How to give a subcutaneous injection

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heh and for us, vaccines are excluded from the things I ca inject with just a pet-nurse licence.
Would definetly not be able to buy antibiotics, but I think that's a good thing. Both antibiotics and dewormers are being used so much that we're getting issues with resistance. Any day now people and animals will start dying from resistant bacteria or worms.

But our injection laws are sometimes stupid.
 
Zab, it sounds a bit like New Zealand where you need a prescription to get vitamin C. A friend of my boxers breeder lives in NZ.
 
Prescription for vitamin C? Why not just give strawberries, oranges ..or any other fruit/veggie?

Regulations are interesting though.. mostly there is a good reason :)
 
The medication should indicate how to give it.
For sub-q, I just punch up the loose skin at the neck and inject (prefer a shorter sharp, but I know the ivermectin I got was thick liquid and needed a wider needle so I ended up with 1") into the pinched up skin. This prevents going intra-muscular.
 
Ivermectin can be used orally. It should work just fine. You can even use the injectable liquid topically behind the ears or between the shoulder blades of the animal and it is still effective on most parasites. There might be an exception for something like wry neck treatment but your usual internal and external parasites do not need injection.
 
Sorry for posting on an old topic but I'm kind of desperate. I've been doing searches all morning with little luck. I had a doe with extremely stubborn vent disease... gave her 4 doses of Pen G, one a week, and then waited about a month to see what happened. She still had some pimples down there so I was advised to give her 3 more doses and see if that would clear her up completely. I'm extremely careful and did everything as I was told to each time I've injected my rabbits... not that many times admittedly but she was one of two does that I got with vent - the other doe cleared up with 3 doses. I gave the doe in question a dose last week and this morning was time for the second. I did everything that I have done exactly as I've done in the past. I am 99.9% sure that there were no air bubbles in the syringe... I flicked it several times and pushed out the excess medication like always. Almost all the way through the injection, she flopped to the side. I immediately stopped, but she convulsed and died right after. I have no idea what happened and can't explain how entirely awful I feel. I love my rabbits and have never done anything to harm them until today... She was otherwise completely healthy. I actually never heard of avoiding the blood vessels though... could I have hit one and killed her? I just need to know what I did wrong. :cry: :cry: :cry: Any help at all would be really appreciated.
 
I youtubed it a while ago, and the blood vessle thing is real. I cannot say what happend to your Doe, or if you hit one, but you do need to push all the bubbles out and then draw back and see if you can see any blood. I am sorry you feel some responsibility in what hapenend, it doesnt sound like she suffered and things do happen, try not to be too hard on yourself and learn from it...
 
I definitely believe the blood vessel thing, it's just strange because I was taught how to give injections by a vet a few years ago and I was not made aware of that. I'm just having a hard time figuring out whether or not that would kill my poor rabbit... thank you for your kind words. She was a very special bunny to me and I had intended to keep her for her entire life, I just didn't realize how short I would cut it. :(
 
siddsaysgimmie":1ikldgpj said:
I definitely believe the blood vessel thing, it's just strange because I was taught how to give injections by a vet a few years ago and I was not made aware of that. I'm just having a hard time figuring out whether or not that would kill my poor rabbit... thank you for your kind words. She was a very special bunny to me and I had intended to keep her for her entire life, I just didn't realize how short I would cut it. :(

Even very experienced people occasionally hit a vein when using IM injections, even after all the above mentioned precautions are observed, - It is sad for all of us,- no mater how many animals we have treated. I don't know how this happens, but it does. I have given many thousands of injections, - have been very careful with all IM injections, and it still happened 3 times - it is just a sad fact of life...

I would suggest that [ contrary to "most" vet protocol books], IM injections be used only when there is clearly no alternative. I always give Pen G sub-Q -[pen G is almost always fatal if it gets in a vein] I sit on the ground, or a bench cross-legged , put the rabbits head under one of my bent knees, and bend my leg more to restrain it, I pull up the skin on the back between the shoulder blades, to make a "tent" then insert the needle slope side up, needle pointing toward the head, about a finger width above the backbone, pull back on the syringe, if no air or blood shows in the syringe, I then inject the medication, [try to keep the needle in the same place as it was when you pulled back on the syringe, through the injection process], [pen G is thick, so using a larger needle is helpful]
I give Ivermectin the same way...
JMHO...
 
Thank you, that helps a lot. I was actually giving it sub-q (at least I thought). The skin between her shoulder blades was extremely tight and nearly impossible for me to grab enough to feel comfortable injecting. I would guess that I may have grabbed some muscle and unintentionally injected into there and hit a blood vessel. :( Thanks again, I just needed to know what I did wrong. Not sure if I'll be able to inject in the future, but I had to figure out how to avoid this happening again at all costs if it ends up being necessary.
 
