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[InfinityMoments]

So ever since i got my chinnie 4 years ago, she has always hated and barked at fresh fruit, or many wet things in general. I was just wondering why this was and if other chinchilla's reject fresh fruit too and only stick to dry food?

[GrayRodent]

PLEASE don't feed them fresh fruit. That is very bad for them. Chinchillas do best on a bland, dry diet. They need loose hay and alfalfa based pellets. The pellets should not be a mixture of things but plain pellets such as Oxbow or Mazuri. There are others I can recommend if you don't have access to those. Fruit and other treats should not be mixed in at all. Your chin probably feels sick after eating those things and may explain it. The texture alone can serious intestinal complications with chins.

They come from a desert climate and wet things are not part of their normal diet.

[InfinityMoments]

PLEASE don't feed them fresh fruit. That is very bad for them. Chinchillas do best on a bland, dry diet. They need loose hay and alfalfa based pellets. The pellets should not be a mixture of things but plain pellets such as Oxbow or Mazuri. There are others I can recommend if you don't have access to those. Fruit and other treats should not be mixed in at all. Your chin probably feels sick after eating those things and may explain it. The texture alone can serious intestinal complications with chins.

They come from a desert climate and wet things are not part of their normal diet.

Okay thank you, i just noticed online that some websites advise that you do feed them fresh fruit. She's never consumed any and has always stuck to the dry diet with pellets and hay, however does this mean i cannot give her dry fruit?

[GrayRodent]

Sadly there are many websites with really bad advice. I personally advise against dried fruit and things that are sugary. Rose hips are a decent alternative and proven to be safe if given in small quantities. And that would be one normal sized rose hip for a fully grown adult chin in one 24 hours. Kits should not be fed treats. The fact is that food treats really don't do anything to help your pet. A chinchilla will be plenty happy if you give it good care and attention and wood treats like apple wood sticks and safe things to chew on. Hay and a good pelleted diet is all a chinchilla needs to live a long and healthy life and provides complete nutrition. Providing other things displaces that nutrition and can affect their teeth and their digestive tract. Bad teeth in chinchillas are usually fatal and digestive issues can be very dangerous and time consuming to treat. It may sound alarmist but take a visit to our health board and you'll find how people learn the hard way over and over.

I hope you are enjoying your pet chinchilla. I think they are a lot of fun and they are very easy to take of. They are social animals and naturally enjoy attention and interaction without having to be coaxed by treats.

[mb30]

I'd just like to back up grayrodent here. No fresh fruit ever or dried fruit. People do give goji berries as an alternative to raisins but in all honesty....none of that is doing any favours for your chins health. You can get other herbs such as plantain and nettle and mix in with the hay to promote foraging though.

[prince_medion]

It's strange though as I have read reports of wild chinchillas eating cacti fruits in their natural range, and even tunneling through the cacti to get to the higher fruits.

[GrayRodent]

A cactus fruit, specifically that of the puya berteroniana, is nothing like cultivated fruits we are used to. Wet fruits wreak havoc on chinchilla digestion. Some have learned this as the cost of their pets.

[BLS Chins]

You also are forgetting the cactus only bear fruit once a yr and in very limited quantities (during the rainy time). With all the local animals trying to get the fruit, very few are actually eaten by chins.