Medication tips for Ted - swallowing U/D for Coineanach

martlou · Mar 2, 2012

Another Little Ted related thread! He's come home from the vets tonight after his stasis with several medications to take. He's on 0.5ml zantac twice daily, 1ml emeprid 3 times daily, 2kg dose of metacam once daily and fibreplex 3 times daily . He's really good at holding them in his mouth and not so good at actually swallowing them. Last time he seemed to quite like the zantac, but not so this time. The emeprid the vet told us to mix with some very dilute ribena, which we've done but again, he's not really swallowing. The fibreplex he chews then lets it fall out of his mouth :roll:. The metacam we put on a small piece of brocolli and some dried dandelion and he's actually eaten that.

The out of hours vet we saw yesterday morning syringe fed him and suggested a couple of things to aid swallowing - stroking his throat which I did but he didn't do anything. She also suggested a finger over his nostrils which made me :shock::shock::shock: and I really don't want to do that to him

.

Any suggestions gratefully received, thanks.

Alibunmum · Mar 2, 2012

Poor Ted, I hate it when you have ill bunnies you feel you are stressing out more in order to get them better. The only thing I do is to keep the tip of the syringe in their mouth so they do that thing where they chew it. I keep it there til the meds have been swallowed or at least worked backwards in the mouth. Is he cleaning himself? Maybe smear the fibre plex on his front legs and let him lick it off.

Hopefully someone with more experience will have better ideas.

NLENG2000 · Mar 2, 2012

Not ideal, but as a last resort I sometimes mix the Meds in a bit of mushed up banana and they lick it up for themselves. Sometimes it's the only way not to stress them out and make them worse.

Kermit · Mar 3, 2012

I usually use a sugar snap pea or mange tout, slit the top like a wee pocket idea and put the meds inside, then feed to the bunny

Linzielegs · Mar 3, 2012

If you slide the syringe between the cheek and teeth it heads towards the back of their mouth it forces them to swallow (works on children too

), you'll need someone to hold him firmly while you get it in though. Otherwise our vet showed us to tip him back a bit so that he sort of gets hypnotised and then squirt a tiny bit of the medicine in and then when you sit them back up they swallow whether they like it or not, but only put a tiny tiny bit in at a time.

Hope someone else comes up with better ideas

Jack's-Jane · Mar 3, 2012

Linzielegs said:
If you slide the syringe between the cheek and teeth it heads towards the back of their mouth it forces them to swallow (works on children too ), you'll need someone to hold him firmly while you get it in though. Otherwise our vet showed us to tip him back a bit so that he sort of gets hypnotised and then squirt a tiny bit of the medicine in and then when you sit them back up they swallow whether they like it or not, but only put a tiny tiny bit in at a time.

Hope someone else comes up with better ideas

I am afraid that I strongly disagree with the advice of this Vet

Both methods could result in Bunny aspirating the meds (ie choking on them

)

As for covering a nostril :shock:

Quite shocked by all of this actually :?

Best thing to try is to gently wiggle the syringe about in his mouth as you administer the meds. This will make him chomp and produce more saliva and then be more likely to automatically swallow.

Other things to try are making a salad of a bit of grated carrot and apple and mix in the meds. Just a SMALL amount of carrot/apple though, not a huge bowlful !!

Soaking the meds into a Malted Shreddie (human breakfast cereal) can work for some Buns

Sometimes alternating all of the above is necessary so Bun does not get wise to what is going on xx

bumblicious · Mar 3, 2012

Oh god I don't envy you giving medicine to bunnies is sooo hard I hope he takes it

Ruthie xxx

martlou · Mar 3, 2012

Choking was something I was concerned about and there's no way we're essentially 'holding his nose' to make him do it. To be fair, the vet did say it wasn't a very nice thing to do but that they sometimes did it as a last resort.

I'll definitely try the wiggling idea, and not putting the syringe in as far. Emeprid the vet said not to put on food as it might spoil :? which is why he suggested mixing with ribena. We can definitely do a bit of grated carrot/apple as well.

I wasn't sure about smearing the fibreplex as the consistancy is quite dry when he spits it out but looking down the tube it looks fairly wet so maybe he's taking the moisture from it but not the fibre? Might have a go at that one as well as he's spending a lot of time cleaning himself.

