R
RainbowBrite
I am so sorry to hear Reggie is not himself. Best of luck at the vets today.
M
Member ID2
Best to get him checked out and catch any ailment early. Hope all goes well.
R
Roza
Bless poor Reggie. Sending hugs 
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eviee.jpg
Got him to the vets after he butchered my hand and he was very charming! They thought start of wet tail but he hasn’t been passing blood or diarrhoea so they said UTI he has anti biotics but it’s a struggle to give him them I’m currently putting them on some puffs which he loved before I put anti biotics on them and now he’s meh also I have to give them twice a day and have no clue how I’m gonna do that
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eviee.jpg
Bitten with love 
R
Roza
Oh bless so sorry to hear that he bit you! Little sausage 
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I’m sure someone will post soon with ideas of how to get his meds down him x
.I’m sure someone will post soon with ideas of how to get his meds down him x
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Antibiotics are tricky as they appartently taste pretty vile so you need to disguise the taste.
Wet foods work best, I use baby food but you can try something meaty like wet dog or cat food, or malt paste can work too.
It must only be a tiny bit so they eat it all.
If you try baby food make sure it doesn’t have any onion or garlic in it.
It’s not easy but I hope you can manage and Reggie will be ok.
Wet foods work best, I use baby food but you can try something meaty like wet dog or cat food, or malt paste can work too.
It must only be a tiny bit so they eat it all.
If you try baby food make sure it doesn’t have any onion or garlic in it.
It’s not easy but I hope you can manage and Reggie will be ok.
M
Member ID2
My approach to giving antibiotics is a bit more radical because i believe that they are too important to miss.
I draw up the antibiotic in a syringe followed by a tiny amount of Ribena. I put on a gardening glove and pick up the hamster leaning him slightly backwards in the palm of my gloved hand while squirting the medicine slowly into the corner of his mouth.
Depending on the amount of liquid i sometimes put hamster down briefly before picking him up again to finish the syringe.
I always give a treat afterwards, something they like and eat instantly like a tiny piece of fruit or veg.
I know that this is not the nice way but it ensures that they get the full dose at the right time.
I draw up the antibiotic in a syringe followed by a tiny amount of Ribena. I put on a gardening glove and pick up the hamster leaning him slightly backwards in the palm of my gloved hand while squirting the medicine slowly into the corner of his mouth.
Depending on the amount of liquid i sometimes put hamster down briefly before picking him up again to finish the syringe.
I always give a treat afterwards, something they like and eat instantly like a tiny piece of fruit or veg.
I know that this is not the nice way but it ensures that they get the full dose at the right time.
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There are a number of ways you can give medication, and partly the choice can depend on the hamster, their personality and how unwell they are. Some find it far to stressful to be held and have it administered directly. And if done incorrectly there can be a risk of it going down the wrong way and causing choking. Some will spit it out again.
The other two methods are - sucking a bit of ribena or runny honey into the syringe with the meds, as Beryl suggests, and some hamsters will then happily lick it from the syringe without you have to handle them. Others will run away or bat the syringe away.
So the next method is the putting it in food method, as Elusive has mentioned. For Metacam this isn't an issue as it tastes nice. For Baytril, it tastes nasty and hamsters will still reject the bit of food if they can smell or taste the baytril, so it needs to be something strongly meaty flavoured (usually) to disguise the taste. Babyfood often isn't strongly tasting enough.
One that has always worked for me, was recommended by an experienced breeder - and it works so well the hamsters demand more lol! And get quite annoyed when you stop giving it.
It's a particular beefy dog food for small dogs called Country Hunter beef. It's in small pouches that you can keep in the fridge so you can get 3 days worth of dose out of a pouch. The rest will need to be discarded then, unless you have a dog to give it to.
It looks a bit like corned beef in jelly but is mostly meat and quite firm and not runny. About a pea sized amount on a little dish (eg a jar lid). Put half a pea sized amount, then drop the meds on top, then the other half sized pea amount on top. You need to be careful that the meds stay on/within the food and don't run down past it onto the dish - to make sure they get the dose. So you can ensure there's a tiny dip in the middle before dropping it in.
I'll link it below but you may need to get hold of something quicker if it's not available locally.
