>From:    Tracy Jose <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Administering Meds, Help Please
>My vet said she has to remain on the Tagamet for a couple of months -
>twice a day.  I have to crush one tablet into 20 parts.  My question is -
>how can I give this small amount of powder to her.
 
Find out how much your vet wants you to give her in milligrams.  Then take
one tablet, crush it and dissolve it in 10ml of water.  It probably won't
dissolve to the point of going into solution, and if it doesn't, make sure
you shake well each time before you measure out the dose and administer it.
 
Once you have one tablet dissolved into 10ml of water, you can easily
calculate the number of milligrams she's supposed to get per dose.  For
instance, if the tablet is 10mg, and it's dissolved into 10ml of water,
you would have a 1.0mg per ml of solution.  1.0ml of the "water" would
supply her 1.0mg of Tagamet.  If the tablet is 20mg, then you'd have 2.0mg
per ml, etc., etc.  You could probably substitute ferretone for the water.
You will also want to ask your vet if it's ok to do it this way as I don't
know what happens to Tagamet when it sits in water or ferretone.
 
We've used this dosing method with pepcid for ferrets with ECE and it has
worked well.  Of course this may not make her any more likely to want to
take it, but it'd sure be easier than trying to divide one of those pills
into twenty equal parts.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* Secretary, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue
* A 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
*
* Shelter web site:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
[Posted in FML issue 3001]