>From:    Amy Krueger <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: any tips on giving medications??
>Hi, I hope someone out there can give my some tips.  One of my little
>guys is sick.  The vet.  gave me 2 antibiodics and pepto bismol to give
>him.  She also gave me 3 syringes to administer them right in his mouth.
>Well...... For a ferret that is supposed to be ill and weak from diarreah,
>he had an awful lot of energy trying to get away from me when I was trying
>to give his meds.!!
 
By any chance are the antibiotics Flagyl and Amoxicillin?  Flagyl is horrid
tasting stuff and Pepto isn't much better as far as a ferret is concerned.
 
I've had excellent success mixing medications into chicken baby food.  Get
the little tyke used to the plain baby food first, then mix the meds into
about 10-15cc's of the baby food.  Then I syringe feed the baby food.
Extreme caution is needed here as you don't want to squirt it into his
mouth so he aspirates any of the food.  Then you'll have a much worse
problem to deal with in aspiration pneumonia.  Make sure you check with
your vet that it's OK to give the medications with food.
 
Since he's not eating much anyway, and he has diarrhea, supplemental
feeding with chicken baby food is a good idea even if you don't use it
to hide the meds.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael Janke, [log in to unmask]
* South Florida Ferret Help Line, 305-752-7040
*
* Website:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
*
* Ferret Health List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
[Posted in FML issue 3360]