Antibiotics

My hedgie Harri hasnt been well for a few weeks took him to the vets last night hes had an antibiotic injection but now has a 7 day course of liquid antibiotics which i have tried to give him this evening but he just spat most of it out i was just wondering if anyone had any ideas on how i could get him to take them?

Perhaps mix it with some of his favourite food. We use to always do this at home with my cat, he rarely used to get wet food from a tin, but as soon as it came to giving him medication, that is when we gave him his favourite and mixed the medication in it, sometimes tablets and sometimes liquids.

Hes very fussy though he doesnt really like alot and likes soemthigns one day then the next doesnt want to know i tried mashed banana and apples yesterday because he usually loves apple but he didnt tough that and only ate a little banana its hard because hes off his food as well which is the main reason i took him to the vets.

Try either Dink's chicken soup, or minced chicken to get him to eat more - our hog could never resist it. For the antibiotics are you using a syringe to squirt into his mouth, as this does make it easier. Good luck

How did they tell you to administer the antibiotics? If the hog is off its food then putting it in food is not the answer Haha. I would suggest water but if you have been given a small syringe administer the medication by mouth then that is probably the best way of doing it. When my girl was on antibiotics she started off good, then she would jam her mouth tightly shut so i would end up having to squeeze the syringe gently into the side of her cheek and quickly squirting so she never got the opportunity to spit out anything.

I have been give a syringe but he just wriggles so much it is impossible to get in. I only managed to get it in earlier because he bit the end.

If it's Baytril I think the stuff it's in is quite sweet - used to be a fight with Wilbur to get the syringe in and once it was in his mouth he'd actually start lapping the stuff up. I found it easier to get the syringe into his mouth at the side rather than at the front. I used to hold him underneath to stop him balling him up, then push the syringe gently against the side of his mouth until he bit the syringe, quick squirt and done.

I will give it a go tonight and see how we get on.

i found with the wrigglers is to wrap them in a towel so only their head is poking through the top then gently lift their lip with the syringe until they open up and the squirt i don't think they drink enough to put it in water. try putting it on the can o mealies they normally can't resist them.

Thank you all for your help i have finally conqured the antibiotics just cant get him to eat :( any suggestions on anything he will eat other then banana i have tried apple, chicken, carrot, peas and his normal wiskas and some spikes hedgehog food but he just isnt interested!

I'm sure I read somewhere you aren't supposed to feed them spikes hedgehog food as it's for wildies and contains either fish or milk, correct me if I'm wrong I just heard it's bad for them. what about strawberries or broccoli and other veg? Possibly try him on more meats as he might be able to get more strength from meat, but if he is poorly then at least he will eat bananas maybe crush some of his biscuits into mashed banana?
Hope he makes a speedy recovery
x

Don't get too obsessed with veggies and fruit, I'm not an expert but I think getting hogs to eat veggies is good but not essential. I would probably look for a better quality biscuit than Whiskas (the biscuit should be high protein less than >10% fat) something like Hills or Royal Canin, but if he's not eating well offer the normal biscuit mixed with the new one (if you decide to change it). Have you offered mealworms? (dried like you get for a bird table work just fine). These are like filet steak to a hedgehog. Also cooked meat is normally a real treat - mince beef or cooked chicken are likely to get wolfed down. There is a post on here for Dink's chicken soup - our last hedgehog got very fussy about biscuits so we ended up feeding him minced boiled chicken - pureed with some of the stock. Scrambled eggs may also be a winner. I think there is a whole section on nutrition, which should give some ideas.

Pleased you've got the antibiotics into him.

I have looked for the chicken soup but cant find it. I was told to give him spikes because he is very underweight and that is meant to help him put on some weight. I had forgotten about meal worms but i will try them tonight the vet has said to now start syringe feeding him baby food so he gets something else into him and if after 24 hours he is still being a pickle she is going to refer him to a specialist

Dinks recipe is a sticky on the health section- just scroll up to post 'Dinks chicken soup,' something to make at home. We used a thicker version (more meat less stock) to basically bring our hog back from starvation. If you make a load up I would advise splitting it into portion sizes and freezing then in sandwich/freezer bags. Because its fresh we used to feed it to Wilbur when he was sitting with us, and not leave it in his bowl incase it went off.

I will have a look for that now. Harri is very fussy he doesnt like to eat unless he is in his cage so how long would you reccomend i leave it in there for?