Any Tips On Getting A Piggy To Take Baytril?

[jenniferanneharris]

I am at my wits end with Honor lol. She is on Batril again and she is such a pain gettinf meds into her. She struggles so much. Can Batril be mixed with somthing to make it taste better? Or a special way to hold her lol. I think she needs a strait jacket ...lol

 

[Janey]

Have you tried wrapping her up in a small towel, so that her front feet are snugly inside it and her head is poking out?

 

[Wiebke]

Some people swear on ribena or honey to mask the taste. I prefer to give it plain, as that goes in one fell swoop and then give something stronger tasting like ribena afterwards to wash the awful taste away. It takes some practice and experience to learn to handle an uncooperative piggy! They tend to put up more of a fight when they feel that they can get away with it. Often, it can take some patience and persistence.

If you are alone, you can try to lift her on her feet, her back against your chest so she has only got limited space for manoeuvring her head around.
Alternatively, you can try to fix her between your thighs (if necessary wrapped up), so you have got both hands free to stabilise her head and get the meds in behind her front teeth. If you try the second method, make sure that her head is always above her body.

 

[Bekki]

There is somebody on here who makes essentially straight jackets for piggies, its literally like a zipped make up bag with a corner missing for their heads to poke out :-) not sure who it is though but if you really cant manage meds it may be worth looking in to

 

[jenniferanneharris]

Thanks. I do eventually get them in Honor...she is just such an akward wriggler. I am going to try a few new techiques to see if they are easier. Thanks for all the sugestions...going to try them all :-)

 

[jenniferanneharris]

Just did Honors morning meds while wrapped in a blanket and this timr she was much better. Thanks :-)

 

[sport_billy]

Glad to hear you have found something that works. When we had to give Treacle Baytril I used to hold her on a tabletop so her feet couldn't get a grip and Rach would syringe it in quickly. Any other method resulted in disaster lol

 

[Briony_S]

There is somebody on here who makes essentially straight jackets for piggies, its literally like a zipped make up bag with a corner missing for their heads to poke out :-) not sure who it is though but if you really cant manage meds it may be worth looking in to

I have one of these, it was fantastic when I was new to piggies as I could never get the hang of wrapping in towels. I now have the towels down though, it's definitely worth considering

 

[Guinea Slave]

I just find being firm and telling her to stop 'behaving like a little Princess' (helps me relax) makes big difference as does the head lock I get her in LOL! I do find though that once you have made them realise they have no choice then they give up pretty quickly. For ones so small they are amazingly determined! I still remember when my little girl Lacey actually growled at the vet (yes growled!) when her stitches were removed. The vet and I both looked at each other and laughed...poor Lacey's street cred did'nt go much further after that!

 

[jenniferanneharris]

Lol she sounds like a charactor. I am pretty firm with Honor....but she is a diva but- hey i love her lol

 

[Guinea Slave]

Its always the girls is'nt it LOL! I just love the attitude..here we are, huge strong giants in their world and yet they think they still think they can boss us about!

 

[Freela]

I've done the blanket wrap... it worked well with one of my pigs, but makes the other one fight even harder. The easiest thing I've found with her is to preload the syringe, put her on my lap facing outwards, stand her up on her hind legs with her back against my stomach and my left hand supporting her stomach/ribs, and then reach around with the other hand and stick the syringe into the side of her mouth behind her incisors and before her molars. I also stick the syringe into her mouth as far as she'll let me because she will try to spit it out. Then a nice treat to help the medicine go down. HTH a bit!

 

[Freela]

Its always the girls is'nt it LOL! I just love the attitude..here we are, huge strong giants in their world and yet they think they still think they can boss us about!

I think they boss us around because it works so well! We always joke that the kids and I work for the guinea pigs. "Look, they're begging for food... quick, run to the fridge for treats!" It's ironic that two little 2-pound animals somehow have several humans in their employ!