Well, the first dose of baytril did not go down easily, if at all.  I tried mixing it into a bit of baby food, but neither of them seemed interested-- they would rather explore than eat (although more interesting treats have caught their attention in the past-- they just don't seem all that interested in this mushy stuff.)  I ended up just getting the baby food all over Snaffer, so maybe he got a little medicine from cleaning it off of himself.  (BTW, should I worry about Mugby grooming him now?  I tried to give them time apart so Snaffer could get most of it off by himself, but I don't think he got it all.) With Mugby, I ended up just holding him still the best I could and squirting the medicine from the syringe into his mouth, but I don't know how much he swallowed and how much he maybe spit out.  

Does anyone have any tips on how to get this stuff into these guys?

My rats take Baytril and all other meds easily in soy baby formula. I get the powder and mix it into a thick paste in a spoon.

I've been having a similar problem with my boy over the past few days. The first time he took it no problem straight from the syringe, but he wasn't about to do that a second time! The next time I wrapped him up in a towel and he let my squirt it in, but when he must be a right suspicious ratty cos he wouldn't even come out of the cage when it was time for the third dose.
I squirted it into a little piece of bread and he ate that up okay. I have been using little bits of doughnut since though, bread musn't have hidden the taste as much.
His cage mate must think it's Christmas with all the bits of doughnut getting handed out!
Good luck.

Thanks for the ideas.  I'll try to go by the grocery store tonight and pick these things up, then go home and see what method works.  Of course, more ideas are always welcome.  

Well, I tried the syrup last night, but it was only halfway successful.  After a little effort, I was able to convince Snaffer to lick it up, though he did leave a little bit in the bottom of the spoon-- hopefully all syrup and not medicine-- and seemed less than happy about the sticky stuff all over his whiskers.  Mugby just wasn't interested in the syrup at all.  Finally, I went and broke off some little bits of bread and soaked them in the syrup and he ate those right up.  So, I tried just the bread with the medicine squirted into it this morning.  Both of them ate most of it, but left a little piece-- perhaps the piece with most of the medicine in it?  I wiped those pieces in a little bit of olive oil and then they happily ate those as well, so I suppose we're making progress.

I did buy some yogurt also and may try it later.  My boys just don't seem interested in anything that they have to lap up.

Elderly Doobie Rufus was on Baytril and receiving eye ointment for weeks last summer, and he was okay with the scruffing method for the oral, but  nothing could ease the discomfort of the ointment placement.    

Hairless Gandhi received a 14-day treatment of oral Baytril/Dexamethasone (a steriod) recently for an inner ear infection/possible brain tumor. It was grape-flavored and after the first day of scruffing he started taking the syringe in his hands like a baby to drink it!  

Kudzu is just finishing a course of the same mixture for a sprained leg, and he eagerly licks it off my finger.  He's a kissy greeter by nature, but I think the flavoring must appeal as Gandhi seemed to enjoy it too.  
xx
I think flavoring really might make a difference with at least some rats. I tasted it myself and it was like mild cough syrup.  Dexamethasone is also an alternative for the steriod prednisone (sp?).  According to my vet, it mixes well with Baytril when both are indicated.  

Note:  I was on assignment in Midland, TX during Doobie Rufus' ordeal, and it was difficult enough to find a vet that would even see a rat, much less one that could add a flavor to Baytril.  The Midland clinic is A to Z Pets, and I recommend them for their professionalism and willingness to learn about exotic pets that just don't happen to pass through their doors very often.  

My new San Antonio vet, Dr. Melanie Wilcox at De Zevala - Shevano Veterinary Clinic, has been owned by pet rats herself and apparently mixes tasty medicinal concotions.  

My vet has a sweetening base called Orasweet into which she mixes all my rodents' meds.  My one rat adored her prednisolone in it, though neither my ratty boy nor my mouse seem to appreciate the Baytril in it much.  I think they dislike being restrained and squirted with the stuff more than anything.

I just use a 1 cc syringe and squirt it into their little mouths.  They struggle and squirm, but I'll know when I've given it if it all got in or not.

I know you've already tried baby food, but my boys love the sweet potato flavor.  I don't think they even knew they were taking their meds.

I have tried various veterinary "sweeteners" and think they do a fair to middlin' job of disguising the gag factor of most of the really bad tasting meds (baytril is right up there ... doxy is worse)

Polenta Balls
My best success has come with mixing the medicine with a little sugar and baby food for those who'll lick from a spoon  (if they shy from the spoon or syringe... try spilling it on to your finger.... works wonders!!!!)

Another Best Method of mine is to make little polenta balls for rats that are wise to the syringe/spoon game.   - Heat a spoonful unflavoured polenta (comes in tubes like cookie dough at grocery stores) for a few seconds in a microwave to make it soft and mix with a little sugar or other sweetener and then mix the meds in when the mixture has cooled down. - Roll into little small-marble sized balls. - Rats love this.
It's also a neat trick for those rats who think that the medicines their cage mates are getting are actually treats..... everyone gets a polenta ball!      (some of 'em are spiked with meds and some are not)


And as long as we're all talking about scruffing and giving medications through a syringe... here's a little caution. - If you have a very sick or uncooperative animal whom you can't give medicines to in another way, scruff the ratty(or better yet wrap in a towel)  and give the medicine by mouth by placing the tip of the syringe at the side of the rat's mouth aiming towards the opposite cheek (behind the front teeth there is a convenient space for this, called the diastema, where you can fit a syringe tip even if the rat's mouth is tightly closed)  Squeeze slowly and your rat will lap and swallow--- try not to squirt directly down a rat's throat because a rat could aspirate the liquid into his/her lungs.

The polenta is beside the pasta in my supermarket.
How much longer are they on the meds? It sounds like you have a pair of smart rats, and they aren't going to be fooled by anything for very long.
Hope they are getting better.

Try putting the medicine in a piece of Cheetos cheese puff (I've also used shrimp puffs from the Asian market). Sometimes the saltiness does a better job of hiding the bitter medicine.

Thanks for the info. One thing Ive noticed, when I tried force feeding. Some smart a** rats would hold the medicine in their mouth until I put them down, then spit it out when Im not looking. Be careful so they dont outsmart you like they did me