Unsolicited Advice: Oxbow Food
Quick disclaimer: I am not sponsored by the Oxbow Animal Health company. They do not pay me or give me free supplies for this blog post. I promote their company and their food because it works for me and my animals.
If you have small pets, here's some unasked-for advice when it comes to what should you feed them as the main staple for their diet. It has to be Oxbow.
If you have chinchillas, rabbits, and/or Guinea pigs like myself, you know that what they really need is hay, and there will certainly be a post about that in the future. However, hay is not enough to sustain your pocket pet. While hay should make up over 60 percent of their diet, they also need a second helping of nutrients, which can come in two forms.
One form is fresh vegetables. I personally don't go this route as the main staple of my pocket pets' diets. The first reason is because chinchillas shouldn't have fresh veggies and fruits. In the wild, they only eat hay. There are many, many treat and diet products on the market for chinchillas that, honestly, are pure poison to them. My chins get a few treats here and there, but they mostly eat hay day in and day out. To us, that sounds miserable. Yet, to a chinchilla, it means a long, healthy life free of stomach issues. So buying a large amount of fresh veggies wouldn't be of benefit to them. I also don't do a veggie/fruit diet because I don't get to the store enough and I struggle with keeping that type of stuff from going bad. I don't know if it's my fridge or how I keep fresh food or just bad luck, but when I purchase cilantro, blueberries, red lettuce, etc. to supplement my rabbit's and Guinea pigs' diets, I usually end up throwing some of it away due to rot.
So, I go with a pellet diet along with the hay, and for 8 years now, I've chosen Oxbow.
Oxbow comes in the red bag with the beautiful field picture as a background and the cute cartoon critter of your choice on the front left side. For years and through my many pets, I have purchased Oxbow Essentials Hamster and Gerbil, Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla, Oxbow Essentials Mouse and Young Rat, Oxbow Essentials Adult Rabbit, and Oxbow Essentials Adult Guinea Pig. Not one type has let me down. My pets have always had healthy stomachs (so far, knock on wood), healthy appetites, and they have never minded the flavor. The food is packed with nutrients that is catered to the specific species you buy for. Only pellets are included in the bag! Your pet doesn't need all those seeds and random other "forage" in its pellet diet. That extra stuff is just to make you think you're buying more for your money. Really, you're hurting your pet. Also, absolutely zero colors and dyes!! Can I get an amen? So many pellet diets are filled with green loops or red stars or whatever. Those colors and shapes should only be found in my cereal bowl! Your pet doesn't see fun colors and shapes in its food dish; those additives are to attract pet owners to buy that type of food. I'm here to say that Oxbow doesn't try to trick you with that gimmick and provides wholesome, nutritious pellets that will keep your pet happy and well-fed.
On the back of the bag, Oxbow shows you how much food should be fed to your pet based on its weight, as well as how to transition from an old food brand to Oxbow. Of course, you as the owner should make a judgment call on what's right for your pet, but in case you're not sure, Oxbow is there to help. Each package is resealable, which is handy if you don't keep your pellets in closed containers like myself. The bag also has a sturdy bottom and doesn't easily tip over like many other food and hay bags I've dealt with.
I get my Oxbow from one of two places: Petsmart and Amazon.com. Unfortunately, you typically won't find this brand while making a quick grocery store or even a Walmart run (although Walmart just started carrying Blue Buffalo dog and cat food, which there's more unsolicited advice for you later, so I have hope that maybe Oxbow is coming soon!). Amazon.com even sells Oxbow in multi-packs, which I've purchased several times. It has always arrived completely sealed and together.
Now I have not tried Oxbow's Organic pellet line nor their Garden Select line. It looks like from their website they have Garden Select for chinchillas, rabbits, Guinea pigs, rats, and hamsters. It appears the food tastes different with more vegetable flavoring. However, I'm not sure if that's the best for chinchillas, depending on the ingredients. All my chinchilla research has ever come up with is Timothy hay, Timothy hay, Timothy hay. The Organic Bounty line comes in variations for rabbits and Guinea pigs. The difference there is organic hay, according to the website, that is "hand selected" and would be "found in the natural environment." If you have tried either of these products, please leave a comment about your thoughts!! Especially if you've tried both the Essentials and the Organic Bounty or Garden Select.
