PLEASE HELP BUNNY REFUSES TO TAKE MEDS

[Wilburbunny]

Hi guys my rabbit absolutely refuses to take his medicine I don’t know what to do I’ve tried everything. As soon as I take out the syringe he goes into panic mode but as soon as I put it away he wants cuddles again. UGH! The closest I’ve gotten is get it somewhat in his mouth be then he freaks out before I can give him any medicine. Pls help he really needs to take it for his respiratory infection. I also don’t want to waste any because it was sooooo expensive! Any ideas on what I can do?

[amyef2000]

If he’s eating you could try to hide the medicine in his food? When my rabbit was ill and refused medicine we injected it into hollowed out grapes which he happily ate. Felt a bit weird preparing the grapes lol but it worked!

[Bam]

If yo cant hide the meds in his food, I would suggest you try to get someone to hold your rabbit  while you give the meds. The rabbit can be burrito-ed, which means you wrap it in a towel so it cant squirm. The pressure from the towel has a calming effect, like a thunder shirt for a dog. The other person can sit the bunny in their lap, the bun’s back against the holding person’s belly. If you can cover the bun’s eyes with one hand, that too can help calm him down.

The syringe should go into the gap between the front teeth and the back teeth. That way the rabbit can’t bite down on the syringe. If the dose you are giving is greater than 0.3 – 0.4 ml  you should give it in two or three “portions”, so as not to risk choking.

Here is a detailed description of how to make a bunny burrito:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Transport/Towel/Towel.htm

[Wick & Fable]

I do the following, what I call “C-grip”: https://youtu.be/N12eJ5vdo4w

I developed this as I had to give Wick oral medication twice a day for several months in a row and it worked well since he’s small. If it is something you attempt, please be mindful of your grip and do not close your grip. Wick stays in place because my focus in maintaining the C shape; not closing tighter on his neck.

It is a difficult endeavor to give a rabbit meds they do not want, but keep in mind that they dont understand it will make them better. Even if it’s a short time of stress, it will pay off down the road.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Wilburbunny]

At this point I’ve been trying for about 2 hours and he hasn’t calmed down yet. This is getting very frustrating. I’ve been trying to do it kind of like you showed wick but I’ll try again later exactly how you did it. I haven’t figured out how to do the bunny burrito yet as soon as I start moving the towel around him he bolts. I’ve been trying to get him into a corner and he will literally just sit there with his eyes closed but as soon as I start messing with his mouth he somehow escapes. I would try the grape method but I don’t think he’s quite old enough for eating fruits since he is only 3.5 months. You would think he would give up at some point but that hasn’t happened yet.

[Wick & Fable]

He may not calm down since there isn’t an understanding of what’s happening, and that can be frustrating. Just as you’re doing though, try different methods and see what works for both of you. Also know that if a technique isn’t working, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you or your rabbit — it just might not be the best fit! For example, I cannot bunny burrito my Wick. He just withdraws into the tiniest ball and hides inside like a hedgehog. I have no idea how other people’s rabbits stay put!

You definitely can do this!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LBJ10]

Most antibiotics taste terrible… some more so than others.

Have you tried sitting on him? I’ve had a lot of luck with that method in the past.

[Wilburbunny]

I just got my mom to help me and she couldn’t do it either. He’s soooo squirmy. Do you think the vet could do it…for free? He’s probably consumed about .2 ml of his 1ml daily dose and that’s from me squirting it onto his feet and him licking it off. I have orange drip stains all over my walls lol. This is sooo annoying!

[DanaNM]

When I give meds I either sit on a chair with bun on my lap, or on the table on a towel, that way they can’t squirm away. Do the bun-rito once you’ve got him on the table. The C-grip Wick described is the way to go for sure.

Not sure if you’ve tried this, but have you tried mixing the meds into some mashed banana and syringing it that way?

Taking him to the vet daily or twice daily would be super stressful, but I bet your vet could show you how to do it in person if you call them. You could also ask them what flavor the med is… some vets accidentally give liver flavored meds to bunnies. YUCK.

You can do it! We believe in you!

