Feed

Chinchilla feed requirements consist of pellets, hay, and water.  There are a couple of good pellet feed choices, and a bunch of subpar choices.  Suggested pellet choices are:

Pellets

1. Modesto Milling Organic Rabbit and Chinchilla Feed – This can be purchased at many feed stores, or directly through Caplan Chinchillas.  Bags purchased at feed stores are 25lbs and 50 lbs; however can be purchased in ranging quantities directly from Caplan Chinchillas.
2. Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla (Red Bag) – this can be bought at many pet stores, and is available for purchase in bags ranging from 1lb to 25lbs.
3. Mazuri Chinchilla Feed – This can be bought at many pets stores, including at Tractor Supply or directly from their website.  Bags range in size from 1-lb to 25lbs.

Hay

Timothy Hay is a common type of hay utilized for domesticated animals because of the abrasive texture is able to help wear down teeth, and is rich in fiber and protein.  When purchased from farmers or feed stores we recommend getting 2nd cutting timothy hay; as the 1st cutting is extremely rich in proteins.

Alfalfa Hay has an extremely high and good quality protein.  Most chinchilla and rabbit feeds utilize alfalfa hay as the base protein in the pellets.  It is recommended to use timothy because of this; as you do not want to have an absurdly high amount of protein in the chinchillas diet.

If purchasing hay from a pet store we recommend purchasing the Oxbow brand; as several other brands utilize a dye to make the hay stay green.

Water

Water is the most important staple of a chinchillas diet.  City tap water contains chloramines to disinfect the water, which consists of combination of chlorine and ammonia.  For this reason only highly filtered water or bottled water should be used.  Single filter pitchers or sink filters are inadequate for proper filtration of the water for small animals.  Using highly filtered water benefits the chinchillas; as their organ systems due not have to work harder to filter out the toxins.

Well water must also be highly filtered as bacterial, pesticides, and other ground contaminates can perculate into the water.  Consult a well water specilist in your area to obtain a proper water report, and recommended filtration system.

Bottled water is typically the easiest filtered water to give chinchillas.  Almost all supermarkets or other box stores should have some type of reverse osmosis based water.  Do not give chinchillas distilled water as it does not contain any beneficial minerals.