Metacam

Hello all

As I have written in a through thread, my little Simba is battling with the snuffles and has been for some time.

I struggle terribly to get her to have baytril, I have been mashing it up in banana which she does eat but I am worried the medicine runs to the bottom of the bowl and she doesn't get it all? So may try her again with the syringe tomorrow.

she is on 0.5ml of baytril twice a day (she is a week into a 3 week course) and 0.1ml of metacam a day.

The metacam really seems to help her with the aggressive sneezing for a while and I wondered if I could give 0.1ml of this twice a day instead? Would it do her any harm?

Thanks in advance x

0.1ml is a very low dose. Is it cat or dog metacam and how much does she weigh. Speak to your vet first but it might help. It's an anti inflammatory so her passages are probably a bit swollen.

It is dog metacam, she is a lionhead and I am not sure of exactly how much she weighs but can post a pic to give people an idea? x

As Metacam is a prescription only medication only the Vet treating your Rabbit can advise you re dose rates.

O.1ml is an extremely low dose, even for the tinniest Rabbit.

I have just rang the vet (the vet she has been to before operates out of hours) and the receptionist spoke to the vet and returned my call.

They said they see no problem with her having 0.1ml twice a day if it helps her. Is that still very low?

Fayelou said:

I have just rang the vet (the vet she has been to before operates out of hours) and the receptionist spoke to the vet and returned my call.

They said they see no problem with her having 0.1ml twice a day if it helps her. Is that still very low?

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It depends on her exact weight. Not a guessed weight.

I understand. She was 1.6kg on her second vet visit, around 6-7 weeks ago

Then 0.1ml twice a day is a very, very low dose

One comparison of dosage rates for that size: Ada, weight 1.57kg, was prescribed 0.8ml twice a day for the first 5 days and 0.5ml twice daily ongoing.

Hi Vita thanks for response, were your buns on baytril as well as metacam?

Not at the same time, no. They got Baytril for gut problems before the sneezing began.
Ada had Metacam on its own before her C&S, then with engemycin, and now with azithromycin.

Perhaps the dose is so low due to the baytril to be taken with it?

Fayelou said:

Perhaps the dose is so low due to the baytril to be taken with it?

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Grimlock who is 3.3kg has baytril and metacam together. He has 0.65ml of metacam and 0.67ml of baytril twice a day (or 1.34ml once a day). The metacam is only for when his eyes swell up but they are fine together. Some vets don't realise that rabbits have a high tolerance to painkillers which mean they actually need more for their bodyweight than a dog would have. Speak to your vet and say you are noticing a huge difference when he takes it and can you increase the dose?

As a comparison, Ginger is currently 1.5Kg and is on 0.6ml dog metacam (1.5mg/ml) twice daily.

Minky weighs 1.4kg and is on 0.26ml once a day of Metacam, this is a lowish dose because she has kidney problems and could be on it longish term.
As for getting Baytril in, try putting some banana on the end of the syringe and as she licks it off push the Baytril in her mouth. Thats what I have to do with Dexter, except he loves Fibreplex so he gets some of that smeared on the end of the syringe, sometimes it takes more than one bit of fibreplex to get the whole lot in. You could try that

GrahamL said:

As a comparison, Ginger is currently 1.5Kg and is on 0.6ml dog metacam (1.5mg/ml) twice daily.

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Yes, little ginger looks like a very similar size to Simba. Hope she is getting better by the way.

It is my birthday today, so have booked a day off work and we will be spending time together. Just syringed baytril into her now, which really wasn't an easy task! No matter what I seem to put on the end of the syringe, she won't go near it. (LOVES metacam though).

I have put a bowl of banana in her cage with the baytril inside the banana (a small peice) and she does eat it, but I am worried the baytril will all run out?

She will be back to the vets (A rabbit savvy one attended by members here) in a couple of weeks. But until then, if she doesn't go down hill massively obviously I will increase to 0.1ml twice a day (as agreed over the phone by the vet) and see how she gets on I guess

Jane, I didn't really understand the article after clicking on your link? Are you able to "translate" for me? You are always so helpful, thank you

Hope Jane will not see this as butting in...

The basic upshot of it is:
Because it used to be thought that rabbits would have to have lower doses of Metacam (drug name meloxicam - Metacam is the brand), this study compares the way rabbits metabolise lower and higher doses, both as one-offs and as a 5 day course of one dose per day, looking at the concentrations in their blood when they are given the medicine by mouth.
The Metacam doesn't build up in their bodies, even at the higher dose used in the study. Half of it is out of the body 8 hours after they've taken it, and practically all of it is out 24h after one dose. ( So because they metabolise it rapidly, it's worth giving them the drug more often - ie twice daily - so that it is still having an effect on them.)

Could try a sentence by sentence one if needed but it would take a while.

Metacam is an NSAID - non steroidal anti inflammatory - one of the same group of drugs as aspirin & ibuprofen and has some of the same characteristics of those. Consider how those wear off after a few hours.

From other sources (not in the linked paper), I understand also that it may be advisable for rabbits who are on Metacam long term to have Zantac (ranitidine) because the painkiller can have some effects on the stomach and other side effects if they have it over a longer period of time. (Look at how some people can't take aspirin on an empty stomach, for instance.) I am going to be asking the vet about that next time I'm in, if it looks like she'll still need it, as she's been on it for about a month now.

LIly is on .6 of a ml of BAYTRIL and ONE DROP of METACAM as she is only 573 grams.