We didn't have a sleep over with him in the end as he was eating a fair bit of hay before bed and we thought it might disturb him. He's done quite a few poos overnight and a wee. He's currently charging across the room every few mins stopping for a nibble of veg on his way past

Please god of bunnies let him be ok now.

Jack's-Jane · Mar 3, 2012

martlou said:
Choking was something I was concerned about and there's no way we're essentially 'holding his nose' to make him do it. To be fair, the vet did say it wasn't a very nice thing to do but that they sometimes did it as a last resort.

I'll definitely try the wiggling idea, and not putting the syringe in as far. Emeprid the vet said not to put on food as it might spoil :? which is why he suggested mixing with ribena. We can definitely do a bit of grated carrot/apple as well.

I wasn't sure about smearing the fibreplex as the consistancy is quite dry when he spits it out but looking down the tube it looks fairly wet so maybe he's taking the moisture from it but not the fibre? Might have a go at that one as well as he's spending a lot of time cleaning himself.

We didn't have a sleep over with him in the end as he was eating a fair bit of hay before bed and we thought it might disturb him. He's done quite a few poos overnight and a wee. He's currently charging across the room every few mins stopping for a nibble of veg on his way past Please god of bunnies let him be ok now.

It sounds as though he is doing well at the moment and hopefully he will now remain free from tummy trouble.

The Emiprid would only spoil if not ingested with any food it was put on straight away I think xx

Coineanach · Mar 3, 2012

I didn't realise your wee man was poorly

Lots of vibes to SuperTed!

aliduncan1 said:
Poor Ted, I hate it when you have ill bunnies you feel you are stressing out more in order to get them better. The only thing I do is to keep the tip of the syringe in their mouth so they do that thing where they chew it. I keep it there til the meds have been swallowed or at least worked backwards in the mouth. Is he cleaning himself? Maybe smear the fibre plex on his front legs and let him lick it off.

Hopefully someone with more experience will have better ideas.

I've not had much experience in terms of number of bunnies, but in terms of most stubborn I think Oidhche had to take the biscuit. We had to medicate her at least twice a day for five months (with some extras) and this was the only thing that worked. And some days we STILL couldn't get it into her. Firstly though I would try the above ideas with mixing them with food as it's much less stressful! One bun of mine particularly loved meds on banana chips. You can also mix it with pineapple juice which goes down a treat.

Basically, you sit bunny down, either facing you or squished between the knees if they're really not happy. Using a 1ml syringe, poke it in through the side of the mouth at an angle towards the throat. Bunny should then start chewing, if not give the syringe a wiggle and that has set mine off. Whilst chewing, put a tiny little bit in (to avoid them aspirating it) and they should swallow. Repeat until you've got rid of the lot.

It takes a long time to get it in some days but it works in the end!

Coineanach · Mar 3, 2012

martlou said:
Choking was something I was concerned about and there's no way we're essentially 'holding his nose' to make him do it. To be fair, the vet did say it wasn't a very nice thing to do but that they sometimes did it as a last resort.

I'll definitely try the wiggling idea, and not putting the syringe in as far. Emeprid the vet said not to put on food as it might spoil :? which is why he suggested mixing with ribena. We can definitely do a bit of grated carrot/apple as well.

I wasn't sure about smearing the fibreplex as the consistancy is quite dry when he spits it out but looking down the tube it looks fairly wet so maybe he's taking the moisture from it but not the fibre? Might have a go at that one as well as he's spending a lot of time cleaning himself.

We didn't have a sleep over with him in the end as he was eating a fair bit of hay before bed and we thought it might disturb him. He's done quite a few poos overnight and a wee. He's currently charging across the room every few mins stopping for a nibble of veg on his way past Please god of bunnies let him be ok now.

I wonder if the vet thought you may mix the food with meds all at once instead of daily? Which would be why he'd advise against it maybe. As long as it's eaten straight away I can't see a problem, I've used food but didn't get very far :roll:

I've found that Fibreplex can dry out very quickly so I would worry that putting it on his legs would just let most of it dry and flake off. But worth a shot. I used to remove it from the tube to feed and it is moist, but a thick consistency.

