Please help!!! Giving medication

[starrynight0621]

My chins love Critical Care. But getting them to take their medicine is really hard.

Can I mix medicine with Critical Care?

Are there any ways to help them enjoy it?

So far my fiance and I have been burrito wrapping them, shoving the syringe in their mouths and pushing it in. We have seen a lot of slipped fur.

Also, our burrito wraps don't work very well. They manage to kick around anyway.

There has to be a better way to do this!

 

[Lillybabe]

My little guy took a *lot* of medications during his frequent GI stasis issues and malo issues. The way I got him to take the meds was to actually just kind of hold him very gently in my lap or on a flat surface. Then I would take the syringe and poke it in the side of his mouth where there are a gap in his teeth. I would gently but quickly push as much as I thought was safe in of the med at a time. He would usually grudgingly swallow it for me. Occasionally we'd have some drips. I got to the point I could do this while he was actually still in the cage. Personally I wouldn't mix meds with anything as there's no guarantee they're going to eat all of the food. What about giving you chinnie a small amount of Critical Care first and then the med, while they are kind of... off guard and expecting more yummy food? Then feed Critical Care again shortly after. It always worked best for me if I didn't burrito him for feedings or for meds. He'd freak out on me when I burritoed him. I usually just held him gently as I said before and kept a towel under him to contain some of the mess. If he got squirmy I'd scoop one hand under him and feed/give meds with the other.

 

[Maggie:-)]

When i had to give maggie medicine i would rip a raisin in half then i would rub the tip of the syringe inside the raisin so it smelled real yummy then id open the cage,she would open her mouth to lick the syringe and i would squirt it in a little at a time as she was licking. It was an awesome trick,it never failed and i liked it because she wasnt actually getting a raisin just a tiny bit of the juice and she put up with the medicine just for that tiny amount of raisin juice lol

 

[AZChins]

I flip the chins over and give them their medication very quickly. However, I am very experienced at this and it may not be a good idea for you to do what I do!

The burrito method is probably the way to go. Unless the chin gets used to the medication and doesn't mind it and will willingly take it this is really the only way that you are going to be totally sure you get all the medicine into the chinchilla.

 

[starrynight0621]

The raisin method worked really well for Orville. He has always been food motivated.

Wally hates medicine, Critical Care, and being burritoed. After we burrito him and force medicine/food in, he goes back to the cage and hides in a corner. He looks so depressed, like he has no will to live anymore. It's so sad

 

[Stackie]

When I give meds I always draw up a bit of simethicone into the syringe with the medication. They would smell the simethicone (which they love) and go for it. That way I could squirt the entire contents of the syringe so they got both the simethicone and the medication.

 

[ChilliPepper]

What meds are you giving? I did the raisin thing with Chilli. The other thing I did with Chilli was brew up a weak cup of chamomile tea. I let it cool and gave him a bit of that in the syringe. He loved it. So then I drew up like half of his meds and a little of the tea, so he got the tea first. Repeat, and meds delivered and happy mom and happy chin. Also, check out my post on hand feeding tips, I posted what worked for us at first. Now Chilli is a champ at it all and no holding necessary.