LoveCrumb
Well-Known Member
My poor little guy is suffering from GI stasis (luckily I caught it early on!) and the vet gave me several different meds as well as Oxbow Critical Care to syringe feed him.
I need to give him two of the medications every 8 hours and one every 12 (all with a tiny millilitre syringe), while the critical care is given every 4-6 hours with a standard size syringe. He doesn't have too much of a problem with the smaller syringe doses (not that it's easy, mind you!) but I'm really struggling with trying to get him to accept the larger syringe for the critical care.
It took me almost two full hours to get just 20 ml of the stuff into him the first time, and now that he knows what the syringe means, he has a huge body-jerking reaction every time it touches his mouth. He buries his face into my hands, into my pants, or into the towel if I'm trying to burrito-wrap him. You'd think I would be able to hold him in place, but you guys all know how squirmy and strong a bunny can be when they don't like something!
I just tried feeding him again and I ended up getting the mixture EVERYWHERE but where it needed to go!!! His reaction is to flick his face or jerk his body really quickly to dislodge the syringe before I can do anything with it. He doesn't seem to mind the taste at all, he just doesn't like the syringe.
Please, does anyone have any helpful tips or tricks for getting a squirmy bunny to take a syringe!!??? I make sure to go very slow when I feed him, giving him enough time to chew and swallow. Maybe the mixture is too cold? His body temp is perfectly normal, but maybe I should heat the mixture a little?
I need to give him two of the medications every 8 hours and one every 12 (all with a tiny millilitre syringe), while the critical care is given every 4-6 hours with a standard size syringe. He doesn't have too much of a problem with the smaller syringe doses (not that it's easy, mind you!) but I'm really struggling with trying to get him to accept the larger syringe for the critical care.
It took me almost two full hours to get just 20 ml of the stuff into him the first time, and now that he knows what the syringe means, he has a huge body-jerking reaction every time it touches his mouth. He buries his face into my hands, into my pants, or into the towel if I'm trying to burrito-wrap him. You'd think I would be able to hold him in place, but you guys all know how squirmy and strong a bunny can be when they don't like something!
I just tried feeding him again and I ended up getting the mixture EVERYWHERE but where it needed to go!!! His reaction is to flick his face or jerk his body really quickly to dislodge the syringe before I can do anything with it. He doesn't seem to mind the taste at all, he just doesn't like the syringe.
Please, does anyone have any helpful tips or tricks for getting a squirmy bunny to take a syringe!!??? I make sure to go very slow when I feed him, giving him enough time to chew and swallow. Maybe the mixture is too cold? His body temp is perfectly normal, but maybe I should heat the mixture a little?