I hope he continues to bounce around like a maniac :lol:

martlou · Mar 3, 2012

Well we've battled through the first lot of the day :lol: This should perhaps be easier for me than it is for some as Martyn is always on hand for meds so he holds him whilst I do the administering. Ted's really quite strong though and I have to hold his head firmly as you can't even get the syringe near his mouth

. The zantac went in, tried putting it near the front of his mouth but the syringe kept falling out as he moves his head a lot. Put it further in with much wiggling (to which he didn't respond at all) and eventually he swallowed it. Same with emeprid, it went in 3 or 4 goes but eventually it all went in. I put 2 blobs of fibreplex on a plate and spread one on each front paw. He hopped off flicking his feet and punching and it flew all over the carpet

:lol:. I think next time for that one i'll try less on the feet and a bit on his food.

Thanks for all the suggestions, it's obviously very much trial and error and I think he's being very stubborn as the poor lad is so fed up of people messing about with him

Coineanach · Mar 3, 2012

For holding him, can I make a suggestion? I knelt on knees, squished bunny in between thighs, and bent over her to administer meds. You can easily alter the grip of your thighs if he starts to wriggle. If you hold him firmly eventually he might get the message that it's better to compromise, however although I have had buns who got the drift, 'others' (ahem) continued to fight the whole time. :roll:

martlou · Mar 3, 2012

Coineanach said:
For holding him, can I make a suggestion? I knelt on knees, squished bunny in between thighs, and bent over her to administer meds. You can easily alter the grip of your thighs if he starts to wriggle. If you hold him firmly eventually he might get the message that it's better to compromise, however although I have had buns who got the drift, 'others' (ahem) continued to fight the whole time. :roll:

How do you stop him running off if he's on the floor though? Ted's off like a shot when he gets the chance and I'm not sure how to prevent that happening...

Coineanach · Mar 3, 2012

martlou said:
How do you stop him running off if he's on the floor though? Ted's off like a shot when he gets the chance and I'm not sure how to prevent that happening...

I just grip with my knees/thighs to keep them still, I sometimes put my legs at an angle so your knees are pointing in towards each other, does that make sense? The only bun I've had escape from it got a lucky chance when I stretched up when kneeling - she went backwards and out under my bum ! :lol: It's much easier if you kneel on carpet too, as the grip from the floor seems to give them less chance to slide about and escape. You may get a couple of nips on the thighs and some wriggling but that's it.

If that doesn't make a sense I can try and take a photo for you. It's just practice really, and being firm without squishing too much.

e. Meant to say that when you bend over them that has stopped wriggling pretty quickly too, I bend over and rub their head with my nose to calm them.

martlou · Mar 3, 2012

Thanks, we will give it a go for the next lot, which thankfully is not for quite a few hours yet!

suzibunbun · Mar 3, 2012

Only just seen this thread! BLESS YOU!! :lol::lol: Poor little Ted sounds just like Harley thrashing around shouting 'GET OFF ME!!!' :lol::lol: You're all doing really well, Ted included, loved the bit about him running round which sounds positive xx Sending love and hugs xx

martlou · Mar 3, 2012

suzibunbun said:
Only just seen this thread! BLESS YOU!! :lol::lol: Poor little Ted sounds just like Harley thrashing around shouting 'GET OFF ME!!!' :lol::lol: You're all doing really well, Ted included, loved the bit about him running round which sounds positive xx Sending love and hugs xx

He would definitely be shouting that if he could :lol: he gets murder in his eyes :lol: He's sat munching hay at the moment after being sat doing nothing for the last hour. It's not unusual for him to sit doing nothing for hours, but I hate it when you know they're not right and wondering if he's going downhill again

Really need to get a shower and go into town but Martyn's still in bed (he got up earlier for the meds) and I don't like leaving him on his own at the moment as he's free range in the room not in the pen (Ted not Martyn :lol

suzibunbun · Mar 3, 2012

:lol::lol: you sound just like me - I need a shower and to get dressed but still pottering in the garden making sure everyone's ok and putting towels on houses for them all to sit on as it was raining last night - LOVE MY BUNS!!

Barn Yard Bunnies · Mar 3, 2012

So sorry to hear Little Ted has had statis again. Sending mega vibes. xxx

Medication tips for Ted - swallowing U/D for Coineanach

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