Tips for giving medicine to rats

I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread where we could post tips and tricks for getting rats to take their medicine, as some newer owners may not know the easiest methods.

Anyone who's every tasted Baytril will know exactly why it's so difficult to get rats to take it.

Here's my method that works very well. You will need the following:

1: A teaspoon
2: A 'ginger nut' biscuit. Leave it in the fresh air so it goes soft.
3: Something to mix the meds with. I use a cheap plastic cocktail stirrer.
4: Some jam. I find that Hartley's smooth raspberry jam is good as it comes in a squeezy container.



Instructions:

1: Break off a piece of the biscuit about the size of a pea.



2: Crumble it into a teaspoon and thoroughly crush it.



3: Syringe the Baytril into the crushed biscuit and mix it into a paste. In these photos I'm using Flagyl (metronidazole) as that's what Picard is on at the moment.





4: Add an equal amount of jam.



5: Mix the two thoroughly so that it's a consistent colour with no streaks. This ensures that there are no areas where the rat may encounter un-mixed medicine which would put it off finishing the dose.



6: Sit the rat on your lap on a folded towel and let it lick the mixture off the spoon. If it's anything like my boys this will be the result.

Metacam is quite easy to get rats to take, although I've found that they won't take it neat. The best way I've found is again to use a piece of 'ginger nut' biscuit, although this time use a fresh piece rather than one that's been allowed to go soft. Just put 1-2 drops, depending on whether you're using the dog or cat version, on a piece about the size of a pea. The sweetness of the biscuit is enough to overcome the taste of the Metacam and the rat will usually eat it readily.

Thanks Lew! I'd never have tried that combination, so will give it a go!

xx

I've added some pics to the baytril post to better show how it's done.

Brilliant pics! Thanks Lew!

xx

With Jack needing medication (Galastop and prednisone, both not tasting very nice) I found the perfect solution

I got some Harrison's bird food Juvenile formula. The vet gives it to them as a post-op treat to gain strength and rats love it. I mix the medicine in and they happily lick a spoonful laced with yukkie medicine.