DIY treats: Critter Crunchies for your small Exotic pet

Hello World! Its The Thrifty Fur Baby Foster Mama here!

This afternoon, I decided to try my hand at making another batch of homemade critter treats. As you may know I have  2 rabbits & a chinchilla so buying commercial treats can get expensive fast not to mention how bad for your pet most commercial small animals treats are as they are generally jam packed with sugar. So I decided a while back to try to make my own to save some money & help cut out all that unhealthy sugars & processed junk that comes in the store bought ones & here is what I came up with. Here are some treats that are safe for rabbits, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, & hamsters. I make different ones for my chinchilla as they can not have vegetables like the other species I mentioned can. You can feel free to tweek this obviously as these are just the basic guidelines I use to make a large batch.

Recipe #1                                                                           Recipe #2
3 leaves of Romaine lettuce                                            3 Romaine lettuce leaves
1/4 cup Spinach                                                               1/4 cup Spinach,
4 Baby Carrots                                                                 4 Baby Carrots,
1 single serve Sugar Free Apple Sauce                           1/2 to 3/4 of a banana
1/2 cup Rolled Oats,                                                        1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Wheat Germ                                                        1/2 cup Wheat Germ
1/8 cup pineapple juice                                                     1/4 cup water
1/2 cup their food pellets                                                  1/2 cup their food pellets
1 cup rose petals

First you will need to grind up the dry ingredients in either a blender or coffee grinder. Next you will need to puree your fruits and veggies in a blender to get them as smooth as possible. Obviously you can pick and choose which veggies and fruits you use as long as you know that they are safe for your specific specie of fur baby to have but be careful with carrots as they are very high in sugar if you add fruit do it in moderation. I added pineapple juice because we are in molt right now & pineapples & their juice have natural enzymes to help break down hair balls. Rabbits are not able to vomit so they must pass the fur through their digestive system & if they cant they will end up with what is referred to as a trichobezoar which is mass of compacted hair which will have to be surgically removed and no one wants that, so please be sure to brush your bun often! You can use other types of veggies or herbs too, to enhance the taste & smell of them like mint, thyme, parsley, or safe dried herb & flower premixes. Just make sure its safe for your specific specie of pet.

Once you get every thing blended you can start mixing it together. I mix mine in a large bowl and fold the dry ingredients into the wet pureed ones and it works quite nicely. You can add a tablespoon of water at a time if you need a bit more liquid.  roll out the dough. Once your dough is mixed you can either roll it out to cut into squares or use with cookies cutters or you can use rubber baking or ice cube mold, I prefer to use molds. If your using molds you will want to fill them anywhere between half to completely full depending on how deep and large the mold is because the larger and thicker the treat the longer it will take to dry completely through. Next you will want to freeze the dough in your rubber molds for about 15 to 30min depending on how large and thick the shapes are in the mold. When they have firmed up enough to pop out easily you will be ready to preheat your oven to 325

degrees. While your oven is preheating let your treats set out on a tray to defrost a bit which should only take about 15min. Your treats will look like this before baking, nice and green since this was a batch vegetables were used in.

Next your going to want to put your treats in the oven for about 30 to 40mins to bake depending upon your oven as they all cook differently. Be sure to watch them so they don’t burn. Then when 30min is up you will want to TURN OFF your oven BUT let the treats sit in there for at least another 30 to 60min. This part is CRUCIAL to the drying process so that they don’t maintain moisture or they will grow mold. You will be able to tell if they are still tacky or moist pretty easily. I will generally crack a large thick one apart just to make sure they are totally dry & not rubbery still. When they are done they will look closer to this however this batch was a bit too done so I tweeked my baking time by 2 or 3 minutes next time to correct this, however the bun buns still loved them just the same!

Lastly you have the all important taste test!

                                                                                

 

   
 Here is a short 2 minute video I made as well on how I make these that you may enjoy