Giving medicine orally .... help

Hi :wave:

We have two large bunnies and since they had their VHD jab at the beginning of May one of them started sneezing a few days later. We immediately took her to the vets who gave her an injection of antibiotic and said that as we had caught it early if she didn't show any further signs she would be ok. She was fine until last friday when she started sneezing again ... so straight back to the vets and the vet ... who is fantastic with bunnies ... said that it must be something latent in the bunnies, to give her the antibiotic orally this time and we must make sure that this time it is gone, if this oral medicine doesn't work then she will teach me how to inject:shock: .

So here's my question. We have got to give Kim 3mm of antibiotic. Both bunnies absolutely HATE being restrained or lifted, OH has gone away on business for the week and at the moment I feel like I have tried everything. She wont take it from the syringe like she did at the vets as she clamps her mouth firmly shut. I have tried letting it dry into pellets, on dried pineapple, on apple and my latest dose was given by scraping out the insides of grapes and injecting them!!

Sorry for the long post ... but has anyone got any ideas?!?!?

Thanks in advance

Melanie

Hi, I am having to administer antibiotics orally at the moment too, but i feel it is a two person job, especially with Polo who just HATES it. Do you have to give twice a day or just once. You could try wrapping them in a towel, so they dont struggle. Oscar actually likes the taste of baytrill and happily licks it up :shock:. Im sorry im not much help, but i also struggle on my own, and always get bf to help.

Hi. Thanks for the reply. We tried the towel, and that was when there were two of us there. She just locked her jaws so we couldn't even get the syringe in there!! OH has gone to France for the week, so it's just me!!! I tried in some pellets for the evening dose and even though the bunnies will do almost anything for food ... the one who didn't need it was more than happy to eat them but the one that needs it would only have a nibble then turned her nose away ... it took three hours in the end ... at this rate they will both be HUGE by the time OH gets back. I am usually REALLY strict with treats ... when they have a treat it is usually just one pellet to get them back in!!!

Thanks again

Melanie

Have you tried a bit of bread soaked in it. Ours go mad for it!

Neil

OK, well sometime when i miss Polos mouth, she doesnt like it and opens her mouth and licks it off, you could try that i suppose to get her to open her mouth and then syringe the rest into her mouth. Or put the water bottle up to their mouth to encourage them to drink, and then sneak the syringe in that way. Also try the side of the mouth. If one of you holds the bun tightly but not too tight, perhaps wrapped in a towel and then the other does the syringe bit...

You can also give them a bit of veg before hand when they are on your lap relaxed, then sneakily go in with the syringe... i am sure someone more experienced will be able to help.

Neil-and-Maria said:

Have you tried a bit of bread soaked in it. Ours go mad for it!

Neil

Click to expand...

why dont i think of these things??

Thanks for the replies .... Bread sounds like a fantastic idea:idea: ... I have already spent (what a saddo I have become!! ) the evening scraping out grapes and injecting them with antibiotic ... they are lined up in the egg bit of the fridge for tomorrow am.

Will try bread tomorrow evening, and let you know!

Many thanks

Melanie

For a big bun I would kneel behind the rabbit with the the bun between my legs facing away from me. Put my hand over the eyes, thumb one side of the head, fore finger the other. Lean over the rabbit, put the syringe between the split under the nose, then drag it sideways so it slots into place just to the side of the front teeth where there is a gap. Then squirt.

To get the grappling right, practice with a carrot stick of something they like first.

Rabbits have the incisors right and the front and then quite a big gap before their back teeth start. You need to get the syringe in the gap. If you go for the centre they clamp their teeth together and the syringe won't go in.

Tricking them with food is a good plan but it doesn't hurt to practice holding them. Then if you ever need to give meds when they're off their food you'll already have the hang of it.

Tam

3mm sounds like an awful lot of antibiotic :shock: When she sneezed it could have been due to some dust getting up her nose couldn't it? They do get allergies. Or was she very snotty? I wouldn't worry about the occasional sneeze - was it more serious than that?

When I have had to give Baytril, I put it on pellets and they eat it. I then clean the bowl up with half a grape or a dandelion so they have taken everything.

I usually squirt a bit on bread, let it soak in and fold the bread up around it...then I soak the whole lot in apple juice.

Bread sounds like 'the future'!! The whole emptying out grapes thing was taking soooo long.

Regarding the sneezing, she did about twenty of what I call blowing down her nose sneezes, like mini sneezes, and about four big sneezes and had white discharge coming from one nostril. The vet thinks that the VHD jab may have caused some latent bug to show itself and that we didn't really get rid of it the first time she had the antibiotic injection.

Will definitely buy some bread and apple juice on the way home and let you know how it goes.

As they are both so greedy I am worried that I am giving them too much treat type stuff, just to get the medicine down her, but I would rather do that on a short term basis than her not get the full dose.

Thanks for the replies.

Melanie

The best and usually only way I could ever give my new zealand white his antibiotics was to either get someone to hold him from the back or as Tamsin suggested getting him between my legs and leaning over to his mouth, then (this sounds wierd but it worked a treat) I would hold a wooden spoon (handle side) in front of his mouth which he would always grab hold of right between his teeth, then this left me enough space between the back of his jaws to gently syringe the medicine into. By the time he usually decided to let go of the wooden spoon the job was done. Tried the usual wrapping in a towel but his legs and claws were so big and powerful when he started stuggling it stressed us both out too much.

Good luck.

After being bitten on the bum by Inky(very painful and not funny) when trying to give antibiotics, I now give any medication on carrot tops or bits of greens. If you squirt the amount over it and offer it to them in a saucer, they usually scoff the lot.

Hurrah!!! Bread it is!!! :thumb: :bunny: :thumb:

It was a near run thing!! Tried just bread with no medicine dipped in apple juice, pineapple juice and orange & banana juice .... the bunny who doesn't need medicating ate all of them (Kath). Bunny who needs to take the medicine (Kim) wouldn't touch any of them. Then I tried a bit of the medicine on the bread on its own with no juice and joy of joys, she ate the lot!!! I was running round the house like a mad thing (good job no-one else was in!!!

It was sooooo much easier than all that messing about with grapes!!

On a serious note I think that Tamsin is right that we need to catch and hold both bunnies, just for a minute or two, then let them go ... and do this on a regular basis, so we don't get this stressed when we have to medicate them.

I just feel so bad, as they are rescue buns who are very friendly and follow us all over the place, but absolutely hate being caught and held, and they can sulk in quite a big way too!!

Many thanks for all the help everyone :wave:

Melanie

Glad it worked out with the food. Its the only way I can give meds. Have they suggested you give a probiotic whilsts on antibiotics?

No but I have some Avipro ... should I put some in their water while she is on the abx?

I did wonder about them but was worried it might cancel out the abx.

What do you think?