# Ways to hide medicine....



## ArticTwinky (Mar 1, 2008)

I have a really sick boy, if you saw my other post his name is Mozart. He took a really bad turn the other day. I took him to the vets, and the vet gave him a 50-50 chance, He also told me to give him a medicine he ordered for us from a company an hour away that mixes 2 of his medicines together. so we got the medicine, but we have to figure out a way to give it to him. I put it in his meal last night, but by the time he ate it all but it was to late to give it to him properly (it needs to be taken within an hour and a half if you out it in food or else he wont get the proper dosage). this morning, I've tried smothering dried bananas with baby food with the liquid contained inside the food, but the smell on the medicine is EXTREMELY good, but very strong, so he saw right through what I was doing. I tried putting it on his favorite treat, Veggie Bites. It seemed to be a good idea at first, it absorbed into the treat, but as he was eating it, I realized he was avoiding the spot where I applied the medicine........d**n rat just to smart for his own good. So I need ideas to hide an EXTREMELY strong medicine in food he can eat in the course of an hour and a half, I want my little guy to feel better.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

What is the medicine, lets start there. If your vet gave your rat a 50/50 chance then he's pretty sick or your vet is not very informed about rats. They often look like they are dying when they are ill, but the meds can help a lot.

How much are you trying to hide in food as well? If its a teeny amount you might want to syringe it into him instead of hoping he eats the laced food today.


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

You can try soaking a piece of whole grain bread with the meds. I bake my own for this purpose. It also works well for dog or cat medicine.. lol. I make a basic whole grain bread mixture, but subtract some of the wet ingredients so it's dry when done baking. I also like to add things that I know my guys love like sunflower seeds, small pieces of apple, ect. Then I take a thick slice of it and soak it with the medicine. It should totally soak at least one corner of the bread. Give them that corner, they will almost always eat it (well unless you have weird rats like some of mine are).


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## ArticTwinky (Mar 1, 2008)

lilspaz68 said:


> What is the medicine, lets start there. If your vet gave your rat a 50/50 chance then he's pretty sick or your vet is not very informed about rats. They often look like they are dying when they are ill, but the meds can help a lot.
> 
> How much are you trying to hide in food as well? If its a teeny amount you might want to syringe it into him instead of hoping he eats the laced food today.


It's Baytril and Doxy something. We got it ordered from a pharmacy so it had a Tutti Frutti Flavored taste (my former girlies seemed to like it and the taste made it much easier to administer, they practically licked it off the syringe). It's in 1mm dosage, it seems like a lot to a rat. I've tried giving him the syringe, but I have to force him, and it leaves him so worn out that I just think it stresses him out even more. I'm more than willing to do it again if it is going to save his life, but I'm not sure if him being that stressed is going to help him either way.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

baytril and doxycycline or doxyvet are a good combo for URI's

You are supposed to give 1 cc or 1 ml of this mixed med?

Ouch!


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## ArticTwinky (Mar 1, 2008)

lilspaz68 said:


> baytril and doxycycline or doxyvet are a good combo for URI's
> 
> You are supposed to give 1 cc or 1 ml of this mixed med?
> 
> Ouch!


Oops!! I read it wrong, it is .1 mL. Don't worry, I'm not overdosing my rat lol.


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## ratbloke (Jan 7, 2008)

try mixing it with avocado.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

baby cereal mixed with Ensure, or a little bit of liquid Strawberry Quik.

baby food (strong flavours that may compliment the tutti-frutti)
Stay away from any dairy as the doxy binds to the calcium, and renders it almost ineffective. You can feed dairy 2 hours outside of the meds.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I have a quick question about doxycycline. My vet gave this to me for a urinary infection Acid had awhile back but just before she died I noticed the infection hadn't truly gone away. Is doxycycline a good medicine for infections or should I request something else next time it pops up?


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## ArticTwinky (Mar 1, 2008)

Vixie said:


> Not trying to hijack the thread, but I have a quick question about doxycycline. My vet gave this to me for a urinary infection Acid had awhile back but just before she died I noticed the infection hadn't truly gone away. Is doxycycline a good medicine for infections or should I request something else next time it pops up?


I'm not sure if what you are thinking f is what I have, the bottle just says DOXY on it, so it might not be what I have, but something similar.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

doxy is doxycycline, sometimes a brand name is DoxyVet...which is most likely doxy used in vet clinics. 

from ratguide.com
Indicated for susceptiple upper and lower respiratory infection, soft tissue infection, and urinary tract infection resulting from gram negative bacteria.

I prefer baytril myself as its bacteriocidal (actively fights the bacteria) whereas doxy is bacteriostatic (inhibits reproduction of bacteria until immune system can fight it off).


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