Tips for Giving Oral Medications to a Gerbil
Giving a gerbil medicine can be tricky until you have a little bit of experience doing so. The first time I had to give a gerbil oral medication, I didn't know how to get her to sit still and take her medicine. I tried to grasp her in my left hand while holding the needleless syringe with the medicine in my right hand. This didn't work very well, however. Suzie didn't like her medicine, and she wanted no part of being held while I tried to get a syringe in her mouth. I was also afraid that the medicine would hit the back of her throat and that she might choke on it.
Luckily, those days are over, and today, I have very little trouble giving a gerbil medicine if he or she needs it. I'll try to explain the method I use, and hopefully you can find some techniques here that you can use if you ever need to help a sick gerbil.
One way to give a gerbil oral medication
After giving a gerbil medication, give him a couple of minutes to crawl on you as a reward for taking his medicine.
First, if at all possible, avoid grasping your gerbil tightly in one hand while giving medicine. Why? This grip resembles the grip of a bird of prey who has captured a gerbil. No wonder a gerbil being held like this is scared of taking medicine!
Instead, try a method similar to the one pictured to the right. I like to sit on a chair and place my gerbil on my left leg. I gently roll the gerbil onto his side on my leg and — again, gently — hold him against my leg, using only the palm of my left hand. The idea is to hold the gerbil firmly yet gently. This is much less frightening for your gerbil than being grasped in your fist and held in the air. Holding your gerbil against your leg comes closer to the way that gerbils “pin"” each other when grooming them.
Once the gerbil is held firmly but gently against my leg, I give him the medicine, directing it toward my gerbil's cheek rather than the back of the throat. This also helps to prevent choking or drowning on medication.
Here's one of the most important parts: Unless your gerbil is very ill, give him or her some playtime afterwards. You can see in the photo to the right that I let Polo run around on my legs for a couple of minutes as a reward for taking his medicine. :)
By the way, my vet also taught me to mix a little bit of organic apple juice in with the medicine to make it taste a little bit better. If you do this, make sure you discuss it with your vet first so that you know that the medicine you have will work well with the juice you plan to use and so that your vet can show you how to ensure that you still measure and use the right amount of medicine.
If you have a good tip for helping your gerbils take medicine safely and with minimal stress, please do share.
I hope you don't ever need to give any of your gerbils medicine, but if you do, I hope the tips above can make the process a little bit easier for both you and your gerbil.
Luckily, those days are over, and today, I have very little trouble giving a gerbil medicine if he or she needs it. I'll try to explain the method I use, and hopefully you can find some techniques here that you can use if you ever need to help a sick gerbil.
One way to give a gerbil oral medication
After giving a gerbil medication, give him a couple of minutes to crawl on you as a reward for taking his medicine.
Instead, try a method similar to the one pictured to the right. I like to sit on a chair and place my gerbil on my left leg. I gently roll the gerbil onto his side on my leg and — again, gently — hold him against my leg, using only the palm of my left hand. The idea is to hold the gerbil firmly yet gently. This is much less frightening for your gerbil than being grasped in your fist and held in the air. Holding your gerbil against your leg comes closer to the way that gerbils “pin"” each other when grooming them.
Once the gerbil is held firmly but gently against my leg, I give him the medicine, directing it toward my gerbil's cheek rather than the back of the throat. This also helps to prevent choking or drowning on medication.
Here's one of the most important parts: Unless your gerbil is very ill, give him or her some playtime afterwards. You can see in the photo to the right that I let Polo run around on my legs for a couple of minutes as a reward for taking his medicine. :)
By the way, my vet also taught me to mix a little bit of organic apple juice in with the medicine to make it taste a little bit better. If you do this, make sure you discuss it with your vet first so that you know that the medicine you have will work well with the juice you plan to use and so that your vet can show you how to ensure that you still measure and use the right amount of medicine.
If you have a good tip for helping your gerbils take medicine safely and with minimal stress, please do share.
I hope you don't ever need to give any of your gerbils medicine, but if you do, I hope the tips above can make the process a little bit easier for both you and your gerbil.
posted by Twin Squeaks Gerbils | 6:14 PM
3 Comments:
Great tip, thanks.
thankyou very much for that information....my girbil was very sick and wouldent take her midication!!!! and now i know how to make my girbil better... thankyou xx
thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank i love you!!!!! now i can actualy give the babys and the mother medicine without thinking oh sht in gonna crush her and drown her :D thank you verry much unbeleivibly helpfull!!!!!!!
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