Syringe Feeding With recovering rabbits or guinea pigs, it might be necessary to help them feed by syringe feeding. To effectively syringe feed your rabbit or guinea pig you will need: Excel DualCare, a towel, a table (or a hard, flat surface), wide tipped syringe (you can get this from your vet). How to syringe feed DualCare: - Start by mixing the DualCare into a paste. Add 2 parts warm water, to 1 part DualCare and allow that to soak for 3-4 minutes. Then mix it into a paste. You will need to make a fresh batch every time you syringe feed. - Place the towel on the flat surface, and then place your rabbit or guinea pig in a towel. Wrap their body in the towel, and leave their head exposed out the top. - Gently tuck your small animal under your forearm. Gently hold their head. Place your index under their chin, and your thumb on the base of their skull at the back of their head. Place your remaining fingers on their chest, this helps keep them nice and secure, and prevents them from moving forward. - Slowly and gently insert the syringe into the gap between the incisors and cheek teeth. The first mouthful should be no more than 0.2-0.5ml of paste. - You should always make sure your small animal is actively chewing. Continue to feed the rest of their DualCare in small mouthfuls. - Go slowly, making sure they are swallowing the paste and never feed more than 1-2ml of paste at a time. - Once you have finished syringe feeding, place your rabbit or guinea pig in a familiar environment, with good quality feeding hay. This is so they can go back to normal feeding as soon as they feel well enough. - Clean the syringe fully after each feeding session. - Ideally your small animal should be fed 10ml of DualCare per kg of bodyweight three times a day. So, for a 3kg rabbit, you should feed them 30ml of Excel DualCare paste three times a day. Feeding Excel DualCare Nuggets As your small animal starts to recover, you can start to gradually progress them onto the nugget form of DualCare with no added water.Once your rabbit or guinea pig is fully recovered and back on their feet, you can move them back onto the most suitable Burgess Excel nuggets.
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