I want to keep a chinchilla ~

Maintenance: Guide for Beginners to Raise Totoro

Totoro looks very similar to rabbits and squirrels, with a small and fat body, a rabbit-like head and a squirrel-like tail. Totoro, formerly known as South American chinchilla, belongs to the family Gnomistidae. Because of its resemblance to the cartoon TOTORO created by Jun Miyazaki, it was later renamed as "Totoro" by Hong Kong people. My neighbor totoro has an average life span of more than ten years, so novices should be fully prepared before raising, and never be impulsive. Beginners should pay attention when raising chinchillas:

Summer is a sad season for chinchillas, because chinchillas are thick, so it is best to turn on the air conditioner to reduce the indoor temperature in summer when the weather is sultry.

My Totoro cage should be placed in a cool and ventilated place, but not in the air outlet. If my Totoro is blown by the wind all the time, I will catch a cold.

Usually, raisins can be used to please my neighbor totoro and get close to it. But don't feed more, just feed 3 to 4 capsules a day. If you feed more snacks, it will make my totoro picky about food and not eat staple food.

My neighbor totoro cages should be placed in a quiet place. If the surrounding environment is noisy, my neighbor totoro will be nervous and have a bad rest.

When my neighbor totoro first arrives at a new home, the owner should not rush to let it out of the cage. Let it stay in the cage for a while to get familiar with the new environment and new owner, and then let it play for a while. The time can be shorter first, and the play space can also be small first.

At ordinary times, when the owner is free, he can gently call the name of my neighbor totoro and talk to it. This will make my neighbor totoro remember its name and the voice of the owner. Be careful not to scold it loudly, otherwise my neighbor totoro will only be afraid of you and will not approach you.

Don't try to challenge its stomach.

Totoro is an animal that is easy to take care of and take care of. It is better than cats, dogs, tortoises and parrots. It is very suitable for friends with busy work or limited family environment. It is better than Totoro, maybe only hamsters and water turtles, but it gives its owner a feeling that hamsters and water turtles can't give.

Nevertheless, there are still certain rules to follow when raising chinchillas. As long as you master the following rules, chinchillas will not cause you any trouble, but will only bring you happiness.

First, the most important rule

1) Wash your hands carefully before touching my chinchilla and its cage

The most vulnerable place of my chinchilla is that it has no resistance to fungi, especially the juvenile chinchilla with low resistance. Although the fungi infected by touching money or feet on human hands are difficult to pose a threat to human beings, it is easy to make my chinchilla bald. Once it is bald, it takes time and effort to treat it, but it has not rained.

2) Don't take it for granted to feed all kinds of food to my chinchilla

My chinchilla used to live in the barren area of the Andes in South America, and the food that I can eat is very single; My chinchilla, which was rescued from extinction and raised artificially, also lacks digestive enzymes that our ancestors did not have. Therefore, many foods that we think are ordinary cannot be fully digested by my chinchilla.

Therefore, it is good to feed my chinchilla special dry food feed and hay, and the snacks that can be eaten are very simple: special chinchilla snacks, or fresh apples, carrots, sand fruits or red fruits are peeled and diced. For any snacks, it is enough to give 1-2 capsules every other day, and don't give too much.

Most of the deaths of my neighbor totoro are caused by improper food. My neighbor totoro is very greedy. He likes to eat a lot of things, but many things are harmful to his stomach. Some of them will cause diarrhea shortly after eating, while others will cause hematuria after eating for a long time, or his hair will become sparse, or his intestines will suddenly swell up and die. Some people say that I fed my chinchilla something, and I didn't see him get sick and die. It's just like a child crossing the street without looking at the car. It's very dangerous, but it's possible that it's all right eight times out of ten. However, it's all a fluke. If something happens, it's a life-threatening event. Advise owners who love my neighbor totoro: Don't try to challenge my neighbor totoro's stomach.

3) My neighbor totoro is like a stubborn child. Don't force him to do things, but seduce him with food.

Fortunately, my neighbor totoro knows that he is hungry and won't eat enough, so he can let go and feed him. Handing him food is the easiest way to build feelings.

What kind of staple food should I choose for my totoro?

