Snuggles will not take her antibiotics, need ideas or opinions

[Adam]

It’s Baytril for UTI.

I’m not even 100% sure that when I think we (me and the gf) have squirt it into her mouth that it’s not just going into her chin folds.

The problem is, no matter how tight I hold her, she jerks violently at the slightest touch near her mouth.  I’ve tried bunny burrito, mixing it with fruit juice (she has almost no appetite so food doesn’t help).  

This is day four of her not eating a healthy amount.  Like she will eat some baby kale and hay, and I’ve seen her drink.  But not much else.  Over the last twelve hours I count less than a half dozen poops.  

I’m so worried right now.  Vet said it would act quick, so now I’m paranoid that she’s not getting enough.  

[Esme]

Keep feeding her greens and providing water, you might also want to try the Oxbow Critical Care Small Animal Food to start making her eat a little more. My vet told me that with the CC you could prepare it and instead if syringe feeding her it, you can roll them up into little balls and let them dry a little since some rabbits prefer yo eat them that way.

Does the medicine have a label? If so, it should somewhere in the bottom right hand corner next to how many mm it is.
What I usually do with Runaway is have her wrapped up as a burrito with a towel with her legs tucked in. My mom will then hold her in a type of “hug” with Runaway’s back facing her. I would then give her the medicine through kinda of the back of her teeth (that’s what my vet told me) and squirt a little bit in there. Runaway will then start to move her tongue meaning that she has already taken it in, after she’s done I will then squirt a little more from the syringe until it’s done. One of you guys could also try talking to her calmly to try and keep her as calm as possible.
Runaway, with her previous owner, grew up as a “wild rabbit” so I get the whole “bunny jerking her head and not wanting to take her meds stuff” ?

But as you said you tried it that way.. so you could maybe also try putting it on her greens and see if she will eat it that way instead.

And no worries, with the proper care and you calling the vet about anything different going on and/or taking her to be checked, she will be okay hopefully
I also tend to get anxious when I notice any changes happening to my rabbit (like not eating or her being lethargic and looking uncomfortable).

Hope this helps a little

[Mikey]

You can also try to add a few drops of it onto her kale. Many rabbits wont think about the medicine on it and will just eat their greens like normal.

If shes not eating very much at all, she needs to see a vet. They can give her gut mobilizing injections and fluids to help her regain her appitite.

[Adam]

Well we’ve been to the vet. I may call her again tomorrow. But yeah anything this stuff touches she doesn’t want anything to do with, so mixing it with food doesn’t seem to work. Just not enough appetite.

It’s Baytril .1cc twice daily. I should have done more to find that out before posting.

[Beeskerlady]

Praying for you and your sweet bun, hope the vet can give you advice . Snuggles, please take your boo boo medicine for your Daddy and get well soon. Sending prayers and ❤️

[LBJ10]

Sounds like my Wooly. Have you tried sitting on her? That’s the only way I can get him to take meds and it still requires some patience. If you’d like me to describe the technique, I can.

[alcyone]

Marley was terrified of the syringe when we had to force feed him critical care back in March for GI stasis. Sometimes I would sit there for an hour trying to get him to eat it. A lot of the time I would get it in his mouth and he just wouldn’t chew it.

I’m sure you’re already doing this, but try to make sure you’re getting it in the gap between his front teeth and the others. A lot of times I thought I was doing this when I was really just squirting it all over the side of his mouth, lol. A little trick I picked up on was instead of just trying to stick it in there, I’d quickly lift up his lip with the syringe and it would slide into his mouth where it needed to be. It never really got easy, but it did get easier. I hope the same happens for you. Good luck!

[Adam]

Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll take whatever technique advice I can get.

[LBJ10]

I place Wooly on the floor, facing away from me. Then I sit down on my knees and situate him in the gap between my legs. Always remember to tuck your feet it. He tries to back up and wiggle out that way. Basically, he is wedged between the floor and my legs, with no where to go. Then I lean forward, so he can’t try to wiggle upward either. Then I will come in from the side with the syringe and work it into his mouth. He will jerk and fuss because he does not like ANYTHING touching his mouth. But I can always narrow the gap even more (I never squeeze him too hard). I takes some patience, but he eventually gives up. I have to squirt small amounts of medicine in his mouth as a time though because sometimes he refuses to chew. Once finished, I let go. He hops out and looks for his treat (he always gets a reward).

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