From:
"Ildiko Meracz"
Date: 2003-09-24 15:17:50 UTC
Subject: Flagyl administration
To: dmuldoon@creighton.edu, ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-id: <3f71b59e.167a.16116@mail.rochester.edu>
Ah, Dan, I *just* went through this for the first time two weeks ago. I
got banana-flavored Flagyl, and Howard hated it. I didn't try to disguise
it in baby food or Ferretone, but did the "scruff and stuff" method. It's
traumatic (to both human and ferret), it's messy, your ferret will act
like you're killing him, BUT *immediately* upon finishing the Flagyl
treatment, I stuck a pre-poured dollop of Ferretone in Howard's face and
he licked it all up -- including the Flagyl that was still on his lips
(the Flagyl foamed up when he started gagging and choking on it, so he had
a yellow Flagyl-foam "beard").
Now, a lot of people have warned about force-feeding anything liquid to a
ferret, because they may aspirate the liquid, which goes into their lungs
and could cause pneumonia. To avoid that, I positioned the syringe
perpendicular to Howard's tongue, set it more than half-way into his
mouth, and squirted the Flagyl onto the back of his tongue from the side
like this, so that it wouldn't be forced right down his throat.
I'd highly recommend getting the Flagyl dose over with first and by
itself, and then following that up with something yummy like Ferretone so
the ferret cleans up any Flagyl remnants on his own. At least, this
worked really well for me, and as the administrations went on, Howard
fought it less.
Best of luck,
-- Ildiko