If you have small pets, here's some unasked-for advice when it comes to what should you feed them as the main staple for their diet. It has to be Oxbow.
If you have chinchillas, rabbits, and/or Guinea pigs like myself, you know that what they really need is hay, and there will certainly be a post about that in the future. However, hay is not enough to sustain your pocket pet. While hay should make up over 60 percent of their diet, they also need a second helping of nutrients, which can come in two forms.
One form is fresh vegetables. I personally don't go this route as the main staple of my pocket pets' diets. The first reason is because chinchillas shouldn't have fresh veggies and fruits. In the wild, they only eat hay. There are many, many treat and diet products on the market for chinchillas that, honestly, are pure poison to them. My chins get a few treats here and there, but they mostly eat hay day in and day out. To us, that sounds miserable. Yet, to a chinchilla, it means a long, healthy life free of stomach issues. So buying a large amount of fresh veggies wouldn't be of benefit to them. I also don't do a veggie/fruit diet because I don't get to the store enough and I struggle with keeping that type of stuff from going bad. I don't know if it's my fridge or how I keep fresh food or just bad luck, but when I purchase cilantro, blueberries, red lettuce, etc. to supplement my rabbit's and Guinea pigs' diets, I usually end up throwing some of it away due to rot.
So, I go with a pellet diet along with the hay, and for 8 years now, I've chosen Oxbow.
Oxbow comes in the red bag with the beautiful field picture as a background and the cute cartoon critter of your choice on the front left side. For years and through my many pets, I have purchased Oxbow Essentials Hamster and Gerbil, Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla, Oxbow Essentials Mouse and Young Rat, Oxbow Essentials Adult Rabbit, and Oxbow Essentials Adult Guinea Pig. Not one type has let me down. My pets have always had healthy stomachs (so far, knock on wood), healthy appetites, and they have never minded the flavor. The food is packed with nutrients that is catered to the specific species you buy for. Only pellets are included in the bag! Your pet doesn't need all those seeds and random other "forage" in its pellet diet. That extra stuff is just to make you think you're buying more for your money. Really, you're hurting your pet. Also, absolutely zero colors and dyes!! Can I get an amen? So many pellet diets are filled with green loops or red stars or whatever. Those colors and shapes should only be found in my cereal bowl! Your pet doesn't see fun colors and shapes in its food dish; those additives are to attract pet owners to buy that type of food. I'm here to say that Oxbow doesn't try to trick you with that gimmick and provides wholesome, nutritious pellets that will keep your pet happy and well-fed.
On the back of the bag, Oxbow shows you how much food should be fed to your pet based on its weight, as well as how to transition from an old food brand to Oxbow. Of course, you as the owner should make a judgment call on what's right for your pet, but in case you're not sure, Oxbow is there to help. Each package is resealable, which is handy if you don't keep your pellets in closed containers like myself. The bag also has a sturdy bottom and doesn't easily tip over like many other food and hay bags I've dealt with.
I get my Oxbow from one of two places: Petsmart and Amazon.com. Unfortunately, you typically won't find this brand while making a quick grocery store or even a Walmart run (although Walmart just started carrying Blue Buffalo dog and cat food, which there's more unsolicited advice for you later, so I have hope that maybe Oxbow is coming soon!). Amazon.com even sells Oxbow in multi-packs, which I've purchased several times. It has always arrived completely sealed and together.
Now I have not tried Oxbow's Organic pellet line nor their Garden Select line. It looks like from their website they have Garden Select for chinchillas, rabbits, Guinea pigs, rats, and hamsters. It appears the food tastes different with more vegetable flavoring. However, I'm not sure if that's the best for chinchillas, depending on the ingredients. All my chinchilla research has ever come up with is Timothy hay, Timothy hay, Timothy hay. The Organic Bounty line comes in variations for rabbits and Guinea pigs. The difference there is organic hay, according to the website, that is "hand selected" and would be "found in the natural environment." If you have tried either of these products, please leave a comment about your thoughts!! Especially if you've tried both the Essentials and the Organic Bounty or Garden Select.
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