She HATES Baytril...

[ScottyB]

First of all, hello to all. My wife and I are new to the forum and look forward to sharing our bunny stories!

We took our bunny, Butters, to get spayed last week. All went well, but in the process of getting Butters from her cage to the op room, she struggled with the vet and broke one of her back toes. It was badly broken and the end 2/3 of her toe had to be amputated.

For an antibiotic, the vet gave us Baytril to be administered orally,twice a day. The problem is Butters will have no part of it. The vet recommended the "Bunny Burrito", but Butters will panic when a towel is placed even near her. Covering her with a towel has never worked - not even when she was young. Since the surgery, Butters will not even allow us to pick her up and hold her- we are sure this is just temporary.

We have tried covering her eyes while petting, but as soon as the syringe gets near her, she panics and runs (we are not sure how aggressive to be in holding her.) We have tried to disguise the smell by dipping the syringe in a grape, strawberry, pineapple juice, etc - no help.

We are out of ideas. Our bunny needs her medication, but no matter what we try, she refuses to allow us near her mouth with the syringe. The only thing we have found to work is by dabbing a bit of medicine on her front paws - she will immediately lick and clean herself up - but it is nowhere near the amount she needs.

Any ideas? Any help is appreciated!

Scott and Jackie

Butters and her snowman family:

 

[TinysMom]

What an adorable girl.

Have you tried getting a bigger syringe and then mixing her medicine with either some baby food or some flavored pedialyte?

Here is what I would do....let's say she needs 3 cc. I would use a 6 cc or 9 cc syringe and in a separate container mix 3 cc of medicine with 3 or 6 cc of the "flavorful" stuff you use to disguise the flavor. Make sure to mix it well good so that it hides the taste.

I like to use banana baby food or banana strawberry baby food. My rabbits also love grape or fruit flavored pedialyte.

Good luck. I'm sure others will have tips for you too.

Peg

 

[Haley]

She is adorable! Welcome to all of you!

Im not sure about how else to tame her. Have you tried doing the bunny burrito but not flipping her, just holding her against you? Or putting her on a towel on a counter area (some place she is unfamiliar with).Often if they are a bit frightened they will let you get away with more.

For the meds. Is it injectable Baytril (the clear liquid that smells horrid)? If so, you will need something strong to help disguise the taste. My vet recommended using some grenadine mixed with it to disguise the taste. Since its very sugary, it helps to put a little water with it to dilute it. My Max loves this though, and will put his head out to drink from the syringe.

If that wont work, maybe try hiding it in some pumpkin or baby food?A darker baby food (like blueberry) will hide the taste the best.

Hope that helps. She is such a gorgeous girl, she looks just like my boy Basil.

 

[Maureen Las]

You could ask the vet to try and get a hold of baytril tablets (bunny dosage is usually about 1/4 tab) Then you could put it inside a crasin or a piece of banana.

I have better luck with the oral baytril. Does your vet know you are having so much trouble as it may be possible for you to get it mixed and flavored ?

I have given injectable baytril although this is not the best solution as some rabbits develop abscesses at the injection site. Still it would be better than no antibiotics at all.

Good luck!!

 

[seniorcats]

No sugar apple sauce and carrot baby food are also good.You don't need much. If the liquid antibiotic is bitter, you could ask for pills and crush them,then mix in the baby food/apple sauce. If you have a compounding pharmacy//pharmacist near you they may be able to flavor your meds with something fruity.

 

[Haley]

angieluv wrote:

I have given injectable baytril although this is not the best solution as some rabbits develop abscesses at the injection site.Still it would be better than no antibiotics at all.

The injectable can also be taken orally. I guess thats why I assumed they were having so much trouble, that stuff is nasty taken orally! But I prefer it to the crushed pills because its not so thick when mixed with something.

But the pill inside the raisin is also a good trick!

 

[Maureen Las]

My vet makes her own mix of baytril using tablets and then flavors it with something that they don't dislike.
I have heard that injectable bayril is the same as oral liquid but I have also heard that it is really nasty tasting. No wonder they are having trouble getting it down her.

 

[ScottyB]

Thanks for the advice everyone. The Baytril is strawberry flavored - smells fine to me but the vet says the taste is very bitter. Our bun is pretty smart - everything wetry works once, then she catches on...

This morning, my wife just squirted it on her paw and she licked it right up. She pretties herself up immediately, so there is no residue left over. This is the only method that currently works.

Thank you for the other suggestions. We will definitely try most of them. She loved the pain killer medication - I understand that is sweeter tasting - so we will certainly try mixing her meds with something better and see how that goes.

Otherwise, she seems to be doing just fine. She is slowly getting back to normal. Still won't let us pick her up, but we're getting there!

Scott and Jackie