Treats To Get A Chinchilla

Jun 30, 2020by Joshua Paulson

Best Treats To Get Your Chinchilla Before You Own One

There are a wide variety of options when it comes to treats for a chinchilla, we have narrowed it down the the best and most popular you should have on hand before you own a chinchilla.

Please note; fruits, nuts, seeds and veggies are unsafe in any, way, shape or form.

We asked our community of chinchilla and animal lovers online this question asking for advice,

"What are the best treats to get a chinchilla before getting one?"

What Treats Are Suggested

The basics.

While it can be nice to treat our pets, something important to understand is that it's mostly for us. Of course our pets enjoy the bits of delicious goodness, but we derive joy from what we perceive as making our pets happy. It's our jobs as caretakers to know when enough is enough. Moderation is a VERY important thing.

Top treats.

According to our online community of chinchilla owners, the most popular and healthy treats for chinchillas are Timothy Hay, Rosehips, Plain Cheerios, dried calendula, and goji berries.

It's recommended that you try a small amount of everything to see what your chinchilla likes. They all have their own favorites and one of our community's chins LOVED flowers, willow and grape leaves, and rosehips!

You can also buy tons of flowers, willow and grape leaves, and rosehips for the new chin and it can turn out, they only want pumpkin/hay cookies, rolled oats, and pear sticks!

You can also feed dried calendula and a goji berry every 3 days. It's very important to know not to give too many treats or you'll have a fat and diabetic chin.

For a full break down on Chinchilla foods check out our blog post about Chinchilla Food

Safe and Unsafe Tree Treats To Feed A Chinchilla

Pears are a great treat for chinchillas.

Almonds and other nuts are not good for chinchillas.

Silver and common birch make great wood chews for chinchillas!

The following list is a circulating list that already exists via InfoLific, but as we explore the best foods and treats for Chinchillas we want to add to this list as well.

For a better understanding of specific trees that are good for chinchillas checkout our Chinchilla - Safe Wood blog.

Safe Wood to Use

Apple (particularly good as chew toys)
Aspen (shavings good for bedding too)
Elm
Hazelnut
Manzanita
Pear
Pecan
Pine (kiln dried is good, air dried isn't)
Quince
Willow

Not Safe to Use

Almond
Cedar
Cherry
Chestnut
Fresh pine branches
Grapefruit
Lemon
Orange
Cherry Mahogany
Oak (based on it being unsafe for horses)
Plum
Redwood
Sumac
Tallow
Walnut
Avocado

Not Sure if Safe

Birch (white, grey, broadleaf, silver, and common birch might be OK)
Ash (seeds produce hydrogen cyanide so why risk it?)
Juniper (in small amounts might be OK)
Avocado (we know actual avocados are bad for Chinchillas, but we don't know if the tree is ok for a chin to eat)

Safe Treats That We Have Available

Check Out Our Other Chinchilla Blogs!

If you're looking for other interesting articles on chinchillas, explore some of our other great articles! Chinchilla's lifespan, black chinchillas, chinchilla food, how fast can a chinchilla run, and do chinchillas need a friend?

Author: Joshua Paulson and Quality Cage Team

Josh is the owner and CEO at Quality Cage Crafters since 2015. During his time at Quality Cage Crafters he has been able to learn from tens of thousands of pet owners and pet educators. He blends his ambition for manufacturing and passion for animal care to create solutions for pet owners, breeders, animal rescues, and zoos. He has brought together a team of great animal lovers to create high quality pet care content for the Quality Cage Crafters audience.

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