Can your vet not compound the medicine? That at least gets your a liquid form. Then it’s a matter of forcing them to take it, unfortunately.

Top of USB cord is a cunning plan 😄 It’d probably work best with an expensive cord or at least one that’s difficult to replace.

I have only given pills dissolved in water, in a syringe. It’s very common here, to get the dosage right you have to dissolve a pill or half a pill in f ex 5 ml water and then measure up the amount you want. Over the years I’ve done this with metoclopramide, pepcid and bricanyl, as per my rabbit savvy vet’s rigorous instructions. Some dissolved meds can be kept in the fridge for a day or two, but some needs to be mixed fresh each time. It’s not ideal of course, bc it means you waste a lot, but unfortunately it’s often the only way. Pharmacies here don’t compound any meds.

I’ve done this with a “pill popper”. They sell them online or your vet should be able to give one to you! The trick is aiming the pill at the right spot. It’s tricky with rabbits though, so liquids are usually easier.

I mix rabbit probiotics with water, both types I use come in the form of  powder.

I agree it’s very difficult when you cant bribe a bun. Bribery is probably  the most useful tool a rabbit caretaker has!

Yeah, if it’s just powdered probiotics, you can just mix with water.

I use 2 kinds because one comes as a fluid replacement powder and has a strain of saccharomyces cerevisiae. I only use that one for sick bunnies. Here’s the ingredients list:

The other one I have has enterococcus faecium. It’s a bacterium that is found in the gut of healthy rabbits, but the capsules I can get are for dogs and cats. There’s no liver flavor or other non-veg ingredients in it so its fine for rabbits according to my vet. I use that one for mild GI problems.

Gut health is an area of active research but there’s still so much that isnt understood. How the various microbes interact with each other under various circumstances is extremely complex. No one really knows if probiotics even help. They might be our best bet though.

Hey, when my bunny was needing to take medication he really didn’t want the vet tech showed me a technique to make it easier to give him his (liquid) medicines. He told me to put Benjamin into a bunny burrito (wrap him in a towel snugly) and put my index finger under his chin and lift his head up. Be sure that you’re lifting the bunny’s head by the chin and not the neck. Then put the syringe into the corner of his mouth and slowly administer. This method really cut down on the squirminess and stress for us! It’s a harmless method too. Be gentle but firm.

When I put him into the bunny burrito I would turn him so the right side of his body is facing my chest and I’d put my left arm around him snugly to hold him to me and decrease wiggling. With my left hand I would lift his chin and with my right hand I would administer the medicine.

I can make a video of this if my description is confusing. We wish you the best! <3

In my experience, rabbits become more attached to the person who gives them meds, not less – even if the experience with the meds is very unpleasant. There can be individual exceptions to this of course.

The idea you had with applying the gel on the other’s buns head could perhaps work, esp if you mix it with a tiny little bit of mashed banana? Probiotic gel wouldnt be harmful in any way for the other bun -I wouldnt try this with an actual drug like antibiotics or anything else where you need to get the dosage right. With probiotics, dosage isnt very important, any surplus that the bun cant use will just pass through (Molly Varga, her webinar on GI problems in rabbits).