Metacam Advice

Hi,

I have recently acquired a new vet for my rabbits who are both elderly now, they are 9 and 10 years of age. They suffer from various dental problems, including spurs and overgrown teeth. They've recently been diagnosed with overgrown and cramped roots which makes eating even more painful for them too. To help with this, my vet has put them on metacam longterm, but the dosages he started off with very high, for my 10 year old (weight 1.44 kg) dosage was 1.0ml metacam twice a day and then drop to 0.5ml twice a day for maintenance dose. For my 9 year old, (weight 1.27 kg) he put on 0.8ml twice a day and then to 0.4ml twice day maintenance dose. (It is the oral suspension 1.5mg/ml)

He says doses need to be high for rabbits as they have their own unique body chemistry and requirements. Just wondering if anybody else has rabbits prescribed with dosages this high and are on longterm metacam also? I am sure my rabbits have been more lethargic than normal and I am also concerned about any longterm effects from metacam regarding ulcers, kidneys or liver, particularly as my rabbits are elderly. As I understand it, metacam is less risky than some nsaids, but I still feel cautious as these amounts seem pretty high.

Any feedback on this would be really appreciated,

Thanks

Sue

I personally have never used more than a 0.5ml Metacam dose but it depends on how much pain they are in really.

The only damage I have ever been warned about with NSAIDs is that they limit bone growth and should not be used longterm in young animals.

Im sure someone with more experience in this area will be along soon

CORRECTION TO ADD: My syringe isnt in mls its in kg body weight so its a much lower dose than this.

Typically had 3 rabbits needing it this morning :?

These are the manufacturers recommendations

"Although Metacam is not currently licensed for use in rabbits and small furries, it is now commonly used. From preclinical safety data, rabbits and rats can tolerate quite high doses of Metacam. From anecdotal reports the following regine has been determined.

Loading dose:- 0.2mg/kg given as a single dose. This may be administered by s/c injection or using the oral suspension

Further treatment of acute conditions:- 0.2ml/kg once daily with food until a good analgesic effect is attained then reduce to the lowest effective dose.

If dilution of Metacam is required for 'lightweight' patient - use drops of tap water from an insulin syringe to produce the required dilution. Metacam should be diluted immediatly before use.

Long term use:- We have reports of rabbits and rats being treated continuously for months without adverse effects. In these cases, it is prudent to gradually reduce the dose further as permitted by clinical response.

Dropper design:

Please note that we have improved the design of the dropper on the 10ml, 32ml and 100ml bottles to increase the accuracy of dosing of small animals. Each drop now contains 0.05mg per drop. The old dropper dispensed 0.1mg per drop.

Click to expand...

In other words correct doses is 4 drops per kg or 0.13ml per kg. The dose your vet has prescribed sounds far too high to me. Based on manufacturer rec doses your 1.44 kg rabbit should be on 0.18ml daily and your 1.27kg rabbit should be on 0.16ml daily :shock:

My vet said a few months ago that new recommended (and higher) doses had been released for rabbits.

I must admit that does sound like a very high dose:?

Has your vet given any medications along with the metacam which can help prevent the side affects of longterm use of metacam, I:E: zantac or Ranitadine? as these can help prevent it from damaging the stomach lining.

Su.x

metacam advice

Hi,

Thanks for all the info so far on metacam, I did used to dose about 6 drops (0.18ml and 0.16ml previously before going to my new vet, but he said that dosage wouldn't do anything for them. I thought he therefore might up the dsoage a bit, but I wasn't expecting such high dosages!

I did ask him about prescribing an antacid along with it also to help prevent ulcers, but he's never used them in conjunction with metacam for that purpose and he says he doesn't come across problems with ulcers or kidneys etc. Are there lots of rabbits receiving antacid treatment with metacam? Any negative side effects from using antacid longterm or is that completely safe, it wouldn't interfere with the absorption of the metacam?

Anybody else got any updated recommended daily dosages for longterm use metacam in rabbits?? Very interested to hear what other vets would prescribe.


Thanks again


Sue

My vet recently said something along the same lines...that rabbits tolerate Metacam much better than some other species, and previous health warnings have been due to reactions in dogs.

Can't help you with recommended dosage though. However I gave my elderly rabbit about 6 to 8 drops daily for at least a year. From my experience lower doeses have no effect. One of my rabbits needed about 12 drops daily for an ulcerated tongue before she would actually eat. She only needed metacam for about a week though, so I don't know if 12 drops daily would cause long-term damage.

Amy

Yes, that's what my vet said (about the dogs thing). I'm not sure what these new higher dosages are though.