Masking meds for those stubborn ones.

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Ughh! Im getting frustrated! its so hard, cain is so stubbern! He will eat whatever I mix it with but hes able to taste through it and knows its in it and then he just stops.. so hes only ate a bit of his meds this morning and night.. hes not going to get better if he does this.. I really dont want to resort back to forcing it in........ :gaah:
 
After a few days of maple syrup-ing it, my girls would take it without it. They never complained at me about it, Bug would reach out and chomp on the end of the syringe, I had to get a new one!
 
GAH! Im so frustrated with cain, I've tryed everything sweet.. even meat everything that he likes.. if he can some what taste it he stops eating it! I have to resort back to force feeding him which he HATES! :gaah:
 
My vet suggested and I tried Apple Juice.. It masked the meds for my Jewel... its not the best answer but either that or I have tried baby formula as well. Take the syringe filled with the med and add the formula or juice..
 
I used to use baby food on Alice (r.i.p) ..a lil bit a babby food with even a littler amount of medicine and keep doing that
 
jorats said:
Rattus, what's the med he's getting?
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Hes on Baytril and doxy. I can kinda hide the baytril in food.. bit I have to use a lot to cover it up and after a while he stops eating it, he just doesnt seem to like the taste and the doxy , Ive tryed everything and he apsolutely loathes it.. no matter what I put it in.

How long does it take for their breathing to slow down cuz im getting worried, they've been on it for almost 2 weeks and they are still breathing fast....
 
I'm having issues getting meds into Casper. It seems he won't eat without his buddies near by and if they are near by they stuff their faces. I have made a list of the things I haven't tried that are on this list...but I am not sure if he will eat alone (definately going to try more tasty things). One thing is for certain, he hates the syringe and being restrained, so that's out of the question.
 
As an example right now Bracken and Clover (my old ladies...) who share a cage with 4 other girls as getting meds.
I have to either put the other girls in the playroom or put hamster bars over them on the floor, or just hold them while the girls eat their meds.
 
jorats said:
So it's strawberry flavored baytril... I'm surprised your rats don't like it. Mine would kill for it. lol
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My rats are funny boys.. :roll: lol they make me bonkers sometimes :panic:
My one boy cain would rather starve it seems then eat anything tasty if it has the baytril or doxy in it.. so i have to syringe feed him.
Nero, the only thing he will eat it in is a tiny bit of meat.. I know thats not great but he doesnt like it with ANYTHING else..not even syrup..the little frigger lol :giggle:
 
I notice most people go for sweet mask for meds... Has anyone tried something like tomato sauce with no spices? I know our boys love it in general... Dominic isn't sure what to make of the current applesauce/honey combo, we were thinking about trying it...
 
Gosh, 7 pages. That shows us how many people are dealing with the same thing. Stubborn kids...
I haven't read thru it all so forgive me if I'm repetitive, but if I am that solution has at least 2 votes, eh?

I always try yogurt first (after checking the meds online to make sure that yogurt is not contraindicated) because it will help their body deal with antibiotics and is healthy anyway for anything else.
If that doesn't work, chocolate syrup, peanut butter, strawberry syrup (still have that in my cupboard, what do you do with it when the meds are done?). Then there's something called triple fish syrup which someone had success with on a stubborn kid, that would no doubt mask the taste & smell of the meds, yuch! I had
some success with fish liver oil for the kids who don't like sweet stuff ... I had success with a tough kid with vanilla International Delight coffee creamer too.
There's no absolute answer cause they're individuals.Trial & error sometimes. What the heck am I gonna do with this strawberry syrup???
 
I am currently using unsweetened apple sauce and natural almond butter with a little bit of honey and olive oil. (I'm guessing I mix about 6 parts apple sauce to one part almond butter.) When I had to mask Doxi I also added a couple of drops of vanilla extract for some of my stubborn kids.

I'll make a batch at the beginning of the week and measure meds out into a spoon and add a bit of the mixture (as little as I can get away adding to mask the meds) and then put the rest in the fridge.

I try to stay away from yogurt when giving antibiotics because the bacterial cultures (particularly in the probiotic variety) and the antibiotics together will reduce the effectiveness of the each other. I do give yogurt to supplement intestinal flora but I do so at least 2 hours before or after administering meds.
 
I find that Alphonse and Edward will kill for the meds if they are in gerber banana baby food(edited to add: This has no calcium! so good for doxy. :)). Roy... not so much, but he will eat it, but I think he still tastes the meds unlike the others who probably eat it too fast to really taste them.

Strawberry nesquick, however, wins them all over.
 

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