squeakysmallpaws
Junior Guinea Pig
So I know 'how' to give meds - i.e. I understand the methods, best way to hold, how to swaddle - so versed in medicating that I am - my vet even trained me to give subcut injections!
And while with lots of animals you can hide lots of nasty meds in food - (thank goodness for petite filous when it comes to my rats!) It's often harder to hide meds when all you have is a piece of lettuce and your pig takes one sniff and looks at you to say, "yeah nice try" and trotts off.
Meaning for pigs we're left with little choice but the fear inducing 1ml syringe - that's our fear btw not the pigs - and while we hold this contraception which would be better named the "how to waste an hour achieving nothing device” or by those in the veterinary circles “the "better option"……(mmmmmm- yeah right - tell that to the owner with the pig with the retractable neck.....) we’re left frantically searching the internet for the key to how to make this easier……our google searches lead us to the “swaddling technique”. We think “hurray wonderful” and run to our piggy palaces with an old towel only to return an hour later back to our computer with baytril up our nose, hay in our hair and we don’t even know where the towel went……literally the next person who says swaddling technique to me is going to get smacked very hard with a moldy Cos leaf by my guinea pig, like I was earlier....
Maybe for those who in rescue who are consistently nursing poorly animals the 'knack' for syringing meds becomes second nature - but for the rest of us, we're late for work as it is, we've got a train to catch and a guinea pig who just doesn't understand the phrase "under my roof my rules" - and he ain't playing ball......
And what of those guinea pigs who are on lifelong meds......? As is going to be the case for my heart pig Manny. One of the most important things for a heart pig is to reduce stress, this does not go hand in hand with the sentence “you must crush these pills and dissolve in water and syringe feed twice a day…..”. I think possibly one of the most stressful things a pig can undergo is to be roused from his slumber twice a day, to have a plastic syringe forced into his mouth containing some vile bitter tasting watered powder. I wouldn't like it.
And unfortunately I don't speak pig to tell him these meds are the only thing keeping him from a certain death and the alternative is off to the vet for the chamber of doom - I'm sure if I could communicate this to him he'd much more cooperative……
I’m sure this forum contains some creative minds looking to improve on their medicine giving habits – surely if we put our heads together we can think of a way to get the tiniest amount of powder from the spoon into the guts of our pigs? And if we come up with a better way this could be applied to meds across the board (except maybe stinky baytril).
So what be it? A laced lettuce parcel 'sushi' style? A fruity flavoured lickable paste?
What ideas can we generate that will result in medicine time becoming treat time? xoxo
And while with lots of animals you can hide lots of nasty meds in food - (thank goodness for petite filous when it comes to my rats!) It's often harder to hide meds when all you have is a piece of lettuce and your pig takes one sniff and looks at you to say, "yeah nice try" and trotts off.
Meaning for pigs we're left with little choice but the fear inducing 1ml syringe - that's our fear btw not the pigs - and while we hold this contraception which would be better named the "how to waste an hour achieving nothing device” or by those in the veterinary circles “the "better option"……(mmmmmm- yeah right - tell that to the owner with the pig with the retractable neck.....) we’re left frantically searching the internet for the key to how to make this easier……our google searches lead us to the “swaddling technique”. We think “hurray wonderful” and run to our piggy palaces with an old towel only to return an hour later back to our computer with baytril up our nose, hay in our hair and we don’t even know where the towel went……literally the next person who says swaddling technique to me is going to get smacked very hard with a moldy Cos leaf by my guinea pig, like I was earlier....
Maybe for those who in rescue who are consistently nursing poorly animals the 'knack' for syringing meds becomes second nature - but for the rest of us, we're late for work as it is, we've got a train to catch and a guinea pig who just doesn't understand the phrase "under my roof my rules" - and he ain't playing ball......
And what of those guinea pigs who are on lifelong meds......? As is going to be the case for my heart pig Manny. One of the most important things for a heart pig is to reduce stress, this does not go hand in hand with the sentence “you must crush these pills and dissolve in water and syringe feed twice a day…..”. I think possibly one of the most stressful things a pig can undergo is to be roused from his slumber twice a day, to have a plastic syringe forced into his mouth containing some vile bitter tasting watered powder. I wouldn't like it.
And unfortunately I don't speak pig to tell him these meds are the only thing keeping him from a certain death and the alternative is off to the vet for the chamber of doom - I'm sure if I could communicate this to him he'd much more cooperative……
I’m sure this forum contains some creative minds looking to improve on their medicine giving habits – surely if we put our heads together we can think of a way to get the tiniest amount of powder from the spoon into the guts of our pigs? And if we come up with a better way this could be applied to meds across the board (except maybe stinky baytril).
So what be it? A laced lettuce parcel 'sushi' style? A fruity flavoured lickable paste?
What ideas can we generate that will result in medicine time becoming treat time? xoxo
She usually takes it quite happily, I don't even have to pick her up. The other two usually try & pinch the syringe off her & run away with it lol 
- but what are the velcro medication bags? How do they work?
