oops - you can see his private parts

Because sooner or later, one of you will need to do this.

Caramel, my hamster, got a chest cold which didn't resolve on its own. So after a few days of sniffling and sneezing, he went to the vet (in a Kleenex box) and was given some antibiotics. The antibiotic he was prescribed was Baytril and the thing with it is that it tastes foul, and no matter how much you explain to your hammmie that he needs to take it to feel better, he won't.

So here's how to do it.

Prepare your dose

Supplies: small syringe, liquid antibiotic, plain yogurt, concentrated juice (like Ribena or cherry juice concentrate)

You take the little syringe the vet should give you, and dispense the appropriate amount into the syringe (Caramel got .1 ml)

Pour a bit of juice concentrate on a clean spoon and then dispense the same amount as the medicine (so for Caramel it was .1 ml) into the syringe with the medicine.

Put a finger over the syringe tip and shake the syringe vigorously.

Scoop a bit of yogurt onto another spoon and again dispense the same amount into the syringe, and shake well.

You should have a mixture with 1/3 medicine, 1/3 juice concentrate, 1/3 yogurt, all nicely shook up into a yummy beverage.

Always dispense the medicine first because you want to be really careful in measuring that, but it's less imperative to be exactly right with the other ingredients. Use the spoons so that you don't contaminate the food items with the medicine.

Right before offering the syringe to the hammie, you can dip the tip of the syringe into the juice left on the spoon, just so that the first thing hammie will taste is super nice and sweet.

Scruff the hammie

Get your hammie out of his cage, slowly and carefully (like you always do) and gently gather up all the loose skin on his back. There's a lot of it. Once you have a good grip, you can turn him on his back and he won't be able to wiggle around very much. Some hammies will even go limp and 'play dead' in this position. No worries - he's just faking!

Gently place the tip of the syringe in the hammie's mouth, which if you've scruffed him well enough will be gaping open a bit. Hammie will start licking and lapping the liquid. Slowly squeeze the syringe. Don't flood his mouth. If he seems to be struggling with the volume, flip him back, let him rest a bit and try again in a few moments. If hammie is very congested, he might have trouble breathing through his nose so he'll need to take breaks while drinking.



Look at how Caramel rests his paw on the syringe!

If that doesn't melt your heart and make you instantly forget the costs of the vet and antibiotics, you have a cruel, cold heart.

Remember: give the medicine as frequently as directed by the vet and finish the entire course of medicine.

Wash the syringe in hot water after each use.