>now, after giving 2 drops of antibiotic. one pup went stiff and gasped to
>breathe. He looked like he was going to kick off. I gently, but vigorously
>rubbed his little chest, not knowing what to do. Miraculously, after
gasping
>and shaking, he survived and is with his mom and family now. He isn't
>nursing, but mom hasn't rejected him either...I think he has hope. His
>siblings are doing better. What did I do wrong that he reacted that way
after
>I gave him medicine? What is the best way to hold them when administering
>medicine and KRM? And what are the proper doses? These pups are 3 weeks
old.
Two drops of antibiotic three or four times a day is adequate for
a three week old. For KMR, I make sure to keep offering as long
as the pup seems interested in eating.
Hold any animal you are dropper feeding stomach down, at a
60 degree angle above horizontal. This keeps the head up,
and you can look at them easily while feeding AND get at
their mouth...any dribble goes down the chin.
NEVER feed with the animal on their back. This encourages
aspiration (which is what happened, breathing fluid into the
trachea and probably the lungs).
You can tell when a pup has had enough, when it won't lap
at the dropper if offered a slight pooling of fluid at the tip
(not a drip) or when a drop is put in the mouth, it doesn't
want to readily swallow it right away.
Keep the one that aspirated on antibiotics for a full ten days,
as it might develop pneumonia from aspirating fluid into
the lungs. Keep a close eye on it.
You might also want to set up a 'warm corner' to the tank,
by putting an adhesive small reptile heater on the corner
at the bottom on the outside of the glass (never put these
on anything but a glass aquarium) or shine a light from a
few inches out at the corner. This will allow the animals
inside to choose a place to their liking, and help with the
recovery.
