Not taking medicine

gmitbites88 · Dec 21, 2008

Misty was at the vet yesterday for another jag, VHT I think it was called. Anyhoo the vet was a bit lame and she answered all of my questions about Misty with a "OH REALLY?" and did'nt give us too much info. I told her that Misty was giving sort of little rapid head nods almost as if she was nodding really fast. She only does this once in a while. So we got an "OH REALLY" then she asked if she'd been wormed, we said no so she gave us this paste, PANACUR, the vet gave the first dose but it ended up all over Misty. We asked if we could give her the dose on a piece of carrot or whatever and she said yes as long as it ended up in her mouth. So we tried and failed doing this today 'cos Misty must have smelled it. We also tried holding her and giving her it that way but she would turn her head away. Any help/ideas please????

Sooz · Dec 21, 2008

The jab is VHD. :wave:

Misty isn't a white rabbit by any chance is she?

I personally give Panacur directly into the mouth by inserting the syringe in the gap between the incisors and the molars and directing it across the tongue (not down the back towards the throat). It may help to wrap her in a towel in order to keep her still.....gently pinning her ears to the scruff of her neck can control head movement and stop her turning away from the syringe, but you will probably need an extra pair of hands.

Alternatively a lot of rabbits will eat the paste wrapped up in a spring green leaf or smeared on a piece of banana, apple or carrot.

Muppet2 · Dec 21, 2008

The jab would have been VHD (Viral Haemorrhagic Disease) and, just in case your vet didnt explain, Misty will need it every year. It's a very nasty disease that develops very quickly and rabbits die.

Muppet loathes being syringed which probably wasnt helped by my beginner's technique and the syringe being a bit too large for the gap in the incisors (which I didnt know about but found by accident).

My best method was a banana sandwich - two very thin slices of banana with the paste sandwiched between. Try anything your rabbit particularly loves, though in my experience getting paste to stick on anything (except my hands) was a nightmare!

gmitbites88 · Dec 21, 2008

will try the bannana approach tomorrow, my only worry is that we've only just got the hang of picking her up, so if we pick her up (if the bannana approach fails) then every time we go to pick her up she'll panic 'cos she'll think she's getting a syringe in her gob!? This is a 9 day course this wormer, wish us luck!

gmitbites88 · Dec 21, 2008

Oh yeah Sooz, Misty is white.

TeddyPatches · Dec 21, 2008

Could you maybe get on the floor with her and hold her if the banana doesn't work? That way she won't associate being picked up with the syringe. You could also give her a treat and lots of fuss after having her medication, that should make it more pleasant for her

gmitbites88 · Dec 21, 2008

That's another option but she usually hops away should we go near, will give the floor a try though.

Sooz · Dec 22, 2008

gmitbites88 said:
Oh yeah Sooz, Misty is white.

Has she red eyes?

I think her head movement is actually to do with her eyesight, REWs (Red Eyed Whites) have notoriously poor vision and whilst most do a head manouver called 'scanning' where the head moves slowly side to side, others use a up and down (or nodding) motion known as 'tracking'. This allows them to focus on objects better and to judge distances more accurately.

Read here: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=94117&highlight=side+head+movement

Happy Hopping · Dec 30, 2008

You have to wrap the bun in a towel tightly so you can admin. the syringe

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