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Metacam

Hugo's There

Hugo's There

Wise Old Thumper
Did anyone here go to the rabbit welfare conference last year? My vet went and says that metacam can now be given in much higher doses than was previously thought.

I have an elderly dental bun who is now on 4 drops a day which can be uped to 4 drops twice daily if necessary. She is only a very tiny mini lop probably weighing about 1.5kg. The 4 drops don't seem to be making much difference now but I'm a bit reluctant to double the dose as I know it can cause gut stasis.

Has anyone else got any info on this?

Thanks Liz
 
My rabbit Vinnie (who weighed the same at that stage) was on 4 drops twice a day for the last few months of his life, he had arthritis and my vet advised to double it and it worked for a good while. :D
Did the vet advise to double dose her now then?
Metacam can cause stomach problems in all animals long term. sadly its just the risk you have to take.
Vinnie had none but my dog at the end of his life did end up with a few bouts of colitis.
 
Last edited:
My Vet attended the same conference and said that a dose of up to 0.6mg/kg Metacam can be given. I dont think gut stasis is a potential risk factor, more likely GI ulceration. I would suggest you ask your Vet about prescribing an anti GI ulcer med ( Ranitidine/Cimetidine) for your Bun if you are going to use a high dose of oral Metacam on a longterm basis

Janex
 
Thanks Leanne

The actual label on the meds says, give 4 drops once daily-can give twice daily if necessary

I think I will increase it over the weekend and see if it makes a difference and maybe get her checked again next week. She only went up 2 weeks ago and they couldn't see anything wrong with her teeth ( her last major dental was last august ) so we think its the roots. I can feel bumps in her lower jaw line.

Poor Fudge is so frail and really looks an old lady. She's 7 next month. Her hind legs are also very weak due to e cunniculi, so she will no longer use her litter tray, plus she has always been deaf.

I just found it interesting that the dose can suddenly change so much, as I remember having much larger rabbits on much smaller doses in the past as vets were worried about side effects.

Does anyone know if it is now licenced for use in rabbits or what studies have been done to work out that they can be given much bigger doses?
 
Thanks Jane

I have another rabbit on Antepsin daily and Zantac as and when needed so the meds are here if needed over the weekend. I'll speak to my vet next week and make sure fudge has everything that she needs to make her as comfortable as possible
 
Happy Hopping said:
To avoid stomach problem, metacam is meant to be given when food is in the stomach.
Click to expand...

I hadn't heard that before but it makes sense. I usually give it to her on a bit of biscuit and then give her breakfast, I'll give her breakfast first from now on

Thanks Liz
 
When Inky first hurt his paw, he was on 10 drops once daily, dropping to 5 drops after 5 days. I now have him on 4/5 drops daily.
 
One of mine has a greater tolerance to Metacam than the other (typical!) I have known it bring on stasis in Clover, but she is very very prone to it - in a lower dose it treats and prevents it. Especially now they are both on Zantac.
 
leanne said:
Yes your vet should have this written on the dispensed bottle!
Click to expand...

MY vets are generally brilliant but all the times I have used metacam they have never told me that. I have always put it on food for them as its the easiest way to get it in to them so hopefully this will have helped.

Now I'm hearing the high doses that other buns are on I'm worrying that the poor dental buns I've had in the past were still in considerable pain as they were on much lower doses ie 1 drop per half kilogram. I shall definately increase fudges dose from tonight.

Thanks for all your replies Liz
 
Jack's-Jane said:
My Vet attended the same conference and said that a dose of up to 0.6mg/kg Metacam can be given.
Click to expand...

Can you show me the calculation of the potential max dosage?

Say my metacam (I don't know if it is the same as your metacam in your country) is 1.5 mg PER ml.

So say my bun Goofball is 5 Kg.

How would you calculate the potential max dosage based on the above 3 numbers?

Also, where about is this conference?
 
Happy Hopping said:
Can you show me the calculation of the potential max dosage?

Say my metacam (I don't know if it is the same as your metacam in your country) is 1.5 mg PER ml.

So say my bun Goofball is 5 Kg.

How would you calculate the potential max dosage based on the above 3 numbers?

Also, where about is this conference?
Click to expand...

I think, you would divide your 1.5mg/ml by 0.6mg to find out how many kg that would treat. According to my calculations, that would would be the max to treat a rabbit weighing 2.5kg. So, if you double that, your maximum potential dose would be 2ml.

I think this is the right calculation, you may want to check it though!
 
In the UK, metacam for dogs (pink box) is 1.5mg/ml, metacam for cats (purple box) is 0.5mg/ml

An example calculation for a dose of 0.6mg/kg for a 3kg rabbit using metacam for dogs :

3 kg x 0.6 mg/kg = 1.8 mg

1.8mg / 1.5 mg/ml = 1.2ml


Basically multiply the mg/kg dose by the weight in kgs to get your dose in mgs. Then divide your dose in mgs by the mg/ml to get your dose in mls.

Hope that helps
 
See that the calculation I run last week, and I just want you guys to confirm it for me.

In the 5 min. vet consult -- Ferret and rabbit by B Oglesbee, she said under Common Dosages for Rabbits, that metacam is 0.2 to 0.5 mg/KG, once daily PO

So I come up w/ a fig. of 1.33 ml or so for a 5 KG bunny.

But I didn't know there is a different bottle for cat. The one prescribe for all my rabbit in the past yr. is the 1.5 mg/ml.

So an important question, for rabbit, are you guys also using 1.5 mg/ ml -- the pink box?
 
Happy Hopping said:
See that the calculation I run last week, and I just want you guys to confirm it for me.

In the 5 min. vet consult -- Ferret and rabbit by B Oglesbee, she said under Common Dosages for Rabbits, that metacam is 0.2 to 0.5 mg/KG, once daily PO

So I come up w/ a fig. of 1.33 ml or so for a 5 KG bunny.

But I didn't know there is a different bottle for cat. The one prescribe for all my rabbit in the past yr. is the 1.5 mg/ml.

So an important question, for rabbit, are you guys also using 1.5 mg/ ml -- the pink box?
Click to expand...

Metacam for Cats is relatively new on the market so thats why you may not have seen it yet. :D

People must remember this on the forum if advising others on dosage as they could end up under or over dosing depending on which Metacam they have been prescribed by the vet!

My vet now prescribes the cat version most of the time now.
 
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