Stupid, unflavored Doxy! *hold the phone! 3/25*

[AneesasMuse]

or you could just remove the ones that don't need it and leave the ones who do in the cage with their bread soaked meds 

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with this, but I am learning so much 

[JR1030]

or you could just remove the ones that don't need it and leave the ones who do in the cage with their bread soaked meds 

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with this, but I am learning so much 

That's a thought...I can take the guys out who don't need meds!  I'm learning a lot, too! 

At this point I'm not even trying to keep close track of what they're getting, as long as they're getting some.  I've been measuring .2 cc's and letting Oni and Mudge share (greed helps them eat faster).  I figure each is getting about half, and then I try again a bit later.  I'm definitely going to try the bread, or the spaghetti next time.  I forgot this morning, 'cause I did it before my coffee. 

[Dearpie]

Oh, is that .5 once a day, or twice?

Twice a day...brutal, I'm telling you...

On top of that...there's Baytrill pill to crush, each rat gets half a pill...and I can't mix it in with the doxy because there's not enough doxy to dilute the pill. So it's completely different hell... I just spent two hours this morning alone making all sorts of concoctions (crushing the pills, peeling off the purple layer, mix it in with diff baby foods)...the kitchen is a mess. It looks like a drug dealer den, lol.

I hope giving it a little bit throughout the day helps in your case. Since I'm a full time student, I don't have that luxury  .

Crush the pill and then dab it up with Nutristat!  "Mix" them together, and let them lick it off your finger.  It's always worked like a charm for me. 

[JR1030]

I should get some Nutristat, too.  And find out about the Vibramycin!

[JR1030]

Well, I talked to my vet, and she had never heard of Vibramycin, but said she would be willing to do some research and prescribe it for me.  I called the pharmacy, and he knew all about it, but said it's mixed differently, so would require a bigger dose.  My feeling is that if they like it better, a bigger dose is fine.  So, I called my vet back, so she could call the pharmacy and do a prescription for me.  She mentioned possibly swithing to Zithromax, but I'm not sure I want to switch antibiotics midstream.

[JR1030]

Ok, I might have gotten it!!!  I've been hearing about how sweet potatoes are like rat crack, and they'll eat anything in them, blah, blah, blah.  Well, I sort of assumed baby food sweet potatoes would do the trick, but they still won't take the stupid doxy in that.  Tonight while I was out, my mom and daughter made sweet potato casserole, you know, with fresh sweet potatoes and brown sugar and marshmallows.  Yum.  As I was eating some, of course, it occurred to me that the rats might really like it.  I mixed up some doxy in a bit of casserole, and it was like feeding time at the zoo!  They ate it ALL, even with a good amount of medicine, and didn't seem to notice a bad taste even a little bit.  Needless to say, I saved the rest, so I'll have some for meds time tomorrow.  Who knew?  Rat crack.

[CaroCaro]

Ok, I might have gotten it!!!  I've been hearing about how sweet potatoes are like rat crack, and they'll eat anything in them, blah, blah, blah.  Well, I sort of assumed baby food sweet potatoes would do the trick, but they still won't take the stupid doxy in that.  Tonight while I was out, my mom and daughter made sweet potato casserole, you know, with fresh sweet potatoes and brown sugar and marshmallows.  Yum.  As I was eating some, of course, it occurred to me that the rats might really like it.  I mixed up some doxy in a bit of casserole, and it was like feeding time at the zoo!  They ate it ALL, even with a good amount of medicine, and didn't seem to notice a bad taste even a little bit.  Needless to say, I saved the rest, so I'll have some for meds time tomorrow.  Who knew?  Rat crack.

How much is shipping to Santa Barbara, CA?  Still looking for that magic food+med combo... Too bad I just simply can't cook to save my life... Congrats on easy med feeding!

[JR1030]

Congrats on easy med feeding!

Yeah, I spoke too soon.  Tried the exact same thing this morning, and Mudge ate his no problem, all the other boys tried to steal it...except Oni!  He caught on and refused.  ARGH!!! 

[Vibrissa]

Three weeks into it, I have finally come up with the right combo (with doxy and baytril) that all five will eat totally.  The trick was to make the amount smaller.  For the two smaller ratties, they got about 1/2-2/3 tsp of baked sweet potato mixed with baby food jar chicken or turkey (half and half).  For the 16 oz rattie about 1 tlbsp of the sweet pot. and meat, and for the ones in between, about 1/2 tablespoon (approximations).  Then I take pure maple syrup and put about 3-4 drops from a syringe on the little piles and up to 5 on the others.  Then I take the tip of a steak knife and mix and mix each of them (takes a while to prepare and make sure it is all mixed well)--then I separate each into other cages or areas and give them theirs.  Finally after working with recipes and tweaking, they gobble it all.  I found I was giving too much to the little girls (not babies, just little), and they were getting full and would quit eating half-way through, not getting all of the medicine.  Just my experience.

[JR1030]

Yeah, I go back and forth on how much food to use.  I want to use enough to cover the taste (yuck!), but not so much that they don't want it all.  I still haven't found the trick.  I hope that Vibramycin tastes a whole lot better!