About seven years ago I received my very first Chinchilla on Christmas morning named ChiChi. I guess Chinchillas weren’t really the big thing yet because I couldn’t find a preferred brand of food to feed them so when we went to get the supplies we did what any regular family would do. Pick out the food that looked like it had the most stuff and a reasonable price. This food was called Chinchilla Fiesta and was made by Kaytee, a popular pet food producer. We also bought our Chinchilla various other Kaytee products for treats and what not. A few months later my Mom got me another chinchilla because we wanted Chichi to have a friend. (I’m kind of a crazy animal girl if you haven’t noticed) We brought our second chinchilla home and named her Chea. A few months had passed and everything was going fine until one day I realized ChiChi could hardly move. We took him to the vet and they had no clue what was wrong with him so we went back home unsure of what to do. A few days went buy and he wasn’t getting better. We continued to take him to vets and they still couldn’t figure it out. He was quickly losing weight and soon he was just fur, skin, and bones. After he was no longer moving we rushed him to the emergency vets and they found food backed down in his throat. It turned out he had died from stomach tumors. We asked the vet if it was the food and he said “No. Sometimes it just happens.” so I went home and cared for my other chinchilla. She died a few months later suddenly with no signs of anything. Half a year later I got another Chinchilla, the one in the photo above. I named her Delilah. At the same time I also rescued a Chinchilla. I only had him a awhile before he basically pooped out his intestines and died instantly. 3 Chinchillas gone. I had no clue why. About a year later Delilah started to get sick, she stopped eating and drinking and she is quite fat and always nibbling on food so I was really worried. I had already seen about all the vets in my area and they were of no use when it came to chinchillas so I tried a new vet a few towns over. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have my Delilah. He told me that Kaytee food is the worst food you could possibly feed your rodent, whether it’s a chinchilla or not. The reason why is because they don’t separate their foods. They make one big thing of pellets then mix different seeds into it, and separate it into bags. One will say chinchilla, one will say hamster and so on. This is what killed my chinchillas. Not all rodents can eat the same seeds in the food. Chinchilla’s for instance shouldn’t eat any due to their extremely sensitive digestive system. At most maybe two seeds a day. I currently feed all my chinchillas and rabbits and even the rats I’m watching for the summer Oxbow food products. Their food is all natural and has exactly what each species needs. Although it’s a bit more expensive it’s completely worth it. Since I’ve started feeding my chinchillas that they’ve had more energy, better teeth, and they don’t over eat. Kaytee brand pet products are everywhere at pet stores and they carry more kinds of Kaytee at the store then they do of any other brand. It absolutely sickens me. My local pet store only buys one bag of Oxbow food a week but they buy 100 of Kaytee. They’re making money by killing and that’s just not right. I really hope that some one reads this and changes the food they feed their pet. You might just be saving it’s life. Cheesy I know but true. I’m sorry this is long but I just needed to write it.
Reblogging to save critters’ lives! Please make a note if you have an adorable little rodent companion!
