Tips for giving rambunctious bunny its meds

[Silly Sungura]

Hodari has head tilt from some as yet identified illness and I need to get her medicine in her. Can I add it to food or anything? The towel method is not working. DH has bad knees so its hard for him to get down on the floor, and he and I are both overly cautious about hurting her, so she manages to evade us at every attempt! The vet told us not to put her on the bed or let her get up on any other piece of furniture for a month. The meds are Baytril and Fenbendazole, if that makes any difference.

 

Thanks.

[Stickerbunny]

The way I did Stickers was I would grab her and give her to the boyfriend while he sat in his office chair and she would lay on his chest, with his arms around her holding her still. With one hand I held her head and with the other, put the syringe in her cheek and gently pushed the meds through it. I know she’s not supposed to get on furniture, but lifting her up just for meds shouldn’t be a problem should it? You could ask them. They should show you how to properly hold her if you ask as well, to give her meds without hurting her so you don’t have to worry about doing it incorrectly.

Some mix it with fruit but I couldn’t get Stickers to eat it that way, she smelled the medicine and was like “uh… that isn’t fruit, that stinks, go away”. And you have to be careful to make sure she eats it all at once, to get the dosage correct, or the medicine won’t work right.

[Silly Sungura]

That makes sense about the food. Hodari would likely snub it. We decided to lift her onto the bed again because that makes a whole lot more sense, too, than trying to pin her down on the floor where she has so many escape routes. Unfortunately it still took us an hour and a half to get most of the meds in her. She won’t lay still against our chests, or sit in our laps. She is slippery and surprisingly strong, and the very second we get that syringe near her mouth she thrashes violently and manages to squeeze or jump out of our grasp, however firm it may be. Finally I was bawling, and DH was saying : “I’m going to be late for work. I’ve got to go.” Hodari lifted her head and kissed me, and then she let me give her the second syringe. It was the Fenbendazole, and she took it all! Hooray!!! But, jeez, we can’t keep this up for a whole month, which is how long she’s supposed to be on meds.

[kralspace]

I have bad knees too, so instead of doing it on the floor, I have to put mine on the kitchen table and bend over them so I trap them the same way. I used to put a towel down, but have found the table surface intimidates them and they sit pretty still because it’s slippery. (keep a good hold of them)

One of mine is a head slinger and hard to medicate. But they all will take Baytril if it’s mixed with applesauce. My poor little Toby has been on Baytril all the four years I’ve had him and he won’t eat applesauce unless it does have medicine in it…lol

(it’s still better than my horse, when I would get a syringe of medication in her mouth, she’d hold it a little bit so I’d let my guard down, then spit the now-warm mess in my face!)

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Make sure you give her a treat after the meds, sometimes it makes them easier to give.

Search Youtube, there are lots of videos on how to secure a rabbit, maybe seeing it done will help you and give you more confidence

[Silly Sungura]

She got a treat and a bunch of kisses and praise afterward, for sure! I was elated. Lol.

Thanks for the tip about the videos. I watched several, but all of the rabbits in them are MUCH more cooperative than Hodari. If we’re lucky enough to get a towel around our lightening fast little girl, we hold her tight against our bodies so she cant back up, secure her front paws, encircle her with our arms and try to hold her head still; we make it as snug as we possibly can without crushing her, but then she bucks and kicks and thrashes so much that we wind up loosening our hold. Even the vets have almost dropped her. She’s a super strong, slippery little booger! Lol. DH says it’s like wrestling a greased pig; she even oinks and grunts.

About the slick surfaces: Hodari has no fear of them. We had to block off our dresser because she was always getting on it and skating. We’ll just keep trying; now that DH is on Christmas break we can wrestle with her for as long as she or we can stand it. Or, if we have enough medicine, we can always try the applesauce. Thanks, kralspace.

[kralspace]

hahah, don’t mean to laugh, but I had an older girl who was that slippery, one vet tech was finally able to hold her snugly, but then Hershey screamed like a banshee in her ear so the tech put her down quick. Hershey thumped right at her and jumped back in the carrier.

[Stickerbunny]

Stickers doesn’t hold still either, but I showed boyfriend how to hold her so she can’t slip away, if there is a little pressure on her shoulders and a hand supporting her behind she has trouble slipping away and she’s a rex, so her fur is slippery too. lol Took a while to get him used to holding her though, but we’ve worked on it with nail clipping etc, he finally got it when I made him do the clipping and I held her cause he was so scared he’d hurt her he was like” let me try holding her again” and I showed him how to spread his hands out so she can’t slip away / won’t hurt her. Our vet tech didn’t have the technique down and she nearly jumped out of her arms, the poor girl got bunny claws to the neck.

Once you find the way to hold Hodari firmly I am sure it’ll get easier. And don’t be surprised if she’s mad at you for a while after the meds stop – for one week of meds, it took Stickers two weeks to get over it and let me touch her again. o.O

Hope the meds make Hodari all better

[kralspace]

oh, yes, you will pay for it 😉 She’s going to milk it for all it’s worth.

[tobyluv]

I saw where you posted in your other thread that the vet isn’t sure yet exactly what is wrong with Hodari. I’m sorry that you are having so much trouble giving her the medicines. That’s never a fun job.

Have you tried the method of restraining her where you sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you, put her on her back and firmly clamp her between your legs? I don’t give medicine that way, but the person who runs the sanctuary where I volunteer usually uses that method. It’s best if you stick the syringe into the side of their mouth, not the front.

I hope that the medicines will help her and that she will recover soon.

[Silly Sungura]

Hershey and Hodari sound a lot alike. Hodari is an independent spirit; she hates to be made to do anything. I have to act like I don’t care if she listens to me at all much of the time, and usually she’ll decide to obey. She likes to think it is her decision, though. She’s otherwise pretty mellow and sweet. Loves to cuddle and be affectionate.

Stickerbunny, will you come to my house? We need you!

tobyluv, we haven’t tried that, but the vet had to flip her over on her back as part of the exam and it took six hands and five or six tries to accomplish it. I think DH and I are too wimpy to try it at home.

Thank you for the support and sympathy.

[RabbitPam]

I know it’s hard when you have bad knees, but I’m wondering if you can shut yourselves in the bathroom and have Hodari and you on the floor together. Block access to behind the toilet like with a wastebasket, then try to trap her between your outstretched legs, hand on shoulder and but up against you. You can take a very thin towel for a burrito and place it over her eyes to keep her from seeing her escape. It won’t smother her, but like with horses, it might disorient her into calming down a bit. tuck the towel under to enclose her feet.

It can be exhausting until she gets resigned to it, I know. Definitely get the syringe in the side, not front, too.

At least when you’re done you can take your time getting back up from the floor, maybe with the help of the side of the tub for your own support.

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