to be beneficial.

For someone who is not informed the loss of a pet or complications, even if they are not related, may become so misinterpreted that nothing good will come of it. That could explain some of the flame wars you've observed.

I've read the LY chinchillas article. I absolutely love the photography. I think the content is good. Personally I'll feed my chinchilla a diet that is much more basic. He is healthy and at a healthy weight and maybe when he gets old and frail I'll have to add more in to coax him to eat more or increase his available calories. It's nice to know I have some good healthy options.

As far as tooth decay I don't think that's a problem in the long run if you give occasional treats. Chinchillas teeth grow rapidly so it takes a constant supply of sugar of cause problems. Diets that give chinchillas a constant supply of dried fruit (like popular deluxe diets) have been known to do that. Also there are owners who go overboard on treats and they are constantly giving them junk because their pets beg them for food and they have no self control to refuse them.

Things like giving your chinchilla your nut based snack mix every day with potato chips and that kind of thing does cause liver problems where fat will build up in the liver causing permanent damage. If someone like that had a dog it probably wouldn't be very healthy but that kind of diet is certain death to a chin. Lipidosis is scary because the damage can be cumulative.

[LYChinchillas]

  Thanks Chris for taking the time to read the article, and I'm glad you like the images ^_^ I agree; moderation is key and it's important to be strict with treats at all times, and limit quantities when giving. You're right about most regular pet owners not keeping an obsessive eye on their chins and sometimes letting their standard of care be lower than it should for such particular animals.

Yeah, I honestly wish there was more actual scientific research regarding chinchillas. I have really hard times finding information on them that isn't based solely on personal opinion. Yes, we know about health issues due to veterinary care and pet ownership.. but I think it would be awesome if there was a center for learning all about modern chinchillas - such as intelligence testing, physical records (like for longest tail, highest jump, etc.), and health studies for chinchillas. I think it would be really helpful and find it odd that chins are so poorly documented.

[GrayRodent]

Those would be cool things to do. It would be hard because people would have to travel to the center with their pets. They could measure those things at home but there would be no quality control for the measurements.

Something that could be done though, if the funds were there to do it, is to have local veterinarians do a necrospy for members who have lost chinchillas, and conduct a survey about various aspects of diet and care and ship samples off to be tested by a skilled histologist. The reports could then be made available to qualified researchers who could mine the data and formulate the surveys. That would be as close to scientific as you could get. Otherwise the best you can have is to take web surveys from pet owners and hope they are accurate. Either that or people who have experience with different things who are apt to share it. Which is pretty much how this site is run now.