It's really important they get the full dose and giving it twice a day isn't easy due to a hamster's sleep patterns (unless you're an early riser!). If Reggie and you are up at 7am you could give the first dose then and the second at 7pm. It's not really possible to fit in two doses a day unless one is given early morning when Reggie is awake as he'll be asleep during the day. The early evening dose in food, they sometimes eat a bit and then come back and finish it off later, but that's ok.
Natures Menu Country Hunter dog food - beef.
Corned beef may actually work as well, but I haven't tried it. I did see someone on youtube once who tried all sorts (but not meaty food!) and found a bit of prawn cracker with the meds on was accepted. However they can be quite salty and maybe not the healthiest option.
Whilst this is also giving quite a lot of protein it is only for a very short time and in very small quantities. Some people will say dog foods shouldn't be given to hamsters, but this one has minimal basic ingredients and actually smells very tasty! And again it is just a short term thing.
I use a wood skewer or cocktail stick to sort of mix the meds in with it as the amount is so small.
You could try runny honey or ribena in the syringe first (just a tiny amount) and see if he will lick it from the syringe.
Bite looks painful!
The other two methods are - sucking a bit of ribena or runny honey into the syringe with the meds, as Beryl suggests, and some hamsters will then happily lick it from the syringe without you have to handle them. Others will run away or bat the syringe away.
So the next method is the putting it in food method, as Elusive has mentioned. For Metacam this isn't an issue as it tastes nice. For Baytril, it tastes nasty and hamsters will still reject the bit of food if they can smell or taste the baytril, so it needs to be something strongly meaty flavoured (usually) to disguise the taste. Babyfood often isn't strongly tasting enough.
One that has always worked for me, was recommended by an experienced breeder - and it works so well the hamsters demand more lol! And get quite annoyed when you stop giving it.
It's a particular beefy dog food for small dogs called Country Hunter beef. It's in small pouches that you can keep in the fridge so you can get 3 days worth of dose out of a pouch. The rest will need to be discarded then, unless you have a dog to give it to.
It looks a bit like corned beef in jelly but is mostly meat and quite firm and not runny. About a pea sized amount on a little dish (eg a jar lid). Put half a pea sized amount, then drop the meds on top, then the other half sized pea amount on top. You need to be careful that the meds stay on/within the food and don't run down past it onto the dish - to make sure they get the dose. So you can ensure there's a tiny dip in the middle before dropping it in.
I'll link it below but you may need to get hold of something quicker if it's not available locally.
It's really important they get the full dose and giving it twice a day isn't easy due to a hamster's sleep patterns (unless you're an early riser!). If Reggie and you are up at 7am you could give the first dose then and the second at 7pm. It's not really possible to fit in two doses a day unless one is given early morning when Reggie is awake as he'll be asleep during the day. The early evening dose in food, they sometimes eat a bit and then come back and finish it off later, but that's ok.
Natures Menu Country Hunter dog food - beef.
Corned beef may actually work as well, but I haven't tried it. I did see someone on youtube once who tried all sorts (but not meaty food!) and found a bit of prawn cracker with the meds on was accepted. However they can be quite salty and maybe not the healthiest option.
Whilst this is also giving quite a lot of protein it is only for a very short time and in very small quantities. Some people will say dog foods shouldn't be given to hamsters, but this one has minimal basic ingredients and actually smells very tasty! And again it is just a short term thing.
I use a wood skewer or cocktail stick to sort of mix the meds in with it as the amount is so small.
You could try runny honey or ribena in the syringe first (just a tiny amount) and see if he will lick it from the syringe.
Bite looks painful!
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eviee.jpg
Reggie’s doing better his feet are flesh colour again and his hole looks fresh and clean, I’ve been putting antibiotics on his chopped up carrots and he’s been pouching and eating them
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Really glad he's looking better. I didn't realise his feet had gone off colour as well. Are you sure he's actually eating the baytril on the carrot if he's pouching it? That's the thing I worry about. Maybe try giving him a teeny bit of mashed carrot with the meds in so he eats it all straight away?
M
Member ID2
Glad to hear that Reggie is doing well.
F
Frida
That's really good news 
Sending hugs for Reggie 
Sending hugs for Reggie
R
Roza
Well done to Reggie. That’s really good news!