Critical Care

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eroomlorac

eroomlorac

Poppy the mosaic squibbit
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
2,758
Location
Farm country, Northern Illinois
I always keep a bag of Critical Care on hand. I occasionally notice someone posting their chinchilla is not eating and they need critical care immediately. It is inexpensive and could be a life saver in an emergency IF it is on hand. I recommend anyone who owns chins, guinea pigs, degus, etc. to keep some on hand at all times. You can buy it from a member here, Menagerie. Just shoot her a PM and she will ship the Critical Care out to you right away. The profits from the sales goes to help the Wee Companions small animal rescue.
 
I will take it one further, you should mix some up and offer it to your chins to see if they like the taste and also attempt to hand feed, its easier to hand feed a well chin and get them used to the flavor and texture of CC than hand feed one who is in pain and try to introduce this odd flavor and texture.
 
I agree about CC. You absolutely never know when you will need it. You don't have to buy the large bag. Even the small package will work in a pinch. I have have 3 different kinds of syringe feed here (Regular CC, Apple Banana CC, Tanya's Syringe Formula) at all times in case one is liked more than another. A hand feed formula that a chinchilla actually likes makes your life a whole lot easier when hand feeding. Not saying everyone needs all three, just saying what works for me. As a pet owner it is your job to care for your chinchilla in case of an emergency. A syringe formula is that first step.
 
Just another thing I have found that makes it easier: I prefer to use a 10 mL syringe as opposed to the 35 mL or larger, especially when just introducing a chin to CC. A huge syringe and large tip is a little more difficult to get them to take, IMO, while the 10 mL syringe has a nice small tip to get right behind those incisors and it's much harder to "accidently" syringe too much at once. The only thing is I either have to use the CC fine grind (or EFL) with the small syringes... or I will repeatedly have to loosen the plugged tip with the regular CC.
 
I bought CC for my emergency kit and it just now came in handy and i'm sure grateful that I bought it. It was nice to have that, lifeline and a syringe on hand when my chin suddenly stopped eating instead of needing order it and wait even though people ship it priorty, its nice to have it available :)
 
aznmexaggie said:
Just another thing I have found that makes it easier: I prefer to use a 10 mL syringe as opposed to the 35 mL or larger, especially when just introducing a chin to CC. A huge syringe and large tip is a little more difficult to get them to take, IMO, while the 10 mL syringe has a nice small tip to get right behind those incisors and it's much harder to "accidently" syringe too much at once. The only thing is I either have to use the CC fine grind (or EFL) with the small syringes... or I will repeatedly have to loosen the plugged tip with the regular CC.
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Have you tried grinding regular CC with a coffee grinder? I haven't, but I wonder if it would get any finer.
 
I just got a bag of CC for this very reason. I don't actually need it right now, but I did mix a tiny bit of it up and offered it to all 3...only one of them actually liked it (Tala, who will eat anything within reach) but I'm going to smear a bit on some shreddies so hopefully the other two can get acclimated to it, in case I ever need to use it. Mine is the original flavor and just about makes me gag (I hate black licorice and that's what it smells like) but I feel so much better having it on hand. :thumbsup:
 
i made cookies with the CC one time and gave it to my boys.
mixed it up thick an dropped on tin foil, let sit out and dry.

didnt want to make too many because i was afraid it would lose its effectiveness, but it was a good way to get my one spazzy chin to try it. he wouldnt take it off the spoon.
 
this is a great point to bring up!

i know when Gizmo's had his tooth injury, i felt so lost, asking everyone what i should buy, what i should do. luckily, i was able to get CC at a vets office 30 min away. but after that, i went ahead and ordered some lifeline, just to start up my emergency kit.

what are a few other items a chin owner should ALWAYS have on hand?
 
For pet chins I always keep on hand Blue kote for injuries, simethicone for gas, pet pecillin for loose poo, terramycin for eye infections if the vet visit is a few days away, 10ml feeding syringes, 1cc syringe to hand feed water,
unscented baby wipes to clean fur, karo syrup in case of a seizure at play, bag balm for dry feet and ears, unflavored pedialyte for dehydration, Critical care and Life line, dyne in case of feeding problems I dip the syringe tip in it. Hand held personal massage unit, I use this for bloat and stasis chins.
 
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I was thinking of mixing up some CC to give to Chloe just to get her used to the taste before the bag goes bad (I have it in the freezer to prolong that as much as I can). So you all just buy a new bag every year (and with Lifeline, every 2 years)? I know it's a life saver but it seems like so much CC is wasted. I guess there's not really an alternative...
 
caiti said:
I was thinking of mixing up some CC to give to Chloe just to get her used to the taste before the bag goes bad (I have it in the freezer to prolong that as much as I can). So you all just buy a new bag every year (and with Lifeline, every 2 years)? I know it's a life saver but it seems like so much CC is wasted. I guess there's not really an alternative...
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My thought is that while the ingredients may loose potency after the expiration date, it won't go bad, and so won't hurt them. I'll keep giving it to them until its gone...that way if I need to get a fresh bag for an emergency situation, I'll at least have something to hold me over AND they will be accustomed to the taste and smell of it. Right now they don't really need any of the extra vitamins so I'm not worried about it being completely nutritionally balanced after the exp. date.
 
CC will in itself last a long time, a couple of years, just add a probiotic to it-that is what "expires".
 
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