From:
Debi Christy
Date: 2001-11-03 08:25:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Compounding Metranidazole
Of the 100+ ferrets I've had to give Metronidazole none have ever
taken it willingly. No matter what flavor... even had it mixed in the
Pounce and Bandit treats... still no go.
One trick is to have it compounded at double strength so that you
only have 0.5ml to get down them instead of 1.0ml. Being thick makes
it a little harder to spit out and it stimulates more tongue movement
than the watery type that they think they can just let dribble out
the side of their mouth.
Second trick... wake them up to give it to them before they're good &
awake. (Nasty trick, yeah, but it works)
And yes, follow it with a chaser of water, soup, or ferretone, mostly
so that they'll be less likely to try to gag it back up.
With some ferrets, it is truely a two person job to keep the ferret's
head still long enough for the medicine to be swallowed.
I prefer to point the syringe to the front of the mouth from the side
so that they do have some tongue control over how it goes down.
Debi