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[BambiLove]

so i adopted Bambi from a rescue place, and the people there gave me food and hay for him. I know that the food is Oxbow Deluxe, but i have no idea what brand is the hay. The lady there just gave me a full bag of hay in a paperbag, and i've heard that some hay is not good for chin. I've been keeping the hay under my table for more than a month, and some of it turned brown, so im wondering if that's bad for him? And i saw you guys talking about alfafa and timothy hay, can someone explain to me what's the different between those 2 and which one is better? What brand is the best? And should i continue feeding bambi the hay that they gave me or buy new hay for him?

one more question, do chinchillas sleep a lot? All Bambi does is sleep everytime i see him, and he wakes up sometimes to eat and drink and run a little, but he sleeps for most of the time, im wondering if thats normal

one last thing, i've been using newpaper and white wood shavings for bedding, and sometimes bambi eats the newspaper =[ i need the newspaper under the shavings because theres wires under it so the shavings would just fall into the tray under it. And is white wood ok for chinchilla? i didnt see it on the no-no list and i didn't do a lot of research about it because i was in a hurry. thanks


-Tiennie

[chinclub]

First of all, congratulations on your new chinchilla!!

Most hays are safe for chinchillas but each one has different nutrients so some are healthier than others.  Timothy and Alfalfa are the most commonly fed hays as well as Orchard Grass.  Timothy is a true grass hay while Alfalfa is actually a legume.  Alfalfa is much richer so there is a chance of over feeding it.  Many people choose to feed a blend of Alfalfa and Timothy so they can get the best of both without overfeeding the Alfalfa.

Chinchillas are most active at night so they tend to sleep all day.  Its perfectly normal for your chinchilla to sleep a lot as long as he is eating, drinking, and pooping normally.  He is probably partying all night while you sleep. 

Newspaper is not a good idea because you don't want him ingesting the ink.  You might consider placing a baking pan or dish in the cage with some bedding rather than placing it all along the bottom.  The wire won't hurt him as long as it is 1/2 x 1/2 inch openings and no larger.  Also, some cages are built in a way that you can remove the bottom piece of wire with some wire cutters and have it sit directly in the pan.  You just need to study your cage and make sure it can stand strong without the bottom wire support.

[chinclub]

Oops, forgot the wood question.  I'm guess the white wood is either pine or aspen.  Both are safe.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Hmm white wood shavings, yes would have to be pine pr aspen I hope. I have never heard of using others as pet shavings. But in regards to wood, we call poplar, gum, birch and other secondary woods in furniture"white wood"

The hay should be fine, I'd feed what the breeder gave me.

And you can get end rolls of news print from your local paper that has not been printed on.Runs around $5.00 here.And there is a great heavy cardboard tube in the centre.

[jmdebb]

hi congrats on your little ones!!

jean