Rat won't swallow medicine, what to do?

[Danielle]

So stressed out. I tried 5 times to give him meds, he drooled it out every single time and rubbed it on my bed. UGH!! How do I get him better if he won't take his medicine?!
I'm running low on Baytril because of this. Not that it matters since he won't take it anyway. Ugh. My other boy would do this too. I would hide it in food, would work AT FIRST. But as time went on, he learned to avoid the medicine. -_-! And guess what happened? He died because he wouldn't take his meds. I don't want Edward to die because he won't take his medicine too! ugh. I dunno what to do.

 

[Blobbenstein]

yahoo said this, or someone on there did:

Baytril is very bitter and to counter-act it's flavor you need to add it to a sweet food that will cover the bitterness. I have never failed with the use of cool whip. Baby foods like strained banana; strawberry syrup, chocolate syrup, mashed avocado, jam, mayonaise....

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070908171854AA6FQ1C

 

[Danielle]

Betting chocolate syrup would work with him.. :I I'll try that.. Even if he doesn't eat it all, it's better than stressing us both out and him not getting any meds..

 

[KLS52]

You have my sympathies. My first few months with my cat, Bogart, were horrible. He takes meds twice a day and it was an almost impossible task, with both of us being so stressed out during and afterward.
Thankfully, it is so much better now. He takes his meds like a champ 5 days out of 7. I hope you find a method that works for you. More

 

[RascalsMom]

Chocolate is horrible for rats, so if you have any other sweets you could try, I'd opt for that first. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[mlp]

Yes, I was going to say that chocolate is extremely toxic to most nonhuman animals.

 

[Danielle]

People say chocolate in small amounts is fine for rats
Are you just saying that because chocolate shouldn't be fed to dogs?

"
Is chocolate poisonous to rats?
Unlike dogs, chocolate isn't poisonous to rats. Although it's safe, it's still high in sugar and fat with no nutritional value, so should only be given as a treat occasionally."
-http://www.ratclub.org/ratcare_faq.htm

"Chocolate is also fine in moderation. It’s the Theobromine in chocolate that can be dangerous for dogs, but rats do not have a problem with it. Again, moderation is the key or you will end up with a fat rat."
- http://www.rmca.org/Resources/rmcafaq.htm

"Feeding your rats dark chocolate while they are having breathing difficulties can help their difficulties improve. Chocolate contains Theophylline which is known to help breathing troubles decrease in patients with Asthma. Small chunks of candy bars, or chocolate baking chips seem to work well. While your rat is having breathing trouble you don't want to give them a big chunk of food as they may choke. You also need to be careful that the chocolate is not overly sticky -which could cause more breathing problems or choking. "
http://www.80stoysale.com/ratsickness.html

An article a vet wrote about the issue-
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/ratchoc.htm

 

[CrazyCatLady]

I have fed my rats baby food. They loved it. Could you mix the meds in there? Xxx

 

[Danielle]

Yep

 

[das_nut]

As far as I can tell, the trick to feeding rats something they don't want to eat is to wrap it in electrical cord insulation.

And I hope your rat is doing better.

 

[Danielle]

Yeah, still not swallowing.
He knew I put it in food and wouldn't eat it. Probably smelled the medicine -_-
So I just put it in the syringe. More drool.
What am I supposed to do with him?

 

[ledboots]

Yeah, still not swallowing.
He knew I put it in food and wouldn't eat it. Probably smelled the medicine -_-
So I just put it in the syringe. More drool.
What am I supposed to do with him?

I have never given a rat meds, but with babies and toddlers, you can put the syringe in the side of the cheek and squirt it, then blow a liitle puff of air in their face, which surprises them, and they swallow automatically. Sometimes.

Also the pharmacy has really strong- tasting cherry liquid to disguise the taste of medicines for humans; maybe it would work for poor Ratty. The pharmacist has it behind the counter (in the US).

 

[RascalsMom]

I used to adopt rats all the time, I've had about 15 over my life time. I was always told chocolate is toxic to them. Yes, in small amounts it won't damage any animal, really. But if you have something else, why even give a bit of something that could be dangerous?

 

[RascalsMom]

Just seen your post about him smelling the medicine - I wonder whats a good tasting food that smells STRONG.. Hmm..

 

[ledboots]

Just seen your post about him smelling the medicine - I wonder whats a good tasting food that smells STRONG.. Hmm..

Peanut butter, maybe.

 

[RascalsMom]

That's a good idea! I'd try that. Smells and tastes kinda strong. Maybe enough to hide the medicine!

 

[RascalsMom]

Will your rats drink juice? My rats would always slurp up a small bowl of juice. Maybe a strong juice like orange juice, or cranberry juice, would work.

 

[Danielle]

Everything is toxic in large amounts

I'll try peanut butter

 

[RascalsMom]

Hope it works

 

[das_nut]

The rat experts around me said to make sure you'd get the liquid stuff.

We had a rat chew off the end of the syringe when we weren't looking, that's how much he liked it.