Giving buns meds always reminds me of when my mom had to hold me and my siblings down for medicine when we were kids…. tough love ya know!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wilburbunny]

Lol! My mom has used that reference so much in the last day! Do you think he’s old enough for the banana? I’m scared it will hurt his stomach since I haven’t given him any fruits or veggies yet. He seemed fine at the vet, the vet came out to our car saying he was super sassy and wouldn’t stop exploring😆 I really hope the vet could show me how to do it at least once, just for hope purposes, but they probably won’t be able to because I’m not allowed in due to corona.

[jerseygirl]

Wick is a good boy in that video. <3

I think it would be worth trying with some fruit purée or pumpkin purée. He’s not to young and it’s only a small amount. If he doesn’t eat that out of a dish, you can at least dilute it & draw it up into a bigger syringe and try give again, so the dose is not wasted.

My preferred method with difficult-to-medicate buns is to put them up on a countertop. Think something like the height of the vet table. I position them so the butt is toward me as they usually wriggle backwards. Block them with your body. You can even place a forearm down each side of their body to secure them. Then I place my hand over the head, covering the eyes and forming a V shape with my fingers to pull the lips back. That way I can see that I get syringe into side of the mouth. Sometimes they do a chewing action on the nozzle and that’s a good time to squirt in the meds.

Example pic of finger placement only. This is just at bed height and with a cooperative bunny, so I haven’t fully secured him here.

[Wilburbunny]

Good news! I just called the vet and they’re going to show me how to do it! Hopefully they can, I just really need someone to show me my rabbit is able to take medicine! I’m going at 4 so I’ll update after that. It’s going to be raining so hopefully they let me come inside!

[jerseygirl]

Good luck!

[Wilburbunny]

Thanks for the suggestion Jerseygirl, I’ve tried putting him on my bed to do the but he’s like “oh yay a new place I’m going to explore” so he ends up zooming all over my bed! New places don’t really calm him down they excite him🤦‍♀️ I’ll try a counter top though. I’m watching all these YouTube videos and the bun JUST SITS THERE! How is that even possible?!?!?! Lol. I think I’m going to wait for the vet to give him meds today because I want to be able to tell them exactly how much he’s consumed.

[jerseygirl]

When there uphigher, there is less places for them to go. But you do have to watch they won’t try escape. The top of a washing machine is another spot I used as 3 side were blocked off and I could  lock the 4th with my body.

Lots of video links here in case you hadn’t seen those. It’s true though, the rabbits used in videos are often good candidates to film because they’re calmer.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Medicating_your_rabbit

[Wilburbunny]

The vet got him to take his medicine! Wilbur definitely put up a fight, the vet was trying to do the C Grip method but Wilbur would just not stop squirming but then she picked him up and held him in place while the vet tech squirted the meds into his mouth. She held him almost like a football with his feet dangling so he couldn’t push off. I’m going to need to learn how to hold him like that since I always do it with all his feet on my chest. I’m so happy though! It’s so good to know it is actually possible to medicate him!

[Wick & Fable]

That’s great news and I’m glad you’ve learned a new method! Whether the feet have something to launch off of is an important point. Best of luck with this method!!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bam]

Wonderful news!

[Wilburbunny]

Here’s an update: I haven’t been able to hold him like the vet showed, he keeps hopping away, but I did finally listen to you guys and mix it with some mashed banana. He ate it in about 5 seconds! Thank you all so much for the advice! I’m going to start giving him more fruits and veggies because he LOVES them.

[Bam]

Oh, that sounds wonderful! Fingers so crossed he’ll keep taking them that way! 🤞🤞🤞

[DanaNM]

That’s great! It’s so much less stressful when you can get meds into them without force!

I remember one med that I had to give a very sick bun and the vet had compounded it to taste so good that he nearly yanked the syringe out of my hand!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wilburbunny]

Yes fingers crossed for sure! Wow I wish Wilbur did that Dana lol.

[jerseygirl]

That’s great.  Go slow with the additional fruits and veggies though. I’d even wait until he has finished the meds, allowing the banana only – or whatever else you mix it in. Reason for this is you will want to monitor for changes to his poop once he starts on new foods. At the moment, if there was changes, you wont really be able to tell if it’s from the meds or the food.

This will also keep the banana-med combo high value for him. If he starts getting fruit/veg in other forms at other times, he might start to snub the medicine mix.   Just some things to keep in mind. 😉

[Wilburbunny]

Ok thanks I’ll keep that in mind

[LBJ10]

If the banana works, no harm using it! I agree you should limit it to just that. And no other treats either.

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