Giving oral medication

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Devon Picard

New Member
Joined
May 17, 2018
Messages
1
Location
Townsend
Hello! My ratty Cheese needs to get antibiotics. He gives me a lot of trouble when I try to give it to him so idk if Cheese is getting the entire dose. Can anyone recommend anything to make it easier?
 
I put a couple of drops of organic real maple syrup into a tiny dish, add the medication, add a couple of drops of water, mix it and then add a tiny amount of baby cereal to thicken it. My rats will each eat their meds out of a dish or lick it off my finger. They think it is a treat.

I used to use strawberry quik instead of organic real maple syrup but switched to the organic real maple syrup because I thought it would be healthier

good luck
 
Cheese still isn't taking his meds successfully. He had surgery yesterday to get an abscess removed and the vets gave me an antibiotic (bactrim 0.25 ml) and a pain med (meloxidyl 0.15 ml) for post surgery care. He's fussy, I tried the maple syrup and cereal combination SQ suggested. He ate a few bites but stopped. I left it in his cage to see if he'll eat it. I'll be calling the vets later for a wellness check but should I request new meds? Or ask for an injection? He's being such a butt lol
 
When I administered meds to my rats, I would pull their lip and squeeze it into their cheek. Have you tried that? Might be easier. You could even burrito your rat in a towel so he doesn't struggle much and feels more secure. Bactrim is a good med for abscesses.
 
I'm sorry I'm late getting back to this! It's been crazy busy with work. I tried the rat burrito idea and he took it but he wouldn't let me catch him again. Hes moving like nothing even happened lol I tried the syrup mix again and tried a different kind of cheerio and he scarfed it down. Biggest relief to see that plate empty. Thank you guys so much for your help! I appreciate it as a newer rat owner.
 
Sweet, milky stuff finally worked for me with liquid medicine. Molten ice-cream, liquid breakfast cereal like Up n Go. It masks the taste just enough that they'll take it and is perfectly prepared for consistency. For paste like Doxycycline paste (called Vibravet here) I usually cut a yoghurt covered sultana drop in half and stick it in the middle. Smearing it on a piece of chewy muesli bar or avocado also works. Even sharp cheese, anything sweet/salty and fatty that hides the medicine taste. I don't care if it's healthy or not. Getting the medicine down takes priority. (PS the latest research shows dairy products do not interfere with doxycycline to the extent it has an adverse effect on absorption levels so it's ok to take doxy with dairy according to my vets)
 
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I, too, have fussy rats.

I've learned they're more likely to take it out it
- avocado mushed up
- salt free natural peanut butter mixed with avocado oil to make it less sticky
- baked sweet potato and avocado oil

My most recent discovery is earth's organic soy infant formula + Gerber's organic oatmeal cereal. They'll take anything out of that. It's ridiculous.
 
I have success with baby rice baby cereal. I use either Heinz or Gerber. I mix it with a bit of chocolate soy milk and it has always done the trick . the burrito works well too...however, my little Ophélia always managed to get her paws out and would smack the syringe across the room! hence the rice cereal trick!
 
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