Oxbow Critical Care Herbivore, Emergency Guinea Pig Food, Rabbit Food for Recovery, Made with Timothy Hay, Anise Flavor, Critical Care for Guinea Pig Emergency Kit, 141 gram bag

Oxbow Critical Care is one of those products I sincerely believe every rabbit, guinea pig, or small herbivore owner should keep in their emergency kit. When an animal isn’t eating on their own due to GI stasis, dental issues, illness, or post-surgical recovery, this can quite literally be a lifesaving product. The powder mixes easily with warm water to your desired consistency and works well for syringe feeding or bowl feeding. I appreciate that it’s timothy hay–based with essential vitamins and minerals, so it supports gut health while providing complete nutrition during recovery. The fiber content is exactly what you want when supporting a compromised digestive system. Palatability is also a big win here — even picky animals tend to accept it far better than expected, especially when warmed slightly or mixed to a smooth consistency. The resealable packaging helps keep it fresh, which is important since you may not use it daily. This is not meant to replace regular feeding long-term, but as a recovery or emergency support food, it’s unmatched. I’ve seen firsthand how valuable it is when time matters and an animal needs nutrition immediately Pros: High-quality, vet-recommended formula, easy to mix and syringe feed, supports digestive health, very appetizing to most small animals, essential to have on hand for emergencies, smells like a tropical green smoothie, large portions for the price, and varying hardness/thickness depending on the animals preference, and so much more! Cons: Should be fed as a directed and not as a daily food replacement, and hard to find in stock at times. Overall, Oxbow Critical Care absolutely earns its reputation. If you care for rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, or other herbivores, this is a must-have product you’ll be grateful to have when you need it most. Highly recommended. 🐰💚

As a rabbit owner, I always make sure to have this on hand for cases of GI stasis. I’ve needed to use this multiple times for my bunny, and it really is a lifesaver when your bunny is unable/unwilling to eat. It’s easy to mix up, and as long as you get a large enough syringe it’s fairly easy to administer. My rabbit loves all things Oxbow but doesn’t love this, I think because he associates it with force feeding. I have to hold him still and give this a little mouthful at a time, and while it’s super messy and tedious, it does what it needs to do. I would LOVE if Oxbow would sell this in smaller quantities, even single-serve packets. I tend to use fewer than five servings at a time when my rabbit has had bouts of stasis, and he needs this fewer than once a year, but the bag says to discard 30 days after opening. I have had to throw away multiple nearly-full bags of Critical Care after using just a few scoops, which is really wasteful. Tips: Make sure to put the syringe in the side of your animal’s mouth, not straight on, so they can swallow it themselves and it doesn’t get aspirated. Also, if your rabbit is not eating/pooping for 12 hours, get them to an emergency vet ASAP. If my rabbit is showing signs of stomach discomfort, I give simethicone first in case it’s gas, and this as a last resort before I call the emergency vet. There have been times when this got his stomach moving again, but if your rabbit has a blockage you don’t want to be forcing things into its stomach. I usually give it a few hours for this to help, and then it’s off to the vet. If you find your bunny needing this often, consider Oxbow’s digestive support treats. My rabbit goes crazy for those, and I really believe they are supporting his stomach health.

I’ve been running a rabbit rescue for a few years and this product has saved rabbit lives. Force feedings for rabbits with gastric stasis is always a pain, but this is the best product for it. Watering it down a little more than the instructions say is helpful for syringe feedings, following the instructions is fine if the rabbit can eat on its own. I would read and familiarize yourself with the ingredients on the back for educational purposes. For instance the use of papaya is for the proteolytic enzyme papain which helps break down proteins and fibers blocking the digestive tract. Similar to Bromelain in pineapple but with better efficacy further down the digestive tract which is where blockages normally occur. The rabbit in the photo is alive thanks to a combination of ringers and critical care. She got a hairball at the tail end of molting for the year even after brushing her coat.

Great product, but I'm leaving this review specifically for the person who has their chinchilla in the plastic ball in one of the reviews. Your chin is getting sick because of that ball, from heat stroke no less. Chinchillas can easily get heat stroke and easily overheat when simply playing and running around, putting them in that ball just speeds up that process. Keep him in a room that is 69 degrees at all times for this reason, they can not be in any environment that is over 70 degrees for extended periods, but you can also buy cooling tiles for them, these do help to some extent. Throw that ball away and buy a metal play pen that he can run around in while supervised. They can't have any plastic in their cage, they eat it and it kills them, any plastic ledges can be covered with fleece liners. Oxbow pellets and timothy hay is all they need in their diet to survive, there are treats they can have like rose hips and apple twigs, but do not risk giving them anything if you aren't sure. Kiln dried pine or kiln dried aspen bedding is the only bedding they should have, any expandable bedding will be eaten and will expand in the stomach which will kill them. Sweets will cause bloat and kill them as well, even the ones that they can have like dried goji berries, so these must be given in moderation, once every 2 weeks if okay. There are also a variety of herbs, snacks and treats and toys they can have and I recommend checking out "whimsy's menagerie" for a great selection of them and other thing's. They also need dust baths twice a week and should not be washed with water. Hope this helps someone.

Life saver!!!

I picked this up for my little guy when he stopped eating on his own, and it honestly made a huge difference. The mix is easy to prepare, and it smells way better than most recovery foods I have tried. He took to the apple banana flavor pretty fast, which was a big relief because getting a sick pet to eat can feel like a battle. It also feels good knowing it is a vet trusted formula made in the USA. What I liked most is how steady his energy came back once he was on it for a day or two. It is not magic, but it really helps when your pet needs nutrition fast and cannot get it from normal food. The texture blends smooth so it goes through a syringe without clogging, which saves a lot of stress. If you have a rabbit or guinea pig that needs extra support, this is one of those products that actually earns its place in your pet kit.

This is a miracle product, it saved my rabbit's life, I can not sing the praises of this product enough, I always recommend it to people who have small animals. I will always buy this and keep it in my emergency basket, one of my rabbits has a tendency to forget to drink water and as a result she becomes really lethargic. Every time it scares me, and every time I quickly whip this product out and use it on her. It's very simple to use, comes with straight forward instructions that are very easy to follow when your mind is all frantic and flustered. You just combine one of the packets with some water, and use a baby syringe to feed it to your rabbit. If your rabbit is very sick and is at the point that they will refuse food, you will have to force-feed this to them, and that is a little bit difficult, but It's something you have to do. It will save your rabbits' life. During the time I was feeding my sick rabbit, her cage mate came over and greedily licked the food off her chin. Rabbits clearly like the taste of this lol!

Always need this around in the house! Good price and a must have for small pets!