Administering oral meds

[Free2Dream]

Does anyone have any tips for giving a bunny oral medication? How do you make a bunny burrito? I have seen my vet do it in order to trim Oliver’s nails, but I never learned the proper technique. I hope I won’t have to, lol, but you never know. Dorie is very sweet, but we are only just getting to know her and I don’t want to traumatize her by making giving her her meds a giant production. (She’s on Baytril, strawberry flavored, lol, for a UTI.) Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Monkeybun]

I tried burritos with Monkey, and they just didn’t work. So.. I just sat on the floor, knees to my chest, and held her between my knees and my chest snugly. that way, it wasnt scary high for her, and she was still held securely.

[Free2Dream]

That’s a good idea. I can see how doing a burrito can be hard if a bunny just isn’t cooperating. Oliver usually behaves much better in the vet’s office than he does at home. Isn’t that always the way.

Dorie was actually really good. She is such an easy-going girl. The medicine is a custom formulation (I love having an organic pharmacy in the area) that tastes like strawberry, so she actually lapped it right up. She was actually looking for more. This is such a nice change of pace after having to administer medication to a hedgehog, lol.

[GrumpyBun]

Posted By Free2Dream on 10/13/2010 04:07 PM
This is such a nice change of pace after having to administer medication to a hedgehog, lol.

Details please!

My bun Oxo takes two people and a towel to give him his medicine. We wrap him up on my husband’s lap while he holds him, so I can hold his head still and syringe feed. To be fair I’ve tasted his baytril and it’s vile, I’d kill for strawberry flavour! The metacam is sweetened and he just adores that.

[Free2Dream]

Haha well… it’s virtually impossible to medicate an animal that hisses and balls up whenever it wants to avoid you, so you have to invest in some really heavy duty gloves (like the kind ranchers wear when moving hay around, lol) and get the scruffing technique down. Scruffing a hedgehog is awful. It’s so hard to get a good grip, and you feel like you’re hurting them because they are such sensitive little creatures. Unfortunately, my hedgie Annabelle has secondary liver disease, so she’s constantly going on medication to manage it.

http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh82/SonicsMama2/?action=view&current=MVI_5953.mp4

The hedgie’s expression in this video is hysterical!

EDIT: The strawberry Baytril is a blessing. The vet said they can basically do any flavor you want. She offered to put in carrot flavor, but I thought strawberry would be better because buns associate fruits with treats. The hedgie gets chicken-flavored meds whenever she’s sick. (Which I tasted. It’s pretty convincing. hahaha.)

[Andi]

I’ve used a bit of juice to help make baytril tatse better, may vets will flavor it for you.

I hold my bunny in one arm, their chest in my hand pressed between my arm and chest, then use other hand to squish it down their mouth. If this doesn’t work, i sit on my knees, butt on my feet and feet touching each other, and place the bunny between my legs, holding around their neck/chest with my hand, and my upper body sort of against the top of them, then i medicate. They can’t go backwards b/c of my feet, sideways are blocked by legs and going forward is held by my hand and well my face is in the way LOL It’s hard to see sicne we;re over top of them, but both ways keep them right side up, not on their backs where chocking on medication could be a problem.

[RabbitPam]

Just want to add that it’s always easier to squirt into the side of their mouths, kind of at the back of their teeth, instead of the front under their nose. It goes in more easily, they drink it faster and can’t pull away as easily. Harder to miss their mouth opening, too.

[Author]

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