Giving tablets to rodents

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Teh Fluffeh — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:55:11 GMT

Oops, I meant tube feed via syringe. I've put in nasal tubes before, but wouldn't feel confident putting anything else in, purely due to lack of experience. Nurses in referral centres put in feeding tubes.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Gillian Mostyn — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:27:36 GMT

[quote user="Teh Fluffeh"]Gavage - syringe feed[/quote]

not strictly the same - gavage means using a tube of some kind and putting the food/meds directly into the stomach.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Jacquelyn Smith — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:56:22 GMT

Thanks. It was just that I had only ever know a vet do it and there is the whole 'entering a body cavity' rule, I think. So wasn't sure where that came in.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Teh Fluffeh — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:34:50 GMT

Gavage - syringe feed, yes we do. But only as a last resort if other methods have been exhausted due to the stress it causes.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Jacquelyn Smith — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:44:13 GMT

Just a quick question... Not trying to thread jack or anything, but do nurses not generally know how to gavage? I haven't managed to find a training place yet so not sure, but I can gavage from my old job and when Polly my ferret had to have synulox found it much less stressful for her to be gav'd as I couldn't disguise the taste with anything. Rats will go into a light trance like state if cheek scruffed lightly, and if you know what you're doing it only takes a few seconds... They are non the wiser. Obviously if you can hide it and get them to eat it, sure as heck use the less invasive method, but there is always one, like my pol, who can still sniff it out in a 10:1 ratio to stinky pureed pigs liver. Sorry for dragging out what could have been simply asked as, can nurses gavage? As a general rule/consensus... Or is it a vet only task...

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Elerrina — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:47:23 GMT

i currently have 6 rats, having had 10 previously too, so i have had my fair share of experience with giving meds. My two boys i have currently are paticularly fussy >.<. Tablets we tended to crush and mix with some water and digestive biscuit to make a nice biscuit ball. We do this with baytril to and it goes down really well.

My boys are currently on zithromax and its the first medicine ive come across they will practically drink from the syringe, even the stawberry flavoured synulox drops they hated.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Julie-Anne Wilson — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:48:26 GMT

I just use 2 spoons, put the tablets in the spoony part and crush between them.

I tried the baby food this morning and she LOVED it! Tried to eat the spoon once she'd eaten all the food off it, lol.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Katy — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:04:05 GMT

You should be able to get a tablet crusher from your local chemist, which will make crushing the tablets a bit easier

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Sal the 1st — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:04:37 GMT

I used to crush mine to a powder and mix in some melted yoghurt drops - really handy if as in my case the rat dose was 1/8th of a frusemide tablet because then when the yoghurt drops had set again it was easier cutting them into 8 than cutting a tablet and i knew the rat would take it.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Louise B — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 23:57:45 GMT

Hi Life game pate for cats works really well. Or, in research labs they sometimes disguise meds in jelly for rats. Apparently they love it.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Julie-Anne Wilson — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:51:55 GMT

[quote user="Tracy Windler RVN"]

I had to give preds to my rat and would roll up a bit of cheese (marrowfat pea-sized) until it was soft nd maleable, put the crushed tablet in it and squige it in. My rat loved cheese, so never noticed the extra stuff in it.

[/quote]

Oooh, another good idea. I may try this one first to give her a wee break from the syringing. Although I've actually never given her cheese so hopefully she likes it.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Julie-Anne Wilson — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:50:23 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]

The most common problem is mycoplasma. Good luck - he'll probably need lots of TLC!

[/quote]

One of the other Vets mentioned this an it was him that told me to bring her back in to get checked again.

She's also been a bit sneezy but it got worse last week, hopefully we can get her back to normal (for her). I feel so bad for her when she's constantly sneezing

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Tracy Windler RVN — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:49:17 GMT

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:43:11 GMT

The most common problem is mycoplasma. Good luck - he'll probably need lots of TLC!

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Julie-Anne Wilson — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:33:15 GMT

I thought it was just a run of the mill respiratory infection but our resident "rat" vet had a listen to her after a week of Baytril with no joy and he says her breathing sounds more squeaky than snuffly. He wanted to try an inhaler but we didn't have any hanging around the practice so he's given me Pred and Noroclav.

I haven't seen him yet (I was off yesterday but he left me a note today on what meds to take) so I don't know exactly what he thinks it is or whether it's even just a more stubborn resp. infection. I might try the ribena water with the tablets crushed in it.

I have already managed to cut the tablets up as small as they're supposed to go (pill splitter FTW! lol) so they're all ready for me as and when needed.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:25:22 GMT

The reason the rat wouldn't have liked the syringe of baytril is because baytril tastes foul!

I would use synulox palatable drops rather than try to cut the synulox tablets that small. I think you have a slim to zero chance of getting a rat to swallow even a crumb of a tablet! I know rat won't find them particularly palatable but it will still be easier..

We have a fancy machine that will grind tablets up so we make allsorts of tablets into liquid meds, but you can do it with a pestle and mortar and a bit of elbow grease! You could even mix it with something like ribena rather than just water. (We use a pharmaceutical syrup that we buy from the chemist.)

Alternatively you could opt for something like septrin paediatric suspension, which is fruity! What are you treating?

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Laura Ringsell — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:21:44 GMT

Wow - thanks for that, will bow down to anythng said by the Great Girling!

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Julie-Anne Wilson — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:17:07 GMT

Simon Girling recommends giving them baby food after surgery. I'd never heard it before but one of out SVNs had a lecture with him at college.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Laura Ringsell — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:10:48 GMT

A bit of ribena in that water also works wonders for the taste - would be a bit concerned about giving rabbits baby food - last time I checked we were not suitably nutritionally matched!

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Julie-Anne Wilson — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:00:49 GMT

[quote user="Steph Worsley"]

hmmm crush and mix with some water would be my thought of the easiest way, especially since its not gonna be getting a huge amount of either I would have thought

[/quote]

Quarter of one, eighth of another so not a huge amount. I'll keep that as an option B 'cos I've just finished giving her a week long course of Baytril and she wasn't keen on the syringe in her mouth.

The wee pixie we have in on Saturday said that she used to give her rabbit meds in baby food, I thought that might have been an option but wanted to ask on here as well.

Re: Giving tablets to rodents

Steph Worsley — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:45:41 GMT

hmmm crush and mix with some water would be my thought of the easiest way, especially since its not gonna be getting a huge amount of either I would have thought