Rabbit not taking medicine, help!!

[Ameelurz]

Hello everyone,
So on Sunday I started noticing that my bunny's appetite was a bit lower but he was still eating. He would eat all of his pellets just not nearly as quickly as normal. By Wednesday night his appetite was significantly lower and I took him to the vet on Thursday. He never stopped eating entirely he was just eating way less. The vet check his teeth and stomach and said he had some sort of stomach ache but no apparent blockage. She gave us 3 medicines plus critical care. Thankfully he is eating a little on his own (and pooping a little) but not nearly as much as he normally does so something is wrong.
Anyways, now to the main point of this post. He .hates. The. Syringe. He hates the bunny burrito. I have tried every trick I could possibly find on the internet he always manages to get away. 30 minutes ago I just gave up entirely because I was worried he was going to have a heart attack! I brought him into the bathroom to give him the medicine and he was hiding behind the toilet and I could hear his heart beating! I was sitting on the floor a few feet away and I could hear it loud and clear .This freaked me out so I stopped trying to burrito him.
I'm at a loss and I don't know what to do . We have a really strong bond and he trusts me but he is still terrified of the medicine ((

 

[A & B]

You could try putting it on his paw. Rabbits hate things on their paws and he may lick it off. Don't put a huge glob as it may get flung off. You could also try mixing it with baby food/apple sauce/maybe apple juice. Those options may have be full of sugar so don't give too many treats.

 

[Ameelurz]

Oh the paw thing is a great idea!
I tried it and.... I think it worked? I am not entirely sure how much of it actually got ingested though....

 

[Imbrium]

Will he eat critical care on his own (without the syringe)? That's another good way to sneak the meds in there. With the paw tactic, the best thing to do is only put 1-2 drops at a time on there so that you can best track how much is actually getting into his mouth.

 

[Ameelurz]

No he doesnt seem to be a fan of the CC even though its apple and banana flavored. But, like I mentioned in the first post, he IS eating. Just not as much as he should be. He will eat pellets out of my hand and he is eating more hay today than yesterday.

 

[A & B]

My rabbit isn't a fan of CC either. Actually, he hates it. He had stasis and I was told to feed some CC every hour. I had to hold him in my lap to get it in. You could spread the CC on some lettuce but I doubt that will work. I second Imbrium with the idea of putting a certain amount of drops at a time on his paw.

 

[Preitler]

I sprinkle medicine on a little oatmeal, they like that better than their pellets. If a rabbit never had it it might need a few times until he eats it, some are quite picky with new stuff.

 

[Imbrium]

Apple and banana critical care has always gone over ok around here... it's the anise flavored stuff that started a mutiny, lol. Man, did they NOT want that!!

 

[Jenny Durling]

Rocky will eat critical care but he'd much rather eat it off of my finger than through a syringe. You might make it a little thicker and give that a try. If yours is a fan of banana or apples at all, you can doctor CC up by adding a little more of one of those to the mix to improve the taste. As far as medicine, it's normally mixed with something sweet and they will take it without issue. Rocky will actually come running to get his medicine and will stand up to get to it! The last time, however, the vet mixed it with something he didn't like and he wouldn't take it. my trick was to dip the tip of the syringe into a drop of honey. He's be all over that and I'd just make sure I pushed the syringe fast enough that he'd get the medicine. I had to re-dip the tip in honey a few times until I got the hang of it but you might try that. Bunny burrito does not work at all for me. I found that putting a towel on the kitchen counter and simply holding him in place is the way to go. Rocky is getting injections again so this is really the only way to go. Your bun my just freak out about being confined with the towel. If you have someone who can help you, one of you can hold him steady on the counter and the other can 'tempt' him with the honey-tipped syringe. If he finds he likes the honey, he may start coming to you for his medicine like Rocky does.