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Not taken meds...

Crystella

Crystella

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Miss Nutmeg is almost 5yrs, and after going to the vets on Monday evening because of her breathing was sounding nasally, got Enrofloxacin to take.
Tried yesterday but no joy. Tried by diluting it into her water bottle (didn't think it would work), but after a few sips she didn't touch and so I changed it out. Tried again this morning by wrapping her in a fleece cuddle cup around her and its just stressing her out.
Is there any other way I can try to give it to her or should I go back to the vets?
 
You just need to be firm and syringe to directly to her. Baytril does not taste nice to piggies, so they will not take it voluntarily. Putting it in a water bottle is definitely never going to work.
Is there somebody who can help you - it can sometimes be easier if one person holds piggy and the other person administers the meds
 
Hi

Here is a one person method:

I use a combination of piggy whispering (asserting my authority first by fondly her ears quite firmly, giving plenty of kisses, praise and fuss afterwards) and a hold in which I can control my piggy with one hand (especially the head) and my upper body so that I have the other hand free for the syringe.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

I control the piggy's head with index and thumb, and the upper body with the rest of my hand, making sure that the front feet have no purchase and then get the syringe in from the side in the gap between front and back teeth, making sure to go in far enough so the baytril cannot be spit out again.
IMG_0071_edited-1.jpg

Then I follow it up with some syringed water to wash the taste off and a herb or fresh grass treat back in the back with plenty of fuss and praise to encourage cooperative behaviour.
You can also use the same amount of ribena as the antibiotic afterwards or offer some cucumber. What I would not recommend is to mix baytril and ribena - it means that you have to get double the amount in.

The trick is being as quick and firm as possible; you can't be doting mummy when you have get life-saving foul tasting meds or syringe feed in - you have to be top sow that says what goes.
You can be doting mummy as much as you like afterwards but when the shots are called, it has to be very clear in piggy terms who's boss for more compliance and less wiggling.

Wrapping hasn't worked for me; most piggies wiggle out before I can get going.

There is no nice way of getting baytril in because it is about the most foul tasting thing imaginable (please do not try to taste it yourself; it can make you very ill).

Please NEVER put any medication into water. Guinea pigs have about double the number of tastebuds to humans and around 5 times those of cats. You may need to wash out your water bottle thoroughly and brace yourself that she won't use it for quite a while.
 
I feel your pain @Crystella the first time I had to give a piggy medicine it was the dreaded Baytril. At first I tried to be nice and I felt so bad because Elvis clearly hated it. But being nice is actually worse because it drags out. At the end of the day, however you go about it, you need to get the medicine into Nutmeg so you might as well be cruel to be kind and get it done quickly.
Paws crossed she doesn't need Baytril for too long. Sending healing wheeks 💕
 
@Wiebke i got told to dilute .25ml in a 3ml syringe with water. Should I just use it undiluted .25 or as the vet said
 
When I had to give Christian his first taste of Baytril his face and look said it all basically "what the WTF was THAT?!?!?!?!?!?!" He was only used to nice tasting stuff coming out of a syringe. I followed it up quickly with Metacam which he was on as well as a cocktail of other drugs. It does taste totally disgusting as it's so bitter. Make sure you have something tasty for immediately after to take the horrible nasty taste away. Good luck.
 
I’m afraid it’s tough love with antibiotics. I go in fast and firm, get it over and done with and then reward with a treat.
 
I never dilute... more volume is more difficult. I've never been told to dilute though. Dose has always been under a ml and usually well under 0.5 ml per dose (the syringe provided is always a 1ml syringe) so I'm assuming it's the same concentration.

I found pigs can't spit it out so once it's in, it's in (and quickly followed either by metacam if they're on painkiller, or a sprig of parsley to take the taste away). George scuppered my confidence by freezing in horror with his mouth hanging open, meaning much of the 0.6ml he was prescribed dripped slowly out again... I was desperately trying to scoop it back in with the end of the syringe! I had wondered whether this unusually high dose (for us at least) was because the vet realised this would happen but it turns out that she personally had better results with higher dose/shorter duration. 5 days and he was sorted. Took a bit longer before he trusted me again though!
 
I also don't dilute - get it done as fast as possible, and the less volume the less there is for them to spit out and dribble all over you!
 
You'll get the hang of it. There are great instructions posted above.
I prefer not to dilute and give pepper or corriander afterwards.
 
Crystella said:
Thanks for all the advice, it’s really helped in get the meds into miss Nutmeg. The face I get off her afterwards is very much like miss Ruby’s so it looks like I’m not on her nice list any more.
Click to expand...
A bit of coriander and all will be forgiven.
 
Betsy said:
A bit of coriander and all will be forgiven.
Click to expand...
Not today, she managed to get me with her teeth. Luckily the t-shirt was in the way but still.
Maybe we should start a sassy ladies and gents thread for cavys that put their humans in their place. I’m sure that @Swissgreys Miss Ruby could run it.
 
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