How to get Chop to take his medicine?

[Gezabella09]

How would I get him to take his anti biotics?
He is really not wanting them when I try to put them directly in his mouth - he is squirming so much I think he may hurt himself.
We have tried putting a bit in food but he is too clever for that!

What I did this morning was squirt the anti biotic onto my arm and then started tickling Chops back leg. As he is a licker he went straight to lick my arm as he normally does and i positioned it so he licked all the medicine off and he didn't even seem to notice.

Is this OK?
:?

 

[elrohwen]

That sounds like a good method to me! I'm a fan of anything method that isn't stressful and doesn't end up with meds all over you and the bun ;-)

 

[kirsterz09]

A technique my vet told me was to add a little bit of fruit juice in the syringe with the antibiotic, makes it taste nicer, allways tended to work for me.

 

[pla725]

My vet uses a pharmacy that compounds the meds. They will add flavoring like strawberry - banana or apple. I also read where someone taught their rabbit to take medicine by repeating the phrase "yum yum".

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

If I haven't seen any advice given to you in any other threads...one method is to:

Put the bun on the floor in front of you facing out from you and kneel behind the bun and you can give meds from a syringe a bit easier that way. (Does that make sense?) I know there's a vid I can find if it doesn't, sometimes explaining it is to difficult.

 

[nicolevins]

Try adding a small bit of juice (e.g Ribena) to it.
I've had success with this method

 

[Gezabella09]

Thanks for all your advice and help!
I tried with the fruit juices and squash but I don't know why but the little thing doesn't like things coming at his mouth - it sends him into a craze.

He thinks all of his Christmases have come at once though as licking his medicine off my arm means he gets cuddles morning and night now instead of just at night time. I think he is just really a lap dog dressed up in a bunny outfit!

Thanks again everyone!

:highfive:

 

[Gezabella09]

My poor bunny being pinned to take his medicine:

And the happy Choppy when he finds out he can lick the medicine of my arm:

:inlove:

 

[pbheather]

Ok, I've done this with my cat before, and I was thinking about this with my female if she should ever start showing pain because of her very recent spay. If he likes applesauce or anything mushy like that, crush up the pills and mix in, or just mix the liquid inside that mushy substance, and then put it in a bowel. Usually, they don't taste the medicine, and love the little treat. I don't know how antibiotics are given to buns. With my cat, it was a liquid, and we put it in some milk, or even some wet food.

My female doesn't take anything from my hand, not even hay. I wouldn't be able to get her to take anything other than if it was in a bowl with me across the room.