Need advice on giving Beck his meds

[lzlori]

My male parakeet, Beck, had surgery yesterday to drain a fluid filled tumor in his abdomen. I have to administer metacam once a day via syringe. The vet preloaded the syringes for me. I've given meds to Beck several times in the recent past so I know how to do it. The problem is this: the dose in the syringe is so tiny that when I press the plunger all that happens is the medication lodges in the tip of the syringe. There's not enough in there to push it past the tip and into his mouth. So is it okay to add a bit of water to the med in the syringe, shake it to mix and then squirt that into his mouth? I could call the vet and ask but I'm guessing many of you have crossed this bridge and will know what I should do. I want him to get the full dose so that he's not in pain.

 

[PrimorandMoxi]

Sorry don't have an answer.
But I like his name...
is that a reference to Beck Hansen ?

Good Luck

 

[lzlori]

Sorry don't have an answer.
But I like his name...
is that a reference to Beck Hansen ?

Good Luck

No. His previous owner named him Ocean. He became paralyzed in his left leg and the other parakeets started picking on him. So my friend let me have him because I could keep him in a cage by himself and was willing to take him to an avian vet. We've since found out he has cancer. Anyway, I didn't care for the name Ocean for a male bird so I renamed him because the definition of beck is a slow moving stream with a rocky bottom. Because he's paralyzed in one leg and sick, he can't or won't perch. Not perching causes him to get poopy on his vent. So I figured he slow moving with a poopy (rocky) bottom, hence the name Beck. Thanks for asking.

 

[Jcas]

The only reason I’ve heard for not mixing pain meds or antibiotics with water is if you mix it into the pet’s drinking water, they may not get the full dose. In this case, it seems like mixing it with a little water in the syringe would actually help Beck to get the full dose, so I see no reason for it to be a problem! So glad to hear that he survived his surgery ❤️.

 

[lzlori]

I finally just called the vet and asked my question and they said it's fine to mix it with a little water.

But I would love to hear back from anyone who has tips on getting syringe medication into a parakeets mouth when the bird is fighting it. I mean I know how to do it as I've been giving him ciproflaxin for a month but if there's an easier way I'd love to know. He fights it every time and sometimes some of the medicine lands outside of his beak. With the metacam dose being so tiny, it's literally a drop and he needs every speck of it. There's got to be a better way to insure that he receives the whole dose. He was cut open in surgery yesterday so I know he's in pain.

 

[lzlori]

The only reason I’ve heard for not mixing pain meds or antibiotics with water is if you mix it into the pet’s drinking water, they may not get the full dose. In this case, it seems like mixing it with a little water in the syringe would actually help Beck to get the full dose, so I see no reason for it to be a problem! So glad to hear that he survived his surgery ❤️.

Thank you. That's what I thought too and I called the vet and they said the same thing.

 

[Jcas]

I finally just called the vet and asked my question and they said it's fine to mix it with a little water.

But I would love to hear back from anyone who has tips on getting syringe medication into a parakeets mouth when the bird is fighting it. I mean I know how to do it as I've been giving him ciproflaxin for a month but if there's an easier way I'd love to know. He fights it every time and sometimes some of the medicine lands outside of his beak. With the metacam dose being so tiny, it's literally a drop and he needs every speck of it. There's got to be a better way to insure that he receives the whole dose. He was cut open in surgery yesterday so I know he's in pain.

Yikes, that is so hard with budgies 😬. With tiny birds, I slide the edge of my fingernail in between the top and bottom of the beak to keep it open and then do my best to pop the syringe in quickly. It’s hard if they struggle though and you’re always afraid of hurting them while trying to give them meds to decrease the pain! Wish I could be more helpful but it’s just not easy with small birds. Maybe someone else will have some tips ❤️.

 

[lzlori]

Yikes, that is so hard with budgies 😬. With tiny birds, I slide the edge of my fingernail in between the top and bottom of the beak to keep it open and then do my best to pop the syringe in quickly. It’s hard if they struggle though and you’re always afraid of hurting them while trying to give them meds to decrease the pain! Wish I could be more helpful but it’s just not easy with small birds. Maybe someone else will have some tips ❤️.

 

[lzlori]

Thank you for your reply. That's pretty much the way I do it. With my edge of my thumbnail. But he bit me so many times on my thumb that it got really sore. So now I wrap my thumb with some vet tape leaving a ridge where my thumbnail would be. It works okay but not great. I want to do better for him.

 

[petunia]

you are doing fine

 

[lzlori]

you are doing fine

you are doing fine

Thank you!