Other things can be added to the mix to make it more palatable such as pure fruit or vegetable puree baby food (i. A full health check should have been conducted before, and any blood work and fluid therapy requirements already calculated and worked out, as this will need to be considered when the feed is being administered and calculated. The formula will help make sure your rabbit is eating enough, and the water will also help to keep your rabbit hydrated. Additionally, if your syringe clogs in the middle of a feeding, remove the syringe from your pet’s mouth and dislodge the clog before continuing the feeding. You can also use wet Critical Care in the same way by mixing it with water and stirring into your pet’s food.

The aims of critical care are to treat the underlying condition, maintain gut motility, prevent and treat shock, maintain hydration and kidney function without overloading the circulation, and preventing hepatic lipidosis. Prior to feeding critical care, please have your rabbit checked by a bunny savvy vet to ensure there are no blockages or bloat developing. Critical Care(TM) is a superior pet food which can be given voluntarily or by syringe feeding to herbivores which are unable to eat their normal diet due to illness or surgery.It is highly versatile and can be tube fed, assist fed by a syringe or spoon, or self-fed by bowl or as a topper. In addition to rabbits that are impossible to syringe feed, or are not taking food from a syringe, animals with anorexia for more than 24 hours, jaw trauma, acute trauma, hepatic lipidosis, and those that will undergo oral, pharyngeal, oesophageal, gastric or biliary tract surgery are all candidates for placement of an NG tube ( Brown, 2010). Product mixed with water should be used within 24 hours of mixing and may need some added water to reach desired consistency after sitting. Assisted feeding can often stimulate the rabbit’s appetite, so be sure to offer some fresh, tasty food in the enclosure directly after feeding. I’ve used oxbow critical care before so knew what to do (in case anyone has problems,mix into a sauce type consistency,use a pipette,you can drop it gently into where the front lips split or failing that there’s a tiny gap at the side of the front teeth where you can pop the end of the pipette into to force feed if needed,but please “burrito” your pet first to avoid accidents!

Most of these mix with warm water and produce a gruel-like paste that can be passed through a syringe or lapped from a bowl or spoon. Therefore, elemental nutrition provides small and simple to absorb components, such as as amino acids, so that patients can still receive the nutrition that they need. Critical care is aimed at avoiding those situations and treating, as well as treating the cause of the life threatening illness.Please Note: Veterinary advice should always be sought in the case of an animal suspected as being unwell. By placing a thumb on the top of the head and fingers under the chin or by placing the thumb and fingers on either side of the jawline, it gives you good control of the head. Knowledge of the individual animal, the owners and the larger situation will dictate at what point the patient can be discharged from care. If the rabbit is refusing to swallow at all, then the feeding should be stopped and the patient re-assessed to avoid the risk of aspiration and choking.