Starting with Fresh Food: List of Highly Tolerated Food Plants

Apple

Apple branches with their leaves and flowers, as well as branches from all other edible, unproblematic fruit trees

Basil

Berry branches with leaves (raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, etc.)

Erigeron annuus / annual fleabane

Garden Bamboo

Birch branches with leaves and buds

Chicory

Prickless or low-spine thistles (e.g., cabbage thistle) or other species (e.g., milk thistle) if you remove the spines

Strawberry leaves

Daisy

Grasses (after spring, as they are very high in protein in spring and potentially bloating for sensitive digestion)

Rosehip

Callisia and Tradescatia

Hazelnut branches with leaves and buds, without nuts

Dandelion (flower, greens, root)

Carrot, carrot greens, wild carrot

Yarrow

Sunflower (leaves, flowers), not the seeds

Echinacea

Lactuca serriola / prickly lettuce

Jerusalem artichoke

Chickweed

Willow branches with leaves, flowers, and buds

Plantain (e.g., Ribwort Plantain, Broadleaf Plantain)

Common Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

Meadow hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)

• Clover (alfalfa, red clover, white clover, etc.) and all other legumes (lupine, peanut, vetch, carob, sainfoin, field bean, pea, soy)

Very high in protein; can cause bloating, especially if the quantity is not increased gradually or if the chinchilla digestion ist sensitive, or when you are feeding commercial pellets and other processed foods

• Cabbage family

Very high in protein; can cause bloating, especially if the quantity is not increased gradually or if the chinchilla digestive is sensitive, or when you are feeding commercial pellets and a lot of processed food

• Fresh grasses in spring

In spring, very high in protein; can cause bloating, especially if the quantity is not increased gradually or if the chinchilla digestive is sensitive, or when you are feeding commercial pellets and a lot of processed food

• Citrus fruits (orange, etc.) and subtropical fruits (kiwi, fig, etc.)

Moderately to highly acidic; suitable for animals that are accustomed to and can tolerate variety; lemon is unsuitable as a food

• Onion and leek family

Very pungent; if consumed at all, it's only in very small quantities (e.g., dried chives)

• Pine tree branches (Spruce, fir, pine, etc.)

Contain a lot of essential oils, which can be irritating to, among other things, the stomach lining if the animals consume too much of it; they can be offered in the mix later on

• Potatoes and cereal grains (corn, wheat, oats, etc.)

Very starchy, which chinchillas don't tolerate in larger quantities; can cause digestive issues (fermentation, increased yeast and parasite growth); occasionally, as a small treat, a dried potato chip or corn kernel is not harmful

• Selective forage plants (ivy, lilac, elderberry, etc.)

Eaten only as needed and in small quantities; suitable for animals that are familiar with and can tolerate a variety of plants and are selective in their consumption; they can be offered in the mix later on