Only when I eat fragrant food can I grow strong.

There are many kinds of staple foods for my totoro in the market, which makes people picky. What kind of staple food is suitable for my baby totoro? There are really different opinions. Here, the author does not make specific recommendations for a certain staple food (which is suspected of advertising). It is just an objective statement and summarizes the author's practice. For your reference.

Totoro's staple food, in fact, broadly speaking, is two kinds, one is imported staple food, and the other is domestic staple food. Let's talk about it separately.

the first category: the main representative of imported staple foods: Aibo

Imported staple foods are mainly divided into two categories, namely, brands made by breeding farms and brands of professional pet feed manufacturers.

At present, Aibo's brand of chinchilla food has a large sales volume in the domestic market. The following is the self-introduction of Aibo:

Product description:

Name: Oxbow (Aibo, USA) Totoro staple food XB44

Origin: USA

Material: alfalfa

Packing: reusable bag

Features: alfalfa is the main raw material, which is suitable for cats of all ages.

The author analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of Aibo Totoro staple food:

Advantages: 1. The quality of big brands is stable and reliable.

2. Snacks are not mixed in the staple food. (Please don't choose the staple food mixed with snacks for your baby totoro)

Lack of potential: 1. The import cycle will be long, and the food will not be the freshest.

2. Cat friends often complain that they can't buy it in time.

3. The specific components are unknown.

personal experience: at first, my chinchilla was fed this staple food, and my chinchilla loved it, but after hearing some bad rumors (which were not confirmed, so I didn't discuss them), I changed the food immediately.

the second category: the main representatives of domestic staple foods: Totoro Club staple foods and Fontaine staple foods

Domestic staple foods are also divided into two categories: brands made by breeding farms and brands of professional pet feed manufacturers. Among them, Fengdan staple food is the staple food of breeding farm, and Totoro Club staple food is the professional brand of Totoro series products. Let's introduce them separately.

official introduction of Totoro Club staple food

Name: Totoro Club CCCLUB Totoro staple food

Main ingredients: grass powder, grain, various vitamins and minerals. No artificial colors, preservatives and attractants.

Nutritional ingredients: fat 2.17%, protein 17.4%, crude fiber 24.5% and carbohydrate 44.

The author analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the staple food of Totoro Club:

Advantages: 1. The ingredients are reasonable and the nutritional ratio is clear at a glance.

2. Domestic students have a short transit period.

3. It has good palatability and is accepted by most chinchillas.

4. No snack doping and no adhesive.

lack of potential: 1. The staple food often changes shape, from coarse to fine.

2. Sometimes there are more crumbs at the bottom of a bag of staple food. (related to the lack of adhesive)

Personal experience: At first, it was because a familiar friend of mine was feeding this kind of food. Later, under her persuasion (her chinchillas are only fat), all my chinchillas have changed to eat this kind of food. At present, the food of my chinchillas club is a fixed staple food of my family. All my chinchillas at home eat well. Fat. My chinchilla likes to eat thinner shapes, hehe.

official introduction of fengdan staple food

name: fengdan multidimensional chinchilla dry food

main ingredients: no

nutrient composition table

crude fat 2.5%

crude protein 14.8%

crude fiber 2.14%

carbohydrate 36.25%

calcium. P > moderate amount of trace elements

moderate amount of multivitamins

Analysis of advantages and disadvantages of Fengdan staple food:

Advantages: 1. Detailed description of nutritional components.

2. Domestic students have a short transit period.

3. No snack doping

Lack of potential: 1. The staple food is similar to grass particles in appearance, and its color is dark (I don't know why? ）。 It is quite different from other totoro staple foods.

2. My neighbor totoro who has not eaten this grain since childhood may not accept this grain.

Personal experience: I have fed a bag, but it is always mixed with grass particles. In addition, my chinchilla doesn't like the grain very much, so I haven't fed it again after feeding a bag.

Finally:

1. The fresher the staple food, the more my neighbor totoro loves it! Who doesn't like fresh food? )

2. Don't choose the staple food with snacks. (The author firmly opposes feeding visiting staple foods)

3. Don't choose staple foods with unknown ingredients. (It is better to be careful for the health of my neighbor totoro)