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Syringing on your own - tips?

tigerangel

Warren Veteran
I will have to sort out Sora's meds on my own in 5 + 7 hours time as my husband is away at work 8am - 6pm...

Does anyone have any good tips for syringing an easily-distressed bunny with just 1 pair of hands? The 'wrapping in towel' method usually works but is rather difficult to get her securely in place at the moment (though it is at least semi-effective) but my problem is going to be holding her in one hand while blindly trying to aim the syringe into the side of her mouth with the other.

Any suggestions on, er, 'positions and methods' :oops: would be very much appreciated :wave:
 
Kneel on the floor and wedge the bunny firmly between your knees. If you don't have carpet, either have a towel round her or something on the floor to stop her wee feet slipping and panicking. Worked for me with a biting kicking bunny who was very good at avoiding her medication :lol: Good luck!

ETA If she's still wriggling around between your knees you can get a grip on her scruff to let her know she's stuck for the time being, you shouldn't need to do this if your knees have a firm grip. Obviously don't squish her, but firm handling will make her feel more secure.
 
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I put a towel on a table, place bunny facing you, then pull the towel up over bunny's bottom, pull both sides up and over bunny, if you hold this bit of towel quite tight, you can use the other hand to syringe... I usually kneel down so am at face level with the bunny...
 
I usually do the 'bunny burrito' method (you can find it on Youtube) with Smokey because she is fairly calm anyway.

With Inky, I have to grip him with my knees on the floor. Do wear thick trousers though, being bitten on your inner thigh is not fun.
 
My bunnies are fairly small so I pick up one, put him/her upside down facing me and hold the legs quite firmly but gently with one hand, so that the rabbit knows he cannot kick. If do it right you can hold the head so that the rabbit won't be able to get away from the syringe. Insert the syringe tip delicately under the lip, behind the incisors. Give the rabbit time to swallow and if he doesn't, change his position a bit. Hope this helps although it probably can't be done with bigger and stronger rabbits.
 
Thanks everyone - 5 mins to go til I get scratched and kicked to pieces :lol:

I will try the towel & between the knees method, she is one very strong bunny and I think she might take a blind leap off the table (she always tries it at the vets...) and with her recovering from such a serious operation I would rather try avoiding anything she could leap from :oops:
 
Yeah I forgot to say that it's not to be done on a table, you must be sitting on the ground and the rabbit in your lap of course.
However I noticed that there are some bunny medicines that taste really good to them. When I gave Maia her pro-biotic stuff she would often scratch for more and try to make away with the tube. Her drops I would put on a bunny cracker and she gobbled down that before she realized it was laced with medicine. So perhaps you can try a softer method before you resort to just picking up the rabbit.
 
I managed it with her facing me, bum between my legs and her head over my thigh/into the curve of my arm when kneeling down and awkardly aiming the syringe into her mouth. Worked...but....damn, I'm trying to get the cramp out of my toes now :oops: The vet warned us that one of the medicines (one of the 2 I just gave her) is particularly nasty tasting to rabbits so I'm not surprised she protests it. In less than 2 hours I will be doing it all over again...

Unfortunately with it being gut stasis at the begining of this, and with 2/5th of the drugs trying to keep her system going, I am wary of what I put the medicine on/in, just in case it causes problems. I know she doesn't like porridge or most types of baby food and is currently turning her nose up at pellets and treats. Unlike Smudge, who happily accepted a 'sushi roll' of a strip of metacam-laced bread around a pineapple treat :roll:
 
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