One of my girls has had a bout with respiratory mycoplasmosis. My vet prescribed a suspension of Chlor-Palm antibiotic which I have to administer to my rattie orally through a teeny syringe. According to the vet this stuff tastes horrible. I’m sure it does due to the way my rat reacts to it. To give it to her, I have to bundle her up in a towel so that just her head it sticking out, and then put the syringe to the side of her mouth and depress the plunger a little bit at a time. Sounds pretty simple, but she doesn’t make it easy. She clamps her jaw shut and twists her head from side to side, and occasionally manages to stick out a paw to shove the syringe away. She ends up wearing most of it. When I do manage to get a drop in her mouth, she squeaks like I tried to kill her.
I tried mixing it in food. Peanut butter, brown sugar, bread. Each concotion worked on the first dose. But the second time I gave it to her she would begin to eat it, then stop and stare at her “treat”, and then at me, and then she dropped it like it was diseased and wouldn’t touch it anymore. She’s too damn smart , you see.
Any tips/tricks, etc? She’s very sweet and forgiving, and forgets the torture as soon as it’s over, but I’d really like to make these sessions easier on both of us.