Liquid meds

[daisyandparsley7]

Long story short after a trip to the emergency vet and everything being ok now, I need to give my rabbit some liquid meds for GI and pain by syringe. She is very strong and will not even let me get her into a bunny burrito to give her the meds anymore. I have been putting it in banana and she pretty much licks it all up. Are there any other tips? I can't do the syringe even with two people she kicks and scratches with all her strength.... Mind you she was perfect for the vet lol. Any help is appreciated!

 

[missyscove]

The good news is she's feeling perky enough to fight with you!

My rabbits are easier to work with when they're in an unfamiliar place so I'll usually take them to a different room of the house than the one they live in for stuff like this. My Cricket has been on oral antibiotics and lately I've just sort of been getting her into a corner of her cage, holding her head and shoulders with one hand and slipping the syringe in with the other because she doesn't particularly like to be picked up.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I typically will kneel on the floor and put the bunny between my legs. They can't back up far and can't really go forward. Having the syringes ready before hand helps too. Then using my left hand (I am right handed), I will hold their face and open the mouth a little bit and just put the syringe in the mouth and quickly squirt the medication in. It can take a bit of practice, but doing it quickly seems to help. If the dose is larger, you may need to do it twice and do about 1/2 each time. A treat after does help.

If she licks the medication off a banana, will she lick it off the syringe? You could try just holding out the syringe and pushing a bit of the meds out and see if she will lick it. If she will, that makes it a lot easier.

 

[minmelethuireb]

If the medicine sweet-tasting? If it's sweet you might be able to get her to lick it from the syringe by just holding it in front of her and letting her sniff it and see if she gets the idea. If it's not sweet, putting it on a treat is probably the best bet.

 

[daisyandparsley7]

Thank you for the tips everyone! She just licks the one med. So I think I'm sweet tasting then, but the pain meds are more bitter... I can smell them. The good thing is she is doing better and the pain meds are only for 5 days. It actually ended up being her teeth!