Scruffing

[Fox]

So I have been having to force-feed my chinchilla anti-biotics. Now, the question is because you can't hold them tight to force-feed like you would a dog or solid animal is it ok to scruff them like you would a ferret?

 

[Silverrose]

What you want to do is wrap them up into a "burrito". I use a small handtowel. Wrap the towel around their body, just so that their head sticks out, and just tight enough so that they can't move. Don't make it so tight that they can't breathe of course, but make sure to get those paws wrapped in, or they will try to struggle out of the burrito.

 

[starleomach]

Therese said it great the good old chinchilla burrito. My household handtowels get more use that way. Make sure it is good and tight (but not too tight) so he can't wiglle too much. Keep in mind a fiesty chinchilla is a good sign in my opinion. A compliant chinchilla seems to be worse off. I am always thrilled when they start fighting me if they have been sick

 

[alli713]

I agree, wrapping them in a towel is your best bet. I would not scruff a chinchilla, you'd probably end up with a handful of fur because they'd probably slip the fur that you were holding onto as a defense mechanism.

 

[tunes]

Even with a burrito it can be a pain. You also will need to hold the head still gently so you can shoot the antibiotics in. After wrapping them in the burrito, I hold them close to my body between my arm and my side, the hold their head gently between my my thumb and first finger, around the ear area. The burrito is helpful to keep the struggling paws out of the way, but it doesn't do much for the head whipping around trying to avoid the syringe.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Do you have two people available? DH and I had the best luck in holding Chilli like a baby, slightly on his back. He even reached up to steady the syringe. What kind of antibiotics are you giving?
By myself the way that has worked best for me since I just cannot get the darn squirmy thing wrapped on a towel is to put a pillow on the desk next to their cage, put him in the crook of my left elbow, hold the top of his head, around his ears and syringe with the right hand. This is how I have been getting the CC in him. Also, we found that after a few days, Chilli calmed down and was happy to get his meds.
Another trick I read about was to dilute them slightly with a weak chamomile tea brew. So if he gets .4 ml of antibiotic, I would fill the syringe to .6 total, drawing the tea after the antibiotics.