Can't get the cabergoline into my rat for the life of me.

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veggies

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Messages
106
Location
GA
Baron is in the early stages of a PT. After practically begging my vet to prescribe me cabergoline and paying 100 bucks for a 30 day supply, I cannot get even a drop in him.

He's always been great at taking meds. He's taken baytril, doxy, metacam, and zitromax right out of the syringe in the past. But I guess something is seriously nasty about the cabergoline to rats. He can smell the tiniest drop of it no matter what I put it in. He LOVES food but he will absolutely not try the cabergoline after I made the mistake of assuming he'd take it with just baby food today-- he drooled it out and rubbed his face on the ground. I've tried 4 different mixtures of baby food, gravy, syrups, peanut butter, two different ensure flavors, and two different flavors of pudding (not to mention many combinations of the above). He will happily eat any of the above without the meds but with even the tiniest bit of cabergoline he will not. He can somehow smell it.

I actually tasted a little cabergoline on its own-- its an oily strawberry solution and doesn't taste bad at all. I have to get .4 mL in him every 3 days.

He really hates being handled but I have to get these meds in him. This is not a med I can afford to keep mixing and wasting. If anyone could advise me on how to "force" feed a rat meds (in the nicest way possible of course) I would appreciate it!
 
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You just need to syringe it in. I had the same problem with my Kona and bromo and once they taste it in food they will not take that food anymore either. I think they now associate that food as being "poison" to them since it taste bad. Try coconut water - crush it and syringe it in the best you can. Sometimes its easier if you can get someone else to hold them.
 
Thanks ya'll, you make it look so easy haha. How many mL should I do at a time? I feel like .4 mL is a lot at once, but maybe not.
 
veggies said:
Thanks ya'll, you make it look so easy haha. How many mL should I do at a time? I feel like .4 mL is a lot at once, but maybe not.
Click to expand...

Since this is for PT I will assume your rat isn't eating and drinking as he should be. I mixed my bromo (your caber) in as little as possible so I made sure to get it in so about .1 or .15 (of small syringe like in video), but if your rat isn't drinking you need to get about .20 to .30 of fluid into him a day in addition to 3 syringe feedings if necessary. You have to try and keep weight on him as he will lose it quickly. You need to push it slowly and it can take A LONG time.
 
My caber is already in a liquid lipid solution so I have to do .4 mL. He's still eating and drinking on his own but I've been giving him a few syringes of ensure every few hours. I'm kind worried he won't trust the ensure syringe now after all this though. :(
 
I am giving my girl Dixie Cabergoline, and I agree they REALLY hate it.
What I do is sit on a mat, leaning up against something. When you have your knees bent up, it makes a nice spot to pin them down. (Rat pinned against your thighs.). This way you have a very good view of what you are doing. The next trick is to use your non-dominant hand to pin them around their chest and neck. The key is to pin their arms too so they can't push away the syringe. Then using your dominant hand, wiggle the syringe into the side of their mouth behind their incisors.
I try and keep each squirt of medicine to 0.1cc at a time. So it will be four times you need to get things positioned. I continue to hold Dixie in place for a few minutes after the meds so that she is vertical and more likely to swallow what she's got.
Good luck!!!
 
Thanks Joanne, I'll try my best. I've worked way too hard to get this medication to not give it to him. Would it be better for him to be in a rat burrito I wonder? He might feel a little more secure, he absolutely hates being picked up, always has despite me attempting to work with him.
 
Got it in him, thanks guys. He didnt struggle much but he was upset afterwards-- stumbled around the cage for awhile trying to get the taste out. Tried to give him something yummy to get the taste out but he didnt trust me in that moment, haha.

Luckily caber is only once every 3 days. Hopefully I'll see an improvement soon. :)
 
Yay! I'm glad you toughed it out. I hope you get a good response.
I get the pills instead of a compound. That way the meds are good for a long time in case you have any left over. I put the pill into a 1 cc syringe and suck about 0.1 ml of water or juice into it and let it sit for about 15 minutes and the pill will dissolve. Then I only have to administer 0.1 ml instead of a larger amount. I do follow with a few doses of water/juice just to try and wash the taste out. Cranberry juice seems to mask the flavour a bit - Dixie doesn't drag her face quite as long afterwards. :rolleyes2:
 
I love these rats. After some pratice there will not be a rat that you cannot give meds to. My gloria has been on Bromo for almost 2 months now with her PT and every single night I have to force the meds into her. She looks at me like daggers will fly out of her eyes at night when I call her name LOL but she gets over it. She is alive to give me that look so I do not feel guilty. I hope your wee one responds as well as she has.
 
Thanks guys. I'll get try to get the pills next time if I'm blessed enough to use the whole 30 day supply with him that I have now, it sounds much easier.

His appetite is improved today and he seems a little more responsive when I walk up to the cage. Trying not to get my hopes up but he's hanging in there.
 
I have had success with difficult rats mixing their meds in a heaping tablespoon of very thick cooked oatmeal and mashing it into a cookie which they eat. You can sweeten or flavor (vanilla) it
edit, even when i had younger rats I had to hold down and squirt into their mouths, oddly enough it always resulted in the rat being more bonded to me. they know....
 
hopefloats said:
After some pratice there will not be a rat that you cannot give meds to.
Click to expand...

Have you ever meet my GMC! OMG, I gave up - he is all daddy's! He is a dinosaur with talons in disguise and my hands or anything in his way gets ripped up.... He is one strong sick rat who is literally getting away and trying to kill you at the same time...


Glad you got the medicine into your baby and I hope it work!!:thumbup:
 
Sheldon,

Yes we do have cabergoline in the states. Sometimes the pills have to be ordered ahead of time. I live in Savannah GA and was able to have the cabergoline solution compounded within 24 hours for 108$ for a 30 day supply.

He's getting his second dose tonight and he seems to be responding. He's not as "slow" and I saw him eating his grain mix by himself (I had previously been feeding him a soft food diet). He's definitely not declining at this point.
 

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