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Metacam dosage??!!

A

Aimee84

Warren Scout
Hi,
Went out to feed my bunnies last nite and found Oscar had lost all co-ordination and balance. So took him to vets this morning and they have started him for treatment for EC, so I have Panacur for 28 days for him and also Pippa his wifey. They also gave me so Metacam and said between 5-7kg marker on the syringe. Oscar is only a small lionhead not even 2kg, does this dosage sound right, i'm worried that this dosage rate is too high after reading some other peoples threads!

Can anyone give me help please?

Oh and they have suggested that he have metacam for 7-10days.

Does this sound right, any advise would be greatly appreciated as i've never had a bunny with EC before is there anything other than cleaning & bleaching all the hutch and litter trays that I should do/know about?

Thanks in advance
 
I give 0.3-0.4mls of the dog metacam twice daily per kilo. This equates to 0.5-0.6mg/kg or 6 to 8 drops per kilo twice daily. depending on the response I either stay at that dose, lower it or give it once daily. Studies have shown that metacam at these doses is not culmulative (ie low risk of toxicity) and rabbits seem to tolerate it well. Each case however needs to be judged on its own merits
Hope this helps
 
Iv given metacam twice to the same bunny, both times been 6 drops (or 2* her body weight in drops, shes 3kg). So it would be 4 drops in your buns case. BUT this wasnt for ec so doses may vary.

For a completely different illness, someone was told to give her bun the 35kg dog dose on the graded syringe (sorry i cant remember who it was but its a recent post) so higher levels must be safe.

Is your bun still eating? Iv heard this is a major issue with metacam, if the bun has something in their stomach then its safer, if they dont it can cause problems. When buns stop eating its usually bad as their guts shut down, so if he's not eating you should syringe feed him anyway, which will help with the metacam.
 
Bunnies can take 6x the dog dose for their weight. My bun is 6.5kg and is on 35kg dose of Metacam (upped from 2.3kg).

The vets know best. Trust them.
 
my vet said 0.2ml/kg is the maximum dose. However in certain circumstances she would give a higher dose.
 
the vets here in Canada uses this formula for regular pain:

Orally given:

Dosage (in ml) = weight in KG x 0.1 / 1.5

1.5 mg/ml is assuming you're using the dog's ver. of metacam

For high pain (temporary use, say 5 days max. or so)

dosage (in ml) = weight in KG x 0.2 / 1.5

the above range is also recommend range by:

The 5 minute Veterinary Consult: Ferret and Rabbits by Barbara Oglesbee (2006 Edition) p.395

Textbook of Rabbit Medicine by Dr. Frances Harcourt-Brown (2007 Edition), p.99

BSAVA (British Small Animal Veterinary Assoc.) Manual of Rabbit Medicine and Surgery, 2006 Edition, p.158

Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents, Clinical Medicine and Surgery by Dr. Katherine E. Quesenberry, Dr. James Carpenter, 2004 Edition, p.359
 
Last edited:
rodneyvet said:
I give 0.3-0.4mls of the dog metacam twice daily per kilo. This equates to 0.5-0.6mg/kg or 6 to 8 drops per kilo twice daily. depending on the response I either stay at that dose, lower it or give it once daily. Studies have shown that metacam at these doses is not culmulative (ie low risk of toxicity) and rabbits seem to tolerate it well. Each case however needs to be judged on its own merits
Hope this helps
Click to expand...

My Vet agrees with Rodneyvet :D

ETA No she doesnt !! She prescribes 0.3MG/KG/12 hrs !!

I misread RVs ML for KG !!
 
Last edited:
Happy Hopping said:
For high pain (temporary use, say 5 days max. or so)

dosage (in ml) = weight in KG x 0.2 / 1.5

the above range is also recommend range by:

The 5 minute Veterinary Consult: Ferret and Rabbits by Barbara Oglesbee (2006 Edition) p.395

Textbook of Rabbit Medicine by Dr. Frances Harcourt-Brown (2007 Edition), p.99

BSAVA (British Small Animal Veterinary Assoc.) Manual of Rabbit Medicine and Surgery, 2006 Edition, p.158

Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents, Clinical Medicine and Surgery by Dr. Katherine E. Quesenberry, Dr. James Carpenter, 2004 Edition, p.359
Click to expand...

The dose you quote of 0.2mg/kg is the very lowest dose recommended for use in rabbits and the 0.1mg/kg you also quoted is not believed to be effective. More recent studies (that you have been informed of previously) recommend from 0.2 up to 1mg/kg and routinely we use 0.4mg/kg once daily (to be increased if response is not adequate). The books you are quoting from are not up to date (the most recent is from 2007 and it usually takes ~2yrs to get a book published so your most recent data is from 2005, there are many many more recent scientific studies than this). Please consider the scientific studies you have been recommended previously before taking it upon yourself to decide on 'appropriate' dosages for veterinary prescription medication.
 
Ive only had to give metacam to Fudge and it was 0.7ml twice daily as the highest pain relief for her weighing 1.65kg and for a low dose its 0.35ml twice daily!

Dont know if this is correct but he said all vets give different doses he likes to give the highest possible depending on what is wrong :)
 
marie_kubiak said:
Please consider the scientific studies you have been recommended previously before taking it upon yourself to decide on 'appropriate' dosages for veterinary prescription medication.
Click to expand...

It doesn't take 2 yr. to get a re-print done, that's unheard of.

I didn't decide these dosage. The vets here in Canada (the good ones anyway) pass along that formula.

The dosage amt. works quite nicely actually. I use that formula on my bridge bun Goofball for just over 1 yr. (from May to mid June 2007, then from Aug. 2007 to May 2008
to counter the pain in her bone cancer case.

And her diet shows that the dosage is working very nicely, as here's the amt. of poo in a 24 hr. time frame:

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/8185/goofballlargesizepoos.jpg

the same formula is also use to my other buns
 
my two were on 0.8ml twice a day for a bit, and when bisc broke his nail he was on 0.8ml once a day for 5 days. i would trust your rabbit vet.
 
Happy Hopping said:
It doesn't take 2 yr. to get a re-print done, that's unheard of.

I didn't decide these dosage. The vets here in Canada (the good ones anyway) pass along that formula.

The dosage amt. works quite nicely actually. I use that formula on my bridge bun Goofball for just over 1 yr. (from May to mid June 2007, then from Aug. 2007 to May 2008
to counter the pain in her bone cancer case.

And her diet shows that the dosage is working very nicely, as here's the amt. of poo in a 24 hr. time frame:

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/8185/goofballlargesizepoos.jpg

the same formula is also use to my other buns
Click to expand...

Jason US and Canadian Vets appear to only prescribe a small dose compared to our Vets here in the UK. I think you just need to accept that Marie is giving her (well qualified) opinion based on clinical information available to her and on her own experience.

My Vet and many others who treat hundreds of Rabbits on a regular basis will use the higher dose range of Metacam. Just because your Vet does not does not imply that our Vets are wrong, they just have a different opinion. Personally I think we all need to take the advice of a Vet we know and trust :)
 
Thanks all I started to panic thinking th dose was too high but it seems about the same as others but towards the higher end of the scale. He's being treated for EC - heat tilt, loss of balance and twitchy eyes also giving him panacur how long until you notice a difference or should I say when shall I take him back to the vets with there being no change in him?
Having to hand feed him and use a syringe for water as he's struggling to find the food and water with the way his head is - its very upsetting seeing him like this, will the head tilt get better or is it permenant?

Sorry for all the questions i've been doing alot of research into EC but there so much conflicting things!

Thanks for all your help.
 
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