Feeding Chinchillas: Hay, Pellets, and Strictly Limited Treats
A chinchilla's whole digestive system runs on grass. Get the diet right, unlimited hay, a little plain pellet, water and only tiny treats, and you prevent most dental and gut disease. This guide explains the correct proportions and the everyday foods that quietly harm chinchillas.
Quick answer
Feed a chinchilla unlimited good-quality grass hay as the base of every day, a small measured amount of plain chinchilla pellets, and constant fresh water. Treats should be tiny, dry and rare. Chinchillas have sensitive, fibre-dependent guts and continuously growing teeth, so a high-fibre, low-sugar, low-fat diet is not optional, it is what keeps them alive and well.
A chinchilla's whole digestive system runs on grass.
Hay is the foundation, not a side dish
Grass hay should make up the vast majority of what your chinchilla eats and must be available at all times. The long fibre keeps the gut moving and, just as importantly, the hours of chewing wear down continuously growing teeth. Timothy, orchard grass and meadow hay are all good choices. Avoid feeding alfalfa (lucerne) as the main hay to adults, it is too high in calcium and protein and can contribute to bladder stones; keep it for the occasional treat or for growing youngsters if your vet advises.
Hay should be unlimited; pellets are a small measured supplement, not the main meal.
Pellets: a small, plain supplement
Pellets top up nutrients that hay alone may lack, but they are a supplement, not the main meal. Choose a plain, uniform chinchilla-specific pellet with no added seeds, dried fruit, nuts or colourful bits, those mixes let chinchillas pick out the sugary pieces and leave the fibre. A typical adult needs only about one to two tablespoons a day; your vet or the reputable brand's guidance can fine-tune this. Measure it rather than free-pouring, and if your chinchilla leaves hay in favour of pellets, you are probably feeding too many.
Water and fresh foods
Provide clean fresh water at all times, most owners use a sipper bottle, which stays cleaner than an open bowl, but check daily that it is working and refill it. Chinchillas do not need fresh vegetables or fruit the way some small mammals do, and their guts handle moisture-rich foods poorly. If you offer any fresh or leafy item at all, keep it to a tiny occasional amount and introduce it cautiously; when in doubt, skip it. Never give a chinchilla a bowl of watery vegetables or fruit as a meal.
Treats: tiny, dry, and rare
Treats are where most well-meaning owners go wrong. A chinchilla's gut and teeth are simply not built for sugar, fat or moisture-rich foods.
Safe treats are tiny and rare, a single dried rosehip, not sugary shop treats.
Safe occasional treats are small and dry, for example a single plain dried rosehip, a couple of pieces of plain dried herb, or a small strand of a safe dried leaf. Offer no more than a pea-sized amount a few times a week at most. Avoid entirely: dried fruit, raisins, banana chips, yoghurt drops, nuts, seeds, breakfast cereals, bread and anything sugary or fatty. These commonly cause bloating, diarrhoea and appetite loss, which in a chinchilla can become life-threatening quickly.
Everyday storage in a humid climate
In Hong Kong's humidity, hay quality is a real issue. Damp hay goes musty and mouldy fast, and mouldy hay can make a chinchilla seriously ill or be refused altogether, leaving the teeth unworn. Store hay in a dry, airy container rather than a sealed plastic bag that traps moisture, buy smaller amounts more often, and throw out any hay that smells musty or looks discoloured. Keep pellets in a sealed, dry container away from heat, and note the best-before date, stale pellets lose vitamin content.
Quick FAQs
How much pellet should an adult chinchilla get daily? Roughly one to two tablespoons of a plain, quality pellet, adjusted to your individual chinchilla. Hay, not pellets, should always be the bulk of the diet.
Can chinchillas eat fruit and vegetables? Very little, if at all. Their guts handle sugar and moisture poorly, so most owners skip fresh produce and stick to hay, pellets and tiny dry treats.
Is alfalfa hay ok? Not as the everyday hay for adults, it is too rich in calcium and protein. Use grass hays like timothy instead, and treat alfalfa as occasional only.
Why does my chinchilla ignore hay and only eat pellets? Usually too many pellets or treats. Cut back the pellets, remove sugary treats, and offer fresh, good-smelling hay to encourage proper chewing.