Feeding medicine. Alternatives to fruit?

[Barrett]

OK, so while the vet visit for Patton went OK, my ability to feed him his medicine is going less so.

Of course I have been wrapping him tightly in a towel burrito style with his rump wrapped first, then the towel wrapped around him. Pretty snug, I thought. However, I guess because he’s an 8-pound French Lop(?) it doesn’t seem to do the trick. In no time he has kicked the towel enough to launch himself out, Pretty shocking considering his ordinarily such a laid back bunny!

 

This morning was kind of traumatic for both of us. MANY failed attempts to secure him and this medicine is going to go on for days. So now I’m considering using some sort of treat to insert the medicine. It should be a nugget-style treat that can be hollowed out just enough to fill with the medicine- and tasty enough that he will eat it all and LOVE IT.The medicine itself is said to be ‘apple peanut butter’.

 

The best I can think of is a strawberry. However, that means giving him 2 strawberries every day for a week or so. Celery won’t hold the medicine. I thought of banana chunks as well.

 

Does anyone have any other ideas for a vegetable which can be broken up into chunks (nuggets) and have medicine squirted into a little pocket inside? Thanks!

[tobyluv]

It’s not a nugget shape, but I saw a video not too long ago where a guy inserted medicine with a syringe into the end of the thick middle part of a romaine lettuce leaf, then fed it to his rabbit. I have also read where people squirted the medicine on pieces of fruit to give to their rabbits. I don’t know if you would get the whole dose in them that way, though, since it seems like some medicine would run off the piece of fruit.

[Luna]

Have you tried giving him the medicine without wrapping him up? The first time I tried to give Luna medicine, I wrapped her in a towel (which she hates and she always escapes) and she wouldn’t take it. So instead, I let her just sit there, then after she got to sniff the syringe and taste a little bit of the medicine that came out, she took the medicine no problem. Also, I held a little piece of her veggies at the end of the syringe at first so that she could see what the syringe was and that it was not going to hurt her.

[Q8bunny]

Ditto. Lure him over with something he likes, and then try letting him lick the medicine from the tip of the syringe – he might surprise you and like it.

[Azerane]

I second tobyluv’s idea. I saw that video as well If it’s just a tiny amount, I used to trick Bandit by having two pieces of the same food, usually coriander or parsley because it has a strong smell. One piece would be just coriander, the other would have medicine dribbled on it (curly parsley is good for holding it). I would offer the plain herb and he would sniff it, then right as he was about to chomp, I would switch it out for the one with the medicine and he would inadvertently eat it, lol. He always looked betrayed afterwards, haha.

[vanessa]

I take a small dish, put Lancelot’s meds in the dish (0.4ml), and then put 2-3 times that amount of apple juice. He loves it, and I don’t feel bad about giving him so much fruit. I use Motts or Simply Pressed, because they don’t have added sugar, flavors, preservatives, and other junk.

[kirstyol]

Will your bun sit still for you on the floor? We have to give Bramble medicine regularly and the best way we have found which is similar to the way vets syringe feed if you watch them, is to kneel on the floor with a gap between your knees big enough for your bun, you don’t want to squash him in or try to hold him still or anything with your legs its just to stop him moving about. then reach round the side of your bun with the syringe and put it in the side of his mouth, make sure he can see you so he doesn’t get a fright though. this usually stops bramble moving because he feels like he has nowhere to go, the syringe is in front of him and a human body part is on all other sides.

[Q8bunny]

Shreddies are also good for administering yucky meds

[Vienna Blue in France]

I tried the banana option with metacam on it this morning and although it slipped down his throat, I had to do it in 2 doses as the banana did not absorb it at all… I balanced it on 2 fingers as I shoved it in his mouth as soon as he opened his vacuum trap !!! LOL

So then I went down the “shreddies” route, (which failed miserably with Zou who was just too clever to be fooled), and down it went so much better as it soaked up the liquid.

Always do one treat without medicine (look bunny, really, truly it’s not a trick), then the one with the medicine and then make sure s/he can see a real high value treat right in front of his/her nose just as he’s munching the medicated trojan horse….. !! LOL

The anitbiotic pill was held firmly in place in a banana flavoured ball which I mashed around the pill

[Dface]

Sampras needs meds all the time, but too much to get into a treat(Plus he wouldnt eat it, but Yumi would pilfer it on him). The best way I’ve found with him(And also for a lot of wild animals that need medical treatment) is to do what kirstyol has described, holding him between your knees-a variation of this is to have him on a table and use your arms as runners either side of him and lean your chest down on top of him, and slide the syringe in the side of his mouth . If he’s jumpy do be wary about moving him to a surface, but this way you have more control than if he’s between your knees.

Mine was a terror to deal with when he first started taking meds-my arms legs and chest looked like freddie kruger had gotten me.
But after a while i figured out what suited him and me best. Now we it’s a simple part of our day, so I feel like some trial and error is in store for you!

[bpash89]

I’ve only had to give meds once and it was only for a few days. the only way that worked for my bun was mixing it with juice. I would use apple or grape juice and thin it with some water and she lapped it right up.

[Barrett]

Thank you EVERYONE! For the immediate future (tomorrow), I think I’m going to try what Bpash suggested with the juice. We’ve had moderate success just holding him (no towel) and my daughter holding her hand firmly over his eyes, but I REALLY don’t want him to become afraid of being held!

Stay tuned…

[Author]

Messages