just a few tips, for future SQ injections, --
... if you can't get the rabbit to hold still, get some help restraining it.
... if the rabbit is "bucking" don't inject the meds [as you cannot be sure you are in the target injection area, or missing a blood vein]
... avoid using overly long needles, an inch is plenty for a rabbit, 3/4 inch long needles easily pierce the skin, and place meds far enough away from the injection hole to avoid too much "leaking" back through the injection site after the injection. . [overly long needles increase the chance of missing the injection target area]
...use 4 fingers and thumb to pull up the skin between the shoulder blades, [as opposed to one or two fingers and thumb] this makes a longer tent, this reduces the chance of missing the injection target area, or pushing the needle through the skin on the other side of the "tent"
....when inserting the needle into the skin, [tent] have the syringe parallel to the rabbits back [not pointed down toward the rabbit, or up away from the rabbit.
...insert the needle with point toward the rabbits head, not pointing toward its butt.[because, if the rabbit starts to wiggle , and gets loose, the head will come up, causing the needle to be pushed on a downward angle into the spine area]
... inject SQ meds with about a half inch space between the rabbits back, and where you insert the needle into the tent. [this helps avoid accidental IM injections, or spine damage from a misplaced needle].
.. when injecting Pen G or other thick medications, use a larger diameter needle,[ having to use a lot of force to inject meds through the needle, or taking a long time to get the injection completed, increases the chance of accidents , missing the target injection area, as well as increasing the duration of the rabbits discomfort]
again, JMHO
 
I didn't know about pulling back on the plunger either, until Tegan put up the original post.

Another thing... I quickly stopped trying to give SubQ injections between the shoulder blades, because I had so much trouble getting enough skin tented there.

I started feeling all over the rabbit for places where I could grab a good bit of skin relatively easily. I now give SubQ injections on the sides, near the shoulder and near the hip. As far as I can tell from reading, the only difference with using a different site is the rate of absorption. I haven't had trouble with the medication working, so I've just gone with it.
 
Miss M":ex1jk5u3 said:
I didn't know about pulling back on the plunger either, until Tegan put up the original post.

Another thing... I quickly stopped trying to give SubQ injections between the shoulder blades, because I had so much trouble getting enough skin tented there.

I started feeling all over the rabbit for places where I could grab a good bit of skin relatively easily. I now give SubQ injections on the sides, near the shoulder and near the hip. As far as I can tell from reading, the only difference with using a different site is the rate of absorption. I haven't had trouble with the medication working, so I've just gone with it.

especially in bucks, the buck's skin is especially tough , and better attached [harder to tent] - than a doe......[I still like the "between the shoulder blades" site better because of the ease of injection, while restraining the rabbit with no help, and [as mentioned above] the absorption rate is a little better].....
 
I can't do horse and dog vaccines because even with knowing to check if it's in a blood vessel I just feel paranoid about doing something wrong to something that is such a big part of my life. I did practice doing IM injections in rabbits and I took equine veterinary classes so technically I know how to do it. There's always a minor risk though. It doesn't really matter right now because feed store meds can't be used on anything I'm keeping that I would try giving in injection to. I use oral bird or aquarium meds for the cavy, gerbil, and chinchillas. Generally the chinchillas are worth a vet trip. In their case we are talking $100-$200 very personable indoor pets.
 
Is this method used to treat dehydration? If so where do you buy the solution? May be good to practice on rabbit with the runs.
 
a7736100":x9zk8d8l said:
Is this method used to treat dehydration? If so where do you buy the solution? May be good to practice on rabbit with the runs.

vet supply company's stock saline solutions, - use a sub Q procedure as mentioned above, 50 to 100 ML is about the usual dosage for full size rabbits who have need of fluids, [ 1 to 2x/ day ]...
 
michaels4gardens":3a5nr52i said:
a7736100":3a5nr52i said:
Is this method used to treat dehydration? If so where do you buy the solution? May be good to practice on rabbit with the runs.

vet supply company's stock saline solutions, - use a sub Q procedure as mentioned above, 50 to 100 ML is about the usual dosage for full size rabbits who have need of fluids, [ 1 to 2x/ day ]...
Saline is usually given in the abdomen, isn't it? If so, do you know how to do this safely, without accidentally perforating the intestine or something? Or is it alright to give that amount in between the shoulders or on the side?
 
Well, I was skeptical about giving subcutaneous fluids, but turns out this is an technique actually used for dogs. If you had a very calm rabbit it might work. Sounds like it's mostly used for chronic conditions and not acute dehydration. http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-he ... n-dogs/945

Injecting fluids into the anus with a tube can work with humans and is fast acting but if you had a case of severe diarrhea I'm not sure how that would work. Here is an article that explains the technique in humans. http://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/rectal/ <br /><br /> -- Thu Apr 14, 2016 7:41 pm -- <br /><br />
michaels4gardens":3gfvw47a said:
a7736100":3gfvw47a said:
Is this method used to treat dehydration? If so where do you buy the solution? May be good to practice on rabbit with the runs.

vet supply company's stock saline solutions, - use a sub Q procedure as mentioned above, 50 to 100 ML is about the usual dosage for full size rabbits who have need of fluids, [ 1 to 2x/ day ]...

How fast acting is giving fluids like this?
 
In my opinion,
... giving fluids under the skin [ SQ ] between the shoulder blades is the safest and easiest method. The fluids are absorbed over a 2 to 4 hour period, the fluids will travel under the skin [gravity] toward the sides or even to the belly area. I do not recommend, that anyone try to give a rabbit fluids [ or any animal] through the abdominal wall. -[even vets screw this up sometimes]- warm the fluids to about 100 to 105 degrees F [feels slightly warm to your skin on the inside of your wrist] before administering. this reduces discomfort, and avoids shock in sick rabbits from rapid lowering of the body temperature.
 

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