Masking meds for those stubborn ones.

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I do not know if it has been mentioned, but I've found a really great way to hide meds!
If your rats like the bitter 90% dark chocolate, the bitterness of it covers of the bitterness of the meds very well!
 
I finally found something to hide the baytril in that the girls like. Beaphar multi-vitamin malt paste seems to work a treat for them. Just a pea size amount mixed with the med and they licked it all up. :)
 
Godmother said:
I've never heard of malt paste. Is it hard to find? It makes me wonder whether marmite would work.
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You can pick it up from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/bqasxmm

It's meant to be for ferrets but the dosing instructions on the tube say one pea sized amount per day for rats.

I'd be a little wary of using marmite Godmother. The sodium content is pretty high, I believe it's roughly 5% of every 100grams. I am sure that that would play merry havoc with the little ones kidneys and liver even just a small dose. I used to give our dogs some toast with a light scrapping of marmite on it for breakfast each day and was advised by the vet to stop because of the sodium levels.

I spoke with my vet today who has advised me to put my little Sasha and her sisters back on another 10 day course of baytril. So I am taking notes from here on ways to mask the dreaded medication. Honey works sometimes and only when it's on my finger, no spoon thank you very much. I don't like giving them honey though. I am a nurse and all I can think of is their little organs and the long term impact on developing chronic conditions like diabetes, cardiac disease, etc...

But we're a vegan/vegetarian household so everything they get is fresh and organic so will hopefully balance up any deviances needed to persuade them to take their desperately needed meds. Oh btw when I say we're a vegan/vegetarian household I don't mean that the girls have to abstain from animal products too. I am aware of their need for animal protein. I wouldn't impose my diet choices on them. It wouldn't be fair.
 
RattusNorvegicus said:
A couple drops of watered down peanut butter on a spoon, add meds, then sprinkle crushed banana gerber puffs until thick enough to roll into a ball. Yum!

I usually mix it on the spoon with the stick part of a syringe with the rubber thing off. If that makes any sense.
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I think I'm going to try this tonight. My little man is on a round of antibiotics and he doesn't like the taste. He does like peanut butter, though, so maybe he'll eat it that way.
 
Hypercube said:
RattusNorvegicus said:
A couple drops of watered down peanut butter on a spoon, add meds, then sprinkle crushed banana gerber puffs until thick enough to roll into a ball. Yum!

I usually mix it on the spoon with the stick part of a syringe with the rubber thing off. If that makes any sense.
Click to expand...

I think I'm going to try this tonight. My little man is on a round of antibiotics and he doesn't like the taste. He does like peanut butter, though, so maybe he'll eat it that way.
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I did try this tonight w/Sebatian's antibiotics and he took it and ate it with no problem... :joy: But I used a blueberry gerber (puff didn't have a banana one) and I had to use 2 to make it think enough to make a small ball.
 
I mixed baytril with Cran-grape juice just now... turned a really weird blue color. But it got him to drink it. XD
 
I flavor my doxy with Nesquick strawberry syrup, and then, to be extra sneaky, I put the dose on a plastic spoon and mix it with a small dab of baby food (strawberry and bananas, squash, and sweet potato seem to be their favorites). If they don't finish it and get fussy, I scoop the last of it up on a Cheerio, which I have gotten them addicted to, so they gobble it down!
 
A mix of peanut butter & chocolate Quik syrup in a spoon is always my best bet - can make even Baytril a treat for most.
Some like my International Delights coffee creamer.
 
Okay I just have to say I don't understand why meloxicam tastes so apparently bad to these guys. I have tried it and can't taste it at all. I compound mine in maple syrup. Tramadol and ibuprofen taste worse and they don't put up a fuss...

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2
 
I wish id seen this thread when Tammy was on her antibiotics still! She was a nightmare to get them down her!
 
Lately my one stubborn boy Eugene is going for this mix. I like it because I can make a bowl of it Sunday and it lasts the week.
Blob of peanut butter melted in microwave ( 1 part)
Add banana baby cereal (1 part)
Drizzle with honey - not a ton
To this I have added almond milk and/or water and stirred until it's got the right consistency, like a runny paste. I use about a quarter teaspoon and mix it with the meds. It has been working well so far.
 
I might have to try watered down peanut butter. @-@ at my wits end of trying to get Zephye to take his medication. He's so good with all his cold meds but this Cabergoline he just don't touch as soon as he notices it's in the food. Even with baby food and maple syrup which he usually just drinks like a mad rat.
 
You guys are going to think I'm crazy but I think I've found the trick for metacam without a fuss! I used peach syrup as a compounding agent and had two rats gobble it up no problem. One of the two NEVER takes meds voluntarily.
 
Had good results hiding antibiotics by squirting them into Gerber Graduates lil crunchies. Once they figure it out its time to mix it up. Had to alternate between apple sauce, yogurt and as a last resort, melted ice cream. None of that works with Veraflox though. No matter what it's still nasty snot. Wasted most of it just on experiments. lol

I've never thought of some of these ideas. Flavored syrup and even honey sound like a great idea!
 
With my first two rats, Wednesday and Pocus, I would just hold their faces, stick the syringe in their mouth, and would usually be able to get it all in their mouth before they put up much of a fight. Our third rat was a completely different story. She didn't like to be held much, and wasn't a big fan of us humans. I tried to hold her a lot and get her used to being out of the cage and hang out with us like the other rats do but she wanted no part in it. When she got sick the first time and needed meds it took 20 minutes of chasing her around to get her to cooperate. So, I took the tip of the syringe after I got the dose in there and smothered it in peanut butter. She came right for it, and it was thick and sticky enough that by the time she had licked it all off I'd given her all the medicine. The other rats smelled it and started trying to fight over it, haha. I only had to use that trick a few times, and then any time they saw it they would fight over who was going to get it. Now, they grab it and hold it with their hands right away, with or without the peanut butter.
 

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