[notbritney]

My rat is on Baytril at the moment, 0.2ml a day for 2 weeks, because he has a respiratory infection. I foolishly thought it would be easy to medicate my darling Winston because he'll eat just about anything if it's put in front of him (except carrots, he hates carrots), but he knows I'm sneaking something into his food. If he catches a hint of medicine in or on his food he'll just avoid it.

The only thing he'll eat with medicine mixed in is mayonnaise, which he isn't supposed to eat, so what on earth do I do?

Thanks!

 

[moonkissed]

What all types of food have you tried?

Chocolate or strawberry syrup seems to be a huge win with taking medicine. I used sweet babyfood. Something strong smelling like mixing in alittle tuna may help.

You could try this as well: http://ratguide.com/meds/figures/compounding_medications_figure_1.php

 

[Pixxiies]

Forgive my ignorance, why can't rats have mayo? I know nothing is good in excess but mayo is an egg based product.
If he likes the taste of mayo you can always try egg-less mayo. There are several different verity's that include vegan products and everything else.

Personally, I have to syringe baytril and doxy into my rat. The vet flavored the medication for me (raspberry) and instructed me to do just that. At first he would take it from the syringe as a treat but he eventually caught on (doxy tastes worse then baytril apparently). I didn't even attempt to mix it in his food because he is a very picky eater in the first place and I knew he wouldn't eat it (and might even start distrusting the food he does eat). I hate it, it breaks my heart having to do it, but its the only way I can get it into him. He absolutely hates it but I follow it up very quickly with a treat and he gets over it. I have someone hold him still and hold his arms down and I gently squeeze some in the side of his mouth and repeat the process once he seems to have swallowed the first mouthful. Their mouths are very fleshy so its usually easy to get in there once he stops squirming. Those syringes can be a pain in the butt as they sometime stick and you end up squirting more then you bargained for. But I find that if any drops escape his mouth I wipe them back near his mouth and he cleans it up right after.

 

[Gribouilli]

Yes there are eggs in mayo but it is mostly fat. Also there is lots of salt in mayo which wouldn't be good for rats, especially sick rats who might not drink enough water already.

 

[moonkissed]

Plus eww mayo lol

Eggs are actually fine for rats btw. They quite like them as a treat. You can give them a hardboiled egg shell and all. None of mine seem to care for the shell and it is messy lol

I personally wouldn't give mayo. But just the thought of mayo churns my stomach lol

I wouldn't force meds if it can be helped. I like to mix alittle on a plate/bowl and just have them lick it up. They have always licked it clean!

 

[notbritney]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to try sweet babyfood, if that doesn't work I'm going to try oatmeal, egg, tuna, pretty much everything. I'm not giving up! Haha.

However, he's lost a bit of weight over the last week, he also hasn't stopped sleeping, which is worrying. Could the sleeping be a side effect of the antibiotics? I have to wake him up to feed him and I'm giving him water by hand because he doesn't bother otherwise. He is eating and he is drinking, it's just concerning that he won't do it unless I'm prompting him.

 

[Gribouilli]

You could try Ensure which is a drink for elderly people. It has all the vitamins and minerals in it. My Gribouilli loved the chocolate flavor Ensure. Most rats love Ensure, and it helps with nutrition, hydration, and gaining a little weight.

 

[CraftyDevil]

My vet recommended maple syrup that doesn't have corn syrup. They love it! The oldest had a uti and she bit the brand new baby so my vet has the baby on Baytril for a couple days. I also think the baby has a URI so I'm hoping it helps as well. But yeah the maple syrup works great.