Question:
Hi,
I have a friend who has a new miniature chinchilla. She would like to know what exactly what they eat so that she can make sure that it will stay healthy and be happy. It does have a lot of excercise but she needs to know what to feed it and care for it in order to keep her healthy. The miniature chinchilla is named Chi-Chi. She is quite a beauty and very loving.
Please help my friend out it is her first miniature chinchilla. I do know about hampsters and what they eat. Is the diet simular to a hampster's diet?
Thank you,
Vickie


Answer:
Didn't the breeder tell her what to feed? Feed a good quality chinchilla pellets such as Mazuri, Oxbow, American Pet Diner, Tradition etc. Don't forget hay such as timothy.
There is no such thing as miniature chincihillas. There are undersized chinchillas, however. There are dwarf chinchillas but they are rare and do not look like normal chinchillas.


Answer:
And keep treats to a minimum. Make sure it has access to fresh clean water. What kind of food is she currently feeding it? And yes I agree with Brenda it sounds like just a small chinchilla. How old is it? Maybe it's just a young one.

Carleen


Answer:
She got it from a friend and it is still a young one. I have to ask her what it is also known as. I forgot what it is also known as. But that was what her friend said it was. It looks like a chinchilla but miniature in size. I have to ask her again.

Thank you,

Vickie


Answer:
Hi,

It is still a baby. I couldn't correct the mistake that I made, saying that it looked like a normal chinchilla. It doesn't look like a normal chinchilla. It has grown a little but it will not grow much bigger. It is much smaller than a normal chinchilla.

Thank you,

Vickie


Answer:
Can you post pictures?


Answer:
It's important to feed the little guy (or gal) the same diet he was being fed at the breeders/petstore. If it's a terrible brand of food, slowly switch him over to the better diet. Chins should get plain pellets with no idea fruit or seed.


Answer:
Almost sounds like they have a degu, people often call them mini chins Pictures will further clarify. There are plenty of care threads in this section if it is a chinchilla. Have you friend do a search.


Answer:
Originally Posted by Lixx
Almost sounds like they have a degu, people often call them mini chins
I was thinking the same thing Lizz


Answer:
GoldenRetriever, did your friend get everything sorted out? I would think that if she is one of the rare people to own a dwarf chinchilla, the breeder would have educated her about what to feed, etc.