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William kong

New Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2019
Messages
2
Location
Canada
Hi. I've googled chinchilla forums but there are no active forums so I came here. I currently own four rats, a mouse and a chinchilla that all live in one giant custom made cage together. Believe it or not they all get along great with each other. They even cuddle and sleep together. I know this is a rat forum but I can't find any active chin forums. I got my chinchilla about five months ago and he never ever ate his pellets which are made specifically for chinchillas but has been eating the rat food for as long as I've had him. He appears to be doing real well on the rat diet and is very energetic and everything. Good weight as well. I'm planning to purchase a second chin too and introduce him to the family as I'm sure chichi ( my chin) would like having a companion of his own kind. But what's up with the rat food diet? Everything on google says don't feed them rat food but chichi seems pretty healthy on it and he seems to prefer the rat food. What do i do about this? Does rat food taste better? Is chichis health in dire danger? And he's been on the rat diet for about 5-6 months now. He also eats lots of hay and the rats never touch the hay.
 
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Hi. Your cage sounds amazing! Can't believe they all get on. I've got rats my self but never had a chinchilla. My rats love cucumbers fresh vegies etc but I no chinchilla cant have alot of that stuff. From what I've read you should avoid food with high water and moisture content for chinchillas. Also apparently it is really easy to over feed a chinchilla.

I am no expert but as far as I know chinchillas have a very sensitive digestive track and cannot process fatty foods.

You need to be careful with the hay around the rats and mice as they are prone to respiratory issues and hay can be dusty, but it is common for chinchillas to love hay.

Apart from that I have no idea. Hope this helps and hope you find a solution.
 
In addition to the dietary differences, & environmental differences, another problem is size, instincts and the danger of accidental harm.

Personally I would house the chinchilla separately in a huge enclosure with another same sex chinchilla after careful, gradual introductions.

Regarding dietary needs, to answer your question I would suggest you compare the dietary needs of chinchillas with the rat food you are feeding - but the previous poster pointed out that a rat diet is unsuitable for chinchillas and could case great harm
also note that when animals are fed an improper diet, it many be quite awhile before physical damage is advanced enough to cause noticeable health issues.
I am sure you can find a good chinchilla group on facebook .... I know there are good knowledgeable groups on fb for rabbits and guinea pigs

You are very fortunate as rats view mice as prey and will normally kill them, unless they were raised as siblings from the time they were nursing (ie an orphaned baby in carefully intoed to a litter). Even then there can be issues as they age due to size or if rats (particularly males) become hormonally aggressive

How old are the rats, what sex are they, and how long have they lived with the mouse?
This is a potentially life threatening combo, however it is sometimes best to keep them together if closely bonded to one another.
Please talk to lilspaz68 abut this as she has been faced with this situation when rescuing.

Please see our Reference Thread for good info re rats, including reliable info concerning a healthy diet for rats REFERENCE Thread - Read Only

Normally, when it comes to rats, rats are either prey or predators, depending on the other species of animals. Rats do not usually mix with other species of animals.
 
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My rats are suuuuuper chill and friendly. I play with them almost every night after they wake up. And the mouse has lived with them for the past 5 months roughly. My four rats are between the ages of 9-12 months old. And chichis age is unknown. But the petstore owner said he's very very young when I purchased him. The rats have never minded the mouse and barely acknowledge his existence and they frequently cuddle and sleep together in the same hammock or hutch. I suspect the mouse I got was mishandled by its previous owner. The end of her tail is permanently bent. I'm guessing the person grabbed it and pinched it with her nails. She's kind of not a very proper person and I noticed her pet rat was also kept in very very poor conditions. I guess I'll speak with my vet about chichis diet. Maybe he has high cholesterol o_O but he's incredibly energetic still. When I first introduced chichi to the rats they all groomed him. They think he's a rat lol. At first chichi wasn't happy. He barked every time the rats tried to groom him and ran away and always had his ears down or was hiding. But after the first month he adjusted and now he plays with the rats and rarely every barks. And his ears are always perky and he does a funny thing where he hops around the basement of the cage on two feet around the rats.
 
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The rats have never minded the mouse and barely acknowledge his existence and they frequently cuddle and sleep together in the same hammock or hutch. I suspect the mouse I got was mishandled by its previous owner.

It sounds like the mouse would do better in a large appropriate enclosure with other female mice if she is female, or with a couple of female ASFs if he is male
 
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