Injecting my bunny

Hello

Anyone had experienced injecting their own bunny?

My Gizmo is 9yrs old and has very bad snuffles. he's already been on antibiotic for the last month or so and the vet advised me to carry on the injection at home as its less stressful for him. he has improved alot since on the meds.

The vet had taught me how to inject under their supervision.

i started the first injection last week on my own and it didnt go well. poor bun bled quite a bit and with some of the meds coming out from the wounds too. the area had slightly bruised too but gone by the time for the next injection.

Second injection was couple of days ago and it didnt go any better than the first. but he didnt bleed this time but again almost all of the meds came back out from the hole. so effectively he didnt had the meds in. He was bruised again too. and because very little meds got into him he starting to coughing and sneezing again. he didnt sneeze when we traveled to the vet to have the injections.

What am i doing wrong?

i was taught to lift some of the skin at the back of his neck and make a "tent" and then inject into this tent.

Thought it will get better each time but starting to doubt it and dreading the next one which is tomorrow.

He is still bruised at the back of his neck, is it ok to inject around the area again? will try not to but he his very skinny and i find it extremely difficult to lift a different area or lift enough skins.



PS. my other bun has been licking his wounds, tried to stop her but not possible. Has this contributed to the bruising?

Hi yes I've had to inject Nobby before a couple of years ago,think it was when he had an abcess in his inner ear lug. I was not very good at it,his skin was quite tough & I ended up jabbing him numerous times in one go trying to get it right. Bless him,he was like a little pin cushion I felt awful but he never made a fuss-I dont remember me getting any better at it either. Just when I'd think I was getting the hang of it I'd inject the stuff right out the other side of his scruff!!! It always looked so easy but for some reason I always made it so hard:roll: hope it gets easier for you.x

i have been injecting my Barney a lot since January. the first one i did went totally wrong none of hte liquid seemd to go in! After this i trimmed an area of fur really short, this really helped as i could see what I was doing when i was putting the needle in and you can see the shape of your little tent lol
You might need to check that the antibiotic isnt an irritant though, if yes you might not be able to inject in the same site too many times, mine isnt so i kept using the trimmed patch.

Try and hold the bunny still as possile and push hard with the needle as the skin is thick and resists, but keep going until you can see the needle is well in, you need to make sure it goes in parallel with his back kind of along the tent floor. then kep the pressure when you inject the fluid. the antibiotics i had are a really thick liquid so you have to press quite hard (compared to metacam). When you take the needle out hold the skin around the injection sitethen press your finger on the hole for a minute or so as sometimes some of the liquid comes back out. i think this is because the needles are quite large compared to human ones. apparently though its only a tiny bit that comes out but it seems like a lot with antibiotics because its so thick.

Actually, after the first one went wrong a practiced a few times with an empty needle, this might seem cruel but i wanted to make sure i was doing it right so he was getting his meds and it helped because he was poked less in the wrong run.

i always feed a small bit of banana after injecting btw :lol: sweetens the blow! Hope this helps.

when you say 'back of neck' it sounds like maybe you are injecting a lot higher up than i do, maybe this bruises easier? maybe go down the back an inch or so?

Ok a few questions. What antibiotics are you injecting, what colour needles are you using, are you getting any resistance when you inject and are you injecting straight out of the fridge?

When you insert the needle twist it slightly (like you are screwing it in) don't hold the plunger part of the needle hold it half way down, and only when you are sure it's in start injecting the fluid. I found it best to shake the syring first too.

With your bunny being older his skin will be tougher, hope you are able to get the hang of it

ETA It does become easier, I couldn't do it at first, and had to get my daughter to come over and help, but as the injections were every other day I had to get used to it, I think some of it was fear of hurting the poor bunny

Some people also find it easier if they draw up the fluid with one needle, then swap to a new needle to inject. My vets do this too.

I had trouble with some of Flora's injections and I must have hit a vein or someone once because there was a bit of blood. But she was as good as gold and we eventually got the hang of it. I had to do it for 8 weeks.

hurricanhoney said:

Ok a few questions. What antibiotics are you injecting, what colour needles are you using, are you getting any resistance when you inject and are you injecting straight out of the fridge?

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i think the antiboitic is called something like Treco..something.. cant remenber.

the needles are pre-prepared by the vet.

havent put the needles in the fridge, it just stored in a cupboard.

Just retry this morning, but had to gave up as i couldnt get hold of his skin probably. the area where i inject last time was still quite bad and feels alittle hard.

may had to take him back to the vet tomorrow.

I would reccomend that you book a nurse appointment tomorrow at your vets to have another run through on injecting.
They will be more than happy to spend time with you and Gizmo and it will help you feel more confindent. It is hard to begin with, but with a little more practice it will become easier

Roseberry said:

when you say 'back of neck' it sounds like maybe you are injecting a lot higher up than i do, maybe this bruises easier? maybe go down the back an inch or so?

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Thanks Roseberry.

i tried to go down further his back this morning (just at the shoulder blades or can you go even further down than that?) but the area wasnt trimmed so can't really see if i got his fur or skin! Gave up for now, will try again later as both of us feeling abit stressed.

I think i just successfully injected my boy.... there's a drop of the meds oozing out and think thats all. tried to press it down for a minute but he just want to get away so i just let him go.

did took me a while to try to find a good patch of skin and make the "tent". the problem is he is so hairy and so thin too. he is a long hair lionhead breed.. blessed him.

i can breath until the next one...

Furry said:

I think i just successfully injected my boy.... there's a drop of the meds oozing out and think thats all. tried to press it down for a minute but he just want to get away so i just let him go.

did took me a while to try to find a good patch of skin and make the "tent". the problem is he is so hairy and so thin too. he is a long hair lionhead breed.. blessed him.

i can breath until the next one...

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It will get easier. I found I injected straight through the first couple of times but then got easier.

glad it went ok. good luck with the practice.

i had to do kittys at home injections but i managed ok as bunnies get odler their skin is thicker make sure you do it until there is a pop so the needle is under the skin. good luck xx

Just to update. Gizmo's condition deteriorated badly over the weekend, he was having trouble breathing and stop eating. The jab doesn't seem to do much anymore.

took him to the vet this morning and the vet advises me to pts. The vet said there isnt much more they can do and very slim chance he'll get any better.

So i've made the heart breaking decision and agreed to let him go.

He was such a fighter, he had been through so much last 5 months.

I am heart broken right now.

I am so sorry to read this, heartbroken for you. xx

Really thought we had a chance getting it under control and live happily ever after even if it means injecting the little man every other day.

But the vet reckon he was only responding to the steriod injection rather than the antibiotic. and the vet said it isn't ideal to keep him on steriod.

What are the side effects for long term steriod injection? was too upset to even think at the time.

Bit regretting letting him go so early, should have fought more for him and prolong his little life (i know, i am being selfish).

The days just don't seem the same without him....

I haven't a clue about steroids so can't help you there sorry. Just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you. I had to PTS one of my old rabbits and although I knew it was for the best a part of me still wonders if anything else could have been done for him. I know how you feel. xx