Sue&Smokes
Young Bun
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 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