Neville won't take his meds.

[hprats]

Okay, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do with Neville.
I've tried everything I can think of and have read as far as mixing. What works the best is letting it soak into some bread/cake/grain thing, but he will only take the same thing once! He'll eat it up and then the next time I try it he will absolutely ignore it.

It doesn't help that he doesn't like me . My other rats all love me, but he's always been really shy...and after only a couple weeks, just when he was warming up to me, he suddenly got a URI and he lost all trust he had for me as I've had to syringe the meds in more often than not. I try my best, but I tend to not be a gentle person...Obviously I am very careful, but I just don't have that soothing touch that good nurses have.

It started with just sneezing and porph spray. He went on baytril and doxy and it went away, but then not a week after stopping he wasn't coming out of his cage anymore and then he became snuffly in the nose area (lungs are still clear). So he went on baytril, doxy, and metcam (for 10 days)...he has another week left of baytril and doxy, but lately, I can't find anything he will take the meds with and every time I use the syringe, he acts like I'm trying to poison him, and does his best to spit out as much as possible. And the whole thing is *so* stressful on him, it makes me wonder if it's doing more harm than good.

I have no idea how old he is. His fur is much more sparse than my young rats, and it has been since I got him. He is lazy and doesn't like to climb much, and really doesn't enjoy time out of the cage. He doesn't seem as happy as he did when he first settled in to the cage either. It makes me really sad.

ETA: There are three other rats in the cage, all happy and energetic and friendly. He does get along with all of them, he grooms all the others the most and is usually found curled up with one of them.

 

[Unepuce]

I'm guessing maybe the meds he is taking are hurting him in some way - tummy ache or else? I believe rats will be very careful about new stuff to eat, and if it doesn't make them feel good, they won't touch it again. Maybe that's what is going on?

 

[victoria]

It sounds like he's pretty sick and that's part of the reason he's not warming up to you very quickly.

Unfortunately, if they won't take their meds mixed with food (see here for ideas) then you have to force them. The best way I have found is to do it quickly (if you can) and get the syringe as deep as possible before squirting. With some of my guys I'll leave the syringe in their mouth a few seconds more, this forces them to swallow. You can also try giving him a treat right afterward if he'll take it, that way he's more likely to ingest most of his meds. My rats are awful at spitting out meds (on a related note, Doxycycline stains are often permanent) and I have never been able to get them to stop spitting some out. Another thing I do is I make sure the more important ones are given first (Baytril, Doxy, then Metacam) so they are more likely to ingest them and I try to get the most concentrated suspensions available. Above all, remain calm when you are giving them. If you are nervous or distressed, Neville will pick up on that and think he has reason to feel the same way. Try to take him out for cuddles a few times a day (can be only 5 min at a time)when you do not have to medicate to reassure him you are not the bad guy.

ETA: Unepuce made a good point. Antibiotics can be making him uncomfotable because they are killing intestinal flora. Giving him a probiotic between doses can help alleviate that and can actually help him recover. Just make sure it's given more than 2 hours before or after you give meds.

 

[hprats]

A probiotic as in yogurt? (Guessing because you said wait two hours and I know that's for dairy with doxy).
That seems like a really good idea, thank you!

I just feel so bad forcing them into him twice a day for weeks on end. But thanks for the reminder to stay calm. I know that's important, but I have been forgetting it lately, it's just so awful. I have to hold him upright, as if he's standing up, and use my thumb to steady his head, in order to get the syringe well positioned. I do about .7-.8 ml at a time (all the doxy, half the baytril).

 

[victoria]

You can give probiotic yogurt or fermented milk/soy milk/rice milk (Danactive, Bio-K), mix probiotic capsules (the ones marketed to humans) with a treat, Benebac, etc. There are tons of options. Not all are equal, so try to get one that has some research to back it up. (I find the stuff that is effective with humans works well with my rats.)

The reason why you shouldn't give it within two hours of antibiotics is not the calcium content (although that is a concern with Doxy), but that you don't want to reduce the effectiveness of the antibiotics or the probiotics, If you give them at the same time, the antibiotics would kill the bacteria in the probiotic supplement before going to work on the ones infecting the rat.

 

[hprats]

^That makes sense! Thanks.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

As much as I hate having to force meds as well it is for his benefit and once you get the hang of it, it will be a really quick and almost stress free process.

 

[hprats]

Oh, and also, any thoughts on where I can buy those ml syringes? I only have one left, and it's a big pain for both of us for me to have to rinse it between the two meds.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

You should be able to get some more from your vet. If not occasionally you can get them at a pharmacy.

 

[victoria]

Are you tossing the out each time? You can wash them out and reuse them

 

[hprats]

Yeah, heh. I just lost two of the three my vet gave me...I found them again, a few days after losing them, but since they were in a gross spot (between the rat cage and the garbage can), I just tossed them. And the vet is pretty far from me, definitely not worth the trip for a little syringe. Thinking about it, there's a "medical supplies store" pretty near me that I should check out hah.

 

[victoria]

Ask the pharmacist for them then, they usually have them behind the counter.

 

[hprats]

I actually just realized I have some more! I still had 4 doses of revolution in the freezer for them (1 each), so that's four syringes. I cleaned them out really well and we're good to go . I think it will be a lot easier to give them to him if I can get the syringes ready...and now I can even have back up doses ready (there's usually at least one wasted dose).