Oxbow Simple Rewards Oven Baked with Apple & Banana Small Animal Treats, 3-oz bag

I've given these treats to our pigs for years. It was a good alternative to the junk treats out there. However, the formula has changed. Compared to the original formula, you can smell way more barley, oat, and cane molasses than timothy hay. I truly don't think it's the hardness. Mine won't eat the new multivitamin formula, either. Pretty sure you could put milk on them and eat them yourself. I have emailed customer support at Oxbow several times. They told me to "put fruit juice on them, steam them, or break them up". If you know about guinea pigs, they probably should not have fruit juice everyday, if at all. Obviously, Oxbow has NO intention of switching the formula back to the original. I've given these treats to our pigs for years. It was a good alternative to the junk treats out there. However, the formula has changed. Compared to the original formula, you can smell way more barley, oat, and cane molasses than timothy hay. I truly don't think it's the hardness. Mine won't eat the new multivitamin formula, either. Pretty sure you could put milk on them and eat them yourself. I have emailed customer support at Oxbow several times. They told me to "put fruit juice on them, steam them, or break them up". If you know about guinea pigs, they probably should not have fruit juice everyday, if at all. Obviously, Oxbow has NO intention of switching the formula back to the original. Going to get a processor and try to make my own. I HIGHLY recommend buying only 1 package to see if your furbaby(s) will eat them before you buy in bulk or autoship like I did. I'm stuck with $30 of open treat bags that mine won't eat. … more

I would give these 2 1/2 stars at this point. As folks have already pointed out, these treats have changed. They don't have the same banana scent; they are larger and harder. I break them in half, which I think helps the Guinea Pigs & Rabbit to eat them; they do seem to be eating them. I give broken up pieces of treats in small bowls so my small pets can nibble at their discretion. Maybe the diminished scent isn't important to them. I think the treats are too hard and difficult to break but maybe this is better for their teeth. I didn't mind the change to the Oxbow Veggie Treats; they were every bit as liked by my small pets, and I thought, smelled even better. They aren't as hard as these are I would give these 2 1/2 stars at this point. As folks have already pointed out, these treats have changed. They don't have the same banana scent; they are larger and harder. I break them in half, which I think helps the Guinea Pigs & Rabbit to eat them; they do seem to be eating them. I give broken up pieces of treats in small bowls so my small pets can nibble at their discretion. Maybe the diminished scent isn't important to them. I think the treats are too hard and difficult to break but maybe this is better for their teeth. I didn't mind the change to the Oxbow Veggie Treats; they were every bit as liked by my small pets, and I thought, smelled even better. They aren't as hard as these are, so I can more easily break them into smaller pieces. I will try the other treats in the new formula, such as the Carrot & Dill, and will continue to buy the Veggie treats, but I won't be getting the Apple Banana flavor again. … more

Been buying these treats in multiple varieties for years and our guinea pig had always loved these and happily taken them whenever offered. But he *hates* the new version - thicker shape and changed flavor. Well at least I assume he hates them because he absolutely refuses them. He comes up to the cage near me and requests treats multiple times a day. If I give him the old variety (still have a bag or two left) he happily takes it. If I give him the new variety (i keep multiple bags of treats open so he gets a variety of ones throughout the day) he will refuse it. I leave it there and he never touches it. I break it up - nothing. I put it in warm water to soften it - nothing. I doubt it has anything Been buying these treats in multiple varieties for years and our guinea pig had always loved these and happily taken them whenever offered. But he *hates* the new version - thicker shape and changed flavor. Well at least I assume he hates them because he absolutely refuses them. He comes up to the cage near me and requests treats multiple times a day. If I give him the old variety (still have a bag or two left) he happily takes it. If I give him the new variety (i keep multiple bags of treats open so he gets a variety of ones throughout the day) he will refuse it. I leave it there and he never touches it. I break it up - nothing. I put it in warm water to soften it - nothing. I doubt it has anything to do with the shape or it being thicker because he won't even touch it. I contacted oxbow cs and they acknowledge the change but don't seem to have taken any feedback as a sign to change things which is odd cause if you look at the reviews here and in the other variety almost all the 1 star reviews are recent and site the new version. So I won't waste my money on these simple rewards any more. … more

i bought these because they were marketed towards hamsters and i needed some new treats... when they arrived not only were they much bigger than i had imagined they would be, but my hamster also completely ignored it when put into his cage. not interested at ALL. i've now read other reviews and it seems they changed the recipe. oh well.

I didn't see "made with hay" on the package when I bought these for my rats, or I wouldn't have gotten them in the first place. But, since I had them, I figured I would put them out for the squirrels, mice, and chipmunks. Nobody would eat them and they sat completely untouched for days until I threw them away. Absolute garbage.

All of these different simple rewards oven baked treats are fantastic. My bunny always loves them and I don’t have to worry too much about the sugar or his digestive system like when I give him real fruit and vegetable treats, so they’re easy when I’m in a hurry.

My Guinea Pigs absolutely loved these until Oxbow changed the shape/formulation. Oxbow says they didn’t change ingredients but just changed the shape so they would be less susceptible to breakage during transport. Something has changed because my Guinea Pigs loved these treats before, but when I give them the new treat version they show lack of interest... continuing to beg for another treat instead. It’s been a couple weeks now and they barely eat them. I’m really, really disappointed. PLEASE go back to the original! I now have no safe treats to feed my Guinea pigs!

My pet rats absolutely do not like this treat. It's due to the hay in it. But this isn't on Oxbow, as I really like the brand. I should have paid closer attention, read the label, etc. This is more for the rodents who eat hay as part of their daily diet. Oxbow is an excellent brand, which I already mentioned.

This was a favorite treat in our house. Now these are ridiculously thick and have a super hard texture. Our Holland Lop can't even get his mouth around them. Tried to break these up with a rolling pin (they used to easily break in half with fingers) and even then they were almost indestructible. I had to keep smashing them and they wouldn't break cleanly. Ended up with big chunks, lots of treat dust, and a tired arm. Bunny is bummed!

We also got the ones with barley in them, and the rabbit loved them. Got these, and they are WAY too thick for him to eat. Our guinea pigs don't want them, either. The ONLY way I can get them to eat them, is to take a hammer and smash them into much smaller pieces, which really defeats the purpose. Oxbow needs to know the new thick shape is TERRIBLE!