Hay & Chinchillas

In order to remain healthy, chinchillas must have a diet that includes hay - pellets alone are not enough.

Hay fed to chinchillas must be fully dried. Fresh hay can cause health problems and even lead to death. Hay that is not properly dried can promote the growth of fungus which causes diarrhea that can progress to chronic digestive tract diseases.

Timothy hay, oat straw or oat hay may be used; but caution is advised as farmers do not always dry those hays properly for chinchilla use.

If you have multiple chinchillas and several of them come down with diarrhea at the same time; the most likely problem is that the hay is not dry enough.

How dry should hay fed to chinchillas be? It should be brittle enough to crush in your hands. If your hay becomes tough and less crisp, particularly in periods of high humidity, you may need to re-dry your hay.

Hay can be re-dried in several ways. Ideas including putting hay in a basket above the stove, in a cardboard box near a radiator or other heat source, or spread on the lawn in the sun. If you use the lawn method, ensure no humans or animals walk through the hay and other animals do not deficate on it. Hay contaminated with excrement can cause disease and even death in chinchillas.

Hay cubes are simply pelleted and chopped hay. Hay cubes should not be used more than occassionally as they do not meet the full roughage requirements for chinchillas.

Feed your chin hay twice a day - in the morning and in the evenings. Do not give your pet chinchilla(s) too much hay as it will end up on the cage floor, probably be soiled upon and then eaten. This soiled and trampled hay could easily lead to fungus problems if eaten.