The Best Chinchilla Pellets
Chinchillas have special dietary requirements, making it essential to choose foods that meet their specific nutritional needs. Feeding your chinchilla the right foods helps keep them healthy and their sensitive digestive system running smoothly. Chinchilla pellets mimic the foods found in their natural habitat, giving them what they need to grow and thrive. With so many chinchilla pellets to choose from, finding the right one for your pet might seem impossible. To help you with your search, we've rounded up some of the best chinchilla pellets the internet has to offer.
What to Look For
We kept the following three things in mind as we searched for the best chinchilla food on the market: Is it rich in high-fiber ingredients? Does it have enough roughage to help keep a chinchilla’s teeth in good shape? Does it have the nutritional content to keep a chinchilla healthy? During our research, we came across several chinchilla pellets that met these requirements to varying degrees. Our favorite was the chinchilla food from Kaytee, which contains an assortment of fruits and veggies for a well-rounded diet. We also really liked the chinchilla food from Oxbow, which is made with high-fiber ingredients to support healthy digestion. Read on to learn more about our top picks and discover the right pellets for your pet.
Kaytee Fiesta Chinchilla Pellets
Delicious and nutritious
Fruit, veggies, seeds, and grains come together in this chinchilla food from Kaytee to ensure your pet has a wide variety of nutrients in its diet. As a chinchilla owner, you’ve probably noticed how much they like to forage. This food gives them everything they need to engage in their favorite activity, including textures, colors, and shapes they’d encounter in their natural habitat. It also contains large pieces of food to support dental health and encourage your pet to chew. Plus, added ingredients, like omega-3 and probiotics, boost their overall health.
Pros:
- We love that this food works so for picky eaters, encouraging them to eat enough to stay healthy.
- This chinchilla food is packed with nutrients and ingredients like alfalfa grass that aid digestion.
Cons:
- Chinchillas might pick through the food to eat the treats and leave the nutritionally-dense pellets behind.
Oxbow All-Natural Chinchilla Pellets
Tasty treats
Chinchillas need a daily dose of pellets to stay healthy, and this chinchilla food from Oxbow has got them covered. The formula contains alfalfa meal and prebiotics to help keep their digestive system working optimally, plus protein, fiber, and fat to round out their diets. Moreover, it’s fortified with a blend of vitamins to ensure they get all the essential nutrients they need.
Pros:
- We were impressed by how enthusiastic chinchillas were about this food, gobbling it up without hesitation.
- These pellets can help chinchillas maintain their weight while promoting dental health.
Cons:
- It has no fun ingredients for chinchillas to pick out of the mix.
Supreme Petfoods Science Selective Chinchilla Pellets
Eat right
Keeping your chinchillas’ skin and coat looking good requires proper nutrition, and these pellets from Supreme Petfoods are ready to help. The nutritionally-balanced formula contains a mix of ingredients designed to promote digestive health and healthy teeth. They’re also easy to chew and digest, making them an excellent choice for older chinchillas that may struggle with eating hay.
Pros:
- We find this food to be a good choice for underweight chinchillas that aren’t used to a nutritious diet. It can help them gain weight within a few weeks.
- This food keeps chinchillas’ sensitive digestive tracks working, and even picky eaters seem to love it.
Cons:
- It’s only available in small batches, making it tough to stock up.
Mazuri Nutritionally Complete Chinchilla Pellets
Chomping good time
These omega-3-rich chinchilla pellets from Mazuri will help keep your furry friend’s cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems in top form. The mix contains probiotics, vitamins E and C, and the right amount of protein, fiber, and fat, providing your pet with all the necessary nutrients. Most chinchillas also seem to love the pellets’ sweet smell, and we find they eagerly eat their meals without a fuss.
Pros:
- We were thrilled that chinchillas raised on an unhealthy diet quickly took to eating this nutritionally balanced food.
- This food helps keep chinchilla teeth healthy and their coats shiny and smooth.
Cons:
- It’s more expensive than other brands.
Vitakraft Vitamin-Fortified Chinchilla Pellets
With a combination of fresh fruits, berries, and sweet flowers, this alfalfa-based chinchilla food from Vitakraft will help ensure your adult chinchilla has all the nutrients they need for good health. Plus, the high-fiber formula with plant-based protein helps keep their digestive systems operating properly. Since it has so many diverse ingredients, it allows chinchillas to forage like they would in the wild.
Pros:
- We especially like that this mix contains a balanced blend of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, making it unnecessary to add supplements.
- This food contains a variety of textures and shapes typically found in a chinchilla’s natural habitat.
Cons:
- It’s only suitable for adult chinchillas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can chinchillas eat food made for other types of animals?
If you’re in a bind and don’t have access to chinchilla food, you can feed your pet rabbit food instead. Rabbit feeds typically have a nutritional profile similar to chinchilla pellets, making it the best substitute when chinchilla food isn’t available. However, we recommend avoiding other rodent food because it usually doesn’t have a high protein content, which chinchillas need to stay healthy.
How much food should my chinchilla eat a day?
While it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact amount of food your chinchilla should eat a day, as long as they’re maintaining their weight, it’s likely enough. Investing in an inexpensive scale to weigh your chinchilla is the best way to track whether they’re maintaining a healthy weight. Choosing a food your chinchilla enjoys will encourage them to eat the amount they need to stay healthy.
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