Feeding a stubborn piggy medication?

[Julesie]

Heya, I've been trying to feed Gilbert his medicine twice daily for one and once daily for the other.
Sadly its been a real struggle to get him to feed it. He hates the taste of them both.

So how can I feed him it without having to try and struggle? Is there another way I can get him to have it? Its loxicom and baytril.

 

[Connie]

dip the syringe into the fleshing bit of cucmber, or an apple, makes it taste nice at first.
HTH

 

[Amanda1801]

Baytril tastes foul. Loxicom is supposed to taste like honey, but IMO this also tastes foul.

When Cameo was on both of the above, I mixed it with a bit of cranberry juice - seemed to help a bit !

 

[Julesie]

Thank you both. I'll try that out later.

 

[sport_billy]

One of our girls Treacle hates Baytril, she fights you and flicks her head away with real force.

We are v2 person syringers. To combat this one of us holds her on a table, while the other syringes. The table is slippy underneath so she can't get enough foothold to wriggle. This gives the syringer enough time to syringe the foul tasting medicine into her mouth.

We were having real problems till we discovered this technique, remember the piggie still needs to be held on the table though...

Hope this helps

 

[Wiebke]

When giving baytril to a struggling piggy, I have found it much easier if I hold the piggy with its back against my chest, as that restricts the head movements. I can also lean back, so it tilts back with me and is easier to control with just one hand. Alternatively use your legs additionally to control the piggy, but again with it facing away from you and not towards you.

I don't add anything to baytril because I find it much easier to get a smaller amount in a piggy's mouth in one go. I rather give a little treat afterwards to help wash the disgusting taste away. Always give baytril last because it is the worst tasting medicine.

 

[popcornapple]

The idea that you can just slip this onto a bit of cucumber and they'll take it is just a joke. mallethead
I agree with Sportbilly, you have to have one to hold and the other to ease the syringe into the side of your guineas mouth and then squirt gently. One you get the knack, you can do it quite quickly.
Good luck

 

[Julesie]

I tried to put him in a sort of headlock. Not one to hurt him or anything but just to keep him from squirming but he still managed to get his face away and as I couldn't see if I was getting it in his mouth I think I got more on his fur and the syringe than in his mouth. ^^;

I can ask mum to help me during the day but when he needs teh second dosage is when I tend to struggle.

 

[Little Pig]

I have the same problem with Baytril. I put Pig on the counter and towel wrap him tightly (a bit like a fajita). I then put my right arm around him, so his bum is nestled in the crook of my elbow as this means he can't back away. I lean forwards and again with my right arm push him to my side, so the length of his body and his head are pressed against my stomach. I then gently hold his mouth open using my right hand and pop the syringe in with my left. To ensure he actually gets the medication in his mouth, I make sure that the syringe in is by a couple of centimeters before I push the plunger down. I then hold it in his mouth for a few seconds before removing it and give him a bit of veg to take the taste away.

When I first started doing it I think I was too gentle as I was worried about hurting him and of course you can't be too forceful, but I am pretty firm with him. It is still difficult (particularly now as he has just had an operation and has a collar on), but you can do it on your own if you have to - I wish I had someone to help hold him though!

Let me know if my description doesn't make any sense and I'll try to explain it again!

 

[Amysguineapigs]

Our vet told us to use Ribena (equal amount to Baytril) and it works!

 

[Connie]

The idea that you can just slip this onto a bit of cucumber and they'll take it is just a joke. mallethead
I agree with Sportbilly, you have to have one to hold and the other to ease the syringe into the side of your guineas mouth and then squirt gently. One you get the knack, you can do it quite quickly.
Good luck

Well thankyou for being rather rude. Ok so it didnt work for you, and I'm sorry, I didnt say it would work, it was a suggestion. But it works very nicely for me, my piggies would writh like made to get away, but as soon as it smells of apple or cucumber they will take it.

Its advice I was actually given on here, and I was very grateful for it.

 

[Freela]

I do what Wiebke suggested- I hold the piggy upright against my chest to help restrict head motion and try to slip the syringe/bottle into the side of the mouth between the front teeth and the molars. So far with antibiotics we've dealt with Baytril, which Frenzy fought against like mad, and Chloramphenicol, which smelled very sweet and which Linney took without any fuss at all!

 

[Little Pig]

Did the syringing go any easier for you this morning?