As many of you know, there are several chimpanzee residents at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest who need daily medication. Some require medication related to heart disease, such as Burrito and Cy. Some take medication for pain management, such as Foxie and Negra.
So, how in the heck do we get chimpanzees to take medications?
You know what they say, just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down!
Most of the chimps are pretty easy, and take meds in a bit of Gatorade, such as Foxie, Terry, Lucky and Dora. A few are a little fancy and want their meds in grape juice only, such as Cy, Burrito and Mave (I don’t know why I consider grape juice fancier than Gatorade, but I do!). And then we have Willy B, Negra and Honey B. We have to get creative with these chimps! (In their defense, Willy B and Honey B are on several meds, and they change from time to time, so it’s understandable that they would require occasional changes to the meds recipe. Oh, and Negra, well, she’s the Queen!)
We’ve been using honey pretty regularly these days with Willy B and Honey B and, knock on wood, we’re having some luck!
Check out today’s video to see Honey B enjoying her new meds concoction!
Clever girl breaking the bamboo into a smaller piece. I wonder if she would let you apply the honey if she put her finger through the cage?
I have seen valiant efforts to get medication into a reluctant patient. I have seen medicine hidden in a Costco muffin for an orangutan. (Not the regular meds, which could be hidden in peanut butter or applesauce.)
I have heard creative discussions of what could possible work for enticing a reluctant hippo- whether frosting might work.
Honey B is so smart. First she tries to sip the honey through the bamboo straw, then she forms her own tool. I hope she’s better very soon!
Giving the chimps medicine in juice seems easy, especially since you have control to administer it. But I see how tricky this could get if an individual feels more particular about what you’re hiding the medication in. (Exception—Neggie and her chocolate pudding!) Can you give the chimps compounded medications (flavored or a yummy scent or both!)? If someone gets finicky midway through their med-treat, what can you do to ensure they receive the full dose? Or, do you monitor meds a little loosely and just feel relieved that a portion was consumed? And I’m also curious what you would do if someone took their med cup up to an area where you couldn’t observe them to see if they eat everything or if another chimp takes it. I know you plan ahead for everything but I’d be interested in learning more about the little challenges you face when it comes to medications. An interesting topic for another post?
And I thought getting my dogs to take meds was hard!
Beezus is limited atm, but you’re right–imagine having to do this with Lucky or Missy, the “eat up high” gals
Took me forever to figure out what atm was LOL. But I swear I did not cheat and look it up! I’m so proud of myself atm!
Yay! Us “over 45”:wink: gals have got this, Paulette!:muscle:
I’m just here enjoying some red pepper tomato soup from Trader Joe’s that’s low in sodium and wondering if that might work….