Help with meds

TsukiCatHammy · 05-30-2020, 02:32 PM

Hi, so my Hoji is supposed to take Baytrill for an eye infection that's quite bad. It's supposed to be. 1ml diluted with water directly into his mouth and I'm really struggling to get it down him. My vet said use orange juice, which I instantly thought sounded iffy so googled that and like hell am I giving him that. Is there any type of juice that I could mix with it or any other suggestions on how to get this stuff down him. He really hates the taste I put some on a small amount of biscuit earlier but he's also on some painkillers I have to do that with once a day and don't want to give him too much.

Thanks in advance

LunaTheHamster1 · 05-30-2020, 03:41 PM

you can try putting the baytrill first into the syringe then add the water then a tiny bit of honey on the tip to disguise the taste.

Also you could try adding to baby food (make sure it is made 100% of hamster friendly foods) but with that you have to make sure he is eating it.

I created this video after everyone on here helped me with gettting medicine into my hamster Luna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FGKt2d5KVE

Hope it helps and good luck, and yes best to avoid the orange juice.

Vierville · 05-31-2020, 02:59 AM

What type of hamster is Hoji?

My dwarf has been on oral medication for 9 months and to be honest the only way I can get it in him was to syringe it into his mouth in one go. His dosage is 0.1ml though, 1ml might be too much to squirt in his mouth at once.

I would say giving it in a bit of baby food is your best option.

TsukiCatHammy · 05-31-2020, 02:52 PM

Hi
@Luna thanks for the suggestions, I tried the honey and man was he annoyed... Apparently winnie the pooh offended his heritage or something lol. I'd have no idea what type of baby food would be suitable, I know nothing about it, if there's any you can suggest I'd appreciate it.

@Vierville sorry it wasnt clear how I put his does I meany it was 0.1ml (I was obviously too lazy for the 0) he's a Syrian, I manged the first 2 times to do that but he really just can't stand how it tastes. Since then I've tried it on cucumber, which he loves, and he even left that.

If anyone else has any suggestions I'd appreciate any more ideas

LunaTheHamster1 · 05-31-2020, 03:14 PM

i use ella's pink vegie baby food -

https://shop.ellaskitchen.co.uk/coll...occoli-carrots

some supermarkets also make their own version, stick to ones that have veggies only in, that you know are safe for hamsters and no lemon juice as a preservative.

I use these, as you can freeze them down in ice cube trays and they will last a long time, they only take approx 15 mins to defrost naturally. Not all baby foods can be frozen and so only last a few days and you can end up throwing most of it away.

Thin Lizzy · 05-31-2020, 03:25 PM

When I've had to do that I've used baby food, recommend Cow & Gates Pumpkin and Chicken, Carrot and chicken risotto and veggie jars. Or you could give some fresh vegetables and mash them.

TsukiCatHammy · 05-31-2020, 04:07 PM

Thanks luna I'll have a look at that, you've been super helpful.

Heya thin lizzie, thanks for that. It just made me think with the mixed veggies my aunties hamster used to like mashed potato. Think that would be great to hide the taste cuz I can mush it around more. Tho a silly little question, I'm hopeless with cooking.. Would instant mash be the same or is that no good? (yes I am that bad a cook)

AmityvilleHams · 05-31-2020, 05:03 PM

Instant mashed potatoes tend to have many extra ingredients which are better to avoid. If you can get the potatoes themselves boiled and have an electric hand mixer(hoping that's the proper term) lying around, that will work just fine and results in very well blended mashed potatoes. It would probably work with a stand mixer as well, but you would need properly cooked potatoes and nothing else.

If all you could manage are instant mashed potatoes, potatoes won't be an option and you should ultimately just stick to baby food with safe ingredients.

Thin Lizzy · 06-07-2020, 06:01 AM

I wouldn't use instant mash, the only potato my hamster likes is a bit of a baked potato with the skin. You can get vegetable baby foods but avoid onion, tomato and garlic.

Nika · 06-12-2020, 05:31 AM

Hi! I had to give Cocoa 0.08ml antibiotics for 5 days and my vet recommended simply putting it in her water as she was really young. I ended up using the syringe to give her the meds straight though - I did this by smearing a tiny tiny amount of cream cheese on the tip of the syringe and as she went to lick it off I simply squirted it into her mouth. This worked really well. You could also try peanut butter for this purpose!