Is there anything I can mix with a liquid antibiotic if the chin won't take it?

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UHgurl5621

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Hi everyone,

Is there anything I can mix, like apple juice or something like that with a liquid antibotic my chin won't take? I want to make sure it is safe...and he has been having some consitipation, so nothing that will add to that.

Thank you!:)
 
Would this happen to be Enrofloxacin (Baytril)? That stuff is sooo nasty tasting.

You could try hiding it some apple juice. Measure the medicine up first, then the apple juice, leave a little room so you can give it a small shake, and administer.
 
Actually, surprisingly he likes the Baytril...it's the vitamin C they are giving him some and I think it's too sour...if it's even possible I swear I saw his mouth pucker!! :)
 
does it matter what type of Apple Juice? Should it be no sugar added?
 
We are trying to see if it may improve the things going on with his teeth. I posted another post on here wondering if it improves/delays root elongation. I have read several things that say it's possible that adding Vitamin C to a chins diet helps with this IF it is environmental. His x-rays of his lower roots are heading in that direction...I had another chin I had to put to sleep due to the same issue less than a year ago (but his was already causing him pain and were the upper roots heading into his sinuses)...I just think it's so weird that I have had two chins, coming from different breeders, at two different time periods with this issue. We are trying this for about 3 weeks to see if there are any changes (and providing he does not get worse). I am not trying to get my hopes up nor do I want him to suffer, so please know that both my vet and I are monitoring him closely. I just had the x-rays done yesterday. Have you heard anything about Vitamin C and slowing the root elongation process as I know you have lots of chin experience?
 
Sadly, nothing prevents the roots from growing if they are prone to do so. I know there is someone who touts Vitamin C and sunshine but the fact is nothing really works.

Malo is a horrible, terrible disease and it's the one thing I hate most about chins. I've had it in two rescue chins and there was nothing to be done. Love and support until it gets painful and then letting them go is the very best you can do.
 
Thank you...I hate this about them too and can't believe it's happening again to me! I will keep everyone updated!
 
When Phoenix wouldn't take the oral Baytril, I mixed the dose into a tiny little ball of organic pumpkin puree ..then rolled that into some steel oats and Critical Care ..to make it palatable for him. He took his meds like a champ!

I am really sorry to hear that someone else is facing the bad, eeebil malocclusion issue. We have our own battle here, but it's mostly his incisors, fortunately.

Good luck to you and your chin'kid :)
 
I use vitamin C crystals that are added to one of my girl's water bottles every other day or so. I did have to do some math to be sure I was giving the correct amount and not too much, but they actually drink more water with a little vitamin C in it than otherwise. Just a thought.

I can't speak for vitamin C and malo, but I do know that I was working on some chinchilla nutritional research a few years ago and actually read the research that determined that vitamin C is not necessary in a chinchilla's diet. The researchers determined that vitamin C is not a vital nutrient, in that chinchillas do produce enough to survive on without supplementation in normal circumstances. However, they did not have any evidence that supplementation was in any way detrimental. The study was limited to determining if vitamin C was vital, which means that they had no evidence for or against situations where it might be useful to provide more than the animals create on their own. There are any number of circumstances documented in other vitamin-C producing animals where they are unable to meet their metabolic needs and require some level of supplementation, whether it is caused by illness, genetic disease, or some other mechanism.

I provide Vitamin C because Inca had a growth spur in one of her back molars because of insufficient diet during her pregnancy, and I'd like to do everything I can that might help prevent a recurrence. It has been 3 years since the spur, with no indications that it was anything other than a nutrition-based phenomenon. There is no research directly supporting vitamin C as an effective prevention or treatment of malo, but there is plenty of evidence that vitamin C is essential for dental health in many mammals. Unlike other vitamins that have a very high risk of toxicity (like vitamin A), vitamin C is water-soluble, does not collect in the body, and if given in proper doses is a safe vitamin to supplement. Therefore, I choose to supplement.

I've put some references I used in my research at the end of this post, so if you want to, you can find and read them. They are a very limited sampling, but they have some very good basic data.

Hope that helps!
Steph

King, K., Orcutt, F. 1952. Nutritional studies of the chinchilla with special reference to ascorbic acid and thiamine. J. Nutrition. 48: 31-39.

Larrivee, G., Elvehjem, C. 1954. Studies on the nutritional requirements of chinchillas. J. Nutrition. 52: 427-436.

Sakaguchi, E. 2003. Digestive strategies of small hindgut fermenters. J. Anim Sci. 74: 327-337.

Donnelly, T. 2004. Guinea pig and chinchilla care and husbandry. Vet Clin Exot Anim. 7: 351-373.

Wolf, P., Schroder, A., Wenger, A., Kamphues, J. 2003. The nutrition of the chinchilla as a companion animal – basic data, influences and dependences. J. Anim. Physiol. a. Anim. Nutr. 87: 129-133.

Leoschke, W., Elvehjem, C. 1959. Riboflavin in the nutrition of the chinchilla. J. Nutrition. 69: 214-216.

Crossley, D. 2001. Dental disease in chinchillas in the UK. J. Small Anim. Prac. 42: 12-19.
 
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