Chinchilla nutrition — cecotrophy and stable urinary calcium
Verbatim first-hand facts from Merck Veterinary Manual — Chinchillas (saved first-hand text). Each bullet is an exact substring of the cited source and C1-substring verified (second-round nutrition broadening, reusing saved Merck source).
Nutritional facts
- Like rabbits , chinchillas produce two types of fecal pellets: nitrogen-rich pellets intended for cecotrophy, and nitrogen-poor pellets eliminated as waste .
- Unlike rabbits and guinea pigs , chinchillas have a stable calcium content in their urine even when dietary calcium increases ( 1 ).
- Calculi are typically composed of calcium carbonate.