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Product Attribute |
Pellets |
Charlie Chinchilla (coarse mixes) |
Type
|
Complete /
Complementary |
Complete |
Processing |
Pelleting may improve the
digestibility and palatability of the diet; however, the product looks very artificial and
processed. |
Only a small proportion of the ingredients are pelleted or
extruded. The cereals in the products
are either crushed, rolled, flaked or micronised, which improves the digestibility of the
cereal, whilst retaining a natural appearance. |
Ingredients |
A variety of raw materials
can be incorporated into these products. Those
most frequently used are cereal grains, dried forages, products and by-products of legume
seeds, oils and fats, minerals and vitamins. Colours, preservatives and coccidiostats may
or may not be added. So long as the
pack declarations are fulfilled, the ingredients and formulation may be altered, without
any apparent change in the appearance of the pellet. Undesirable ingredients can easily be
visually disguised within a pellet, although if it is an unpalatable ingredient, animals
may refuse or waste the food. |
Only the highest quality
cereals, legumes, forages and oils are incorporated into Supreme’s product range, and
the ingredients used are declared on the packet, so the owner knows exactly what they are
buying. |
Nutritional Balance |
Pelleted diets are usually
balanced, and prevent the animal from selecting favoured ingredients. They are more often
than not complete foods too, fulfilling daily nutritional requirements without the need to
supplement. A complementary product may
also be balanced, but because you can’t necessarily guarantee what else the animal
eats, and how much, the final diet more often than not is unbalanced. |
As long as steps are taken to ensure that selective feeding does
not occur, the whole diet is balanced i.e. Charlie supplies all
the key nutrients needed to meet the daily needs of the animal, together with sufficient
energy to sustain the animal. The
Charlie Chinchilla foods can also be described as a balanced diet, as not only is each
nutrient neither deficient or toxic, but it is present in the correct ratio to the energy
content and other nutrients. Many nutrients
are in forms that are more available and hence useable by the animal. |
Novelty
|
Visual perception poor,
repeat purchase unlikely. |
Good visual impact, appeal
to owners, who are themselves encouraged to eat a varied diet. |
Stimulation |
In
restricted conditions, with little stimulation in the cage, a single component diet such
as a pellet will do little to alleviate boredom. On
the one hand boredom can lead to divisive behaviour such as self-mutilation, cannibalism
and infanticide. On the other, if the
animal’s only source of pleasure is eating, this may lead to obesity. |
It
is believed that one of the causes of fur chewing in chinchillas is boredom. Whilst stress, genetics and environmental factors
all play a part, stimulation through diet might be a route to alleviate the problem. Charlie contains a variety of ingredients, which
encourages the animal to forage, a natural behaviour, and as long as selective feeding is
discouraged will provide enrichment to the life of the animal. |
Monotony |
With such little variation
in the diet, food intake may decline – often referred to as monotony. |
Variety of ingredients. In the unlikely event of food intake tailing off,
one of the other products in the Charlie Chinchilla range may be gradually introduced into
the diet. |
Dental Challenge |
Chinchillas
have continuously growing open-rooted teeth that are worn down when the animal is fed
fibrous food. Fibres are finely ground
prior to incorporation in pellets, and both can be broken down into pieces that can be
swallowed with minimal chewing. Such diets
may cause elongation of the crowns and/or roots of the teeth. In addition the action of chewing may be
very different than that used when eating fibrous materials such as grass. |
Charlie
Chinchilla foods contain alfalfa (Supreme’s equivalent to grass), and provides that
fibrous material which will aid appropriate dental wear and may help prevent dental
overgrowth. The remaining ingredients are a variety of different shapes, sizes and
textures. These will require different biting
and chewing motions and also pressures to break them down.
This may be preferable to that of a single component diet. |
Digestion |
Once in the stomach, the
food bolus from pelleted products consist of many small finely ground particles compacted
together which the gastric secretions may not penetrate well, allowing potential pathogens
to enter the digestive tract, and hindering digestion.
The ingestion of coarse chopped fibre is essential to aid digestion. |
Where more fibrous material
has been ingested, and the particle size is higher and more varied, the food bolus is of a
more open matrix, allowing the gastric fluid to penetrate the stomach contents enhancing
digestion, and also sterilising them. In
addition the more fibrous material promotes movement of material through the gut. |
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