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metacam question

Lolly's mum

Mama Doe
how long does it take to "kick-in"? Bella has been prescribed it and has had two doses over the last two days. She should have had one on saturday morning but i struggled with the syringe and administration, so i got an insulin syringe and drew up the metacam in the syringe supplied, then drew that up into the insulin syringe and then decanted that onto a carrot snack!! which she happily ate.

she is eating and drinking as normal, gets in and out of the haystation, but although weight bearing she's still not right, she uses the affected leg to scratch her ear and she and Edward are confined to a nic pen so as not to overexert
 
It should usually kick in within half an hour for acute pain, sometimes an hour depending on how good bunny's absorption is.

It depends what you are using it for? What is wrong with Bella? If it's being used a course of inflammation or chronic pain the speed of efficacy will be different and also dose sensitive.
 
Also, what strength Metacam has been prescribed? Some vets will only prescribe the cat strength to bunnies which is not worth giving. They need the dog strength (1.5mg/ml).
 
It should usually kick in within half an hour for acute pain, sometimes an hour depending on how good bunny's absorption is.

It depends what you are using it for? What is wrong with Bella? If it's being used a course of inflammation or chronic pain the speed of efficacy will be different and also dose sensitive.

vet said she had "wrenched" her right knee, a bit like a sprain i imagine. she wasn't weight bearing at all when she saw him on friday morning so she is making a bit of progress. i think that when i let she and Eddie out of the pen on saturday afternoon she over-did it a bit so i have kept them confined since then. vet said if no improvement by tuesday to bring her in for an xray, at the initial consultation he felt her leg and said no sign of a break or dislocation but felt warm as if inflamed and she was quite annoyed when he touched it.

i think if she was off her food i would be very worried, but as i said she's eating etc as normal, bright as a button in all other respects.
 
Also, what strength Metacam has been prescribed? Some vets will only prescribe the cat strength to bunnies which is not worth giving. They need the dog strength (1.5mg/ml).

I have to disagree with this, Bella had the cat version after dislocating her hip (and having it pop back in :shock:) and it was a dream, within an hour or so she had perked up A LOT and started to eat properly etc. But I guess it could depend on the bunny.
 
vet said she had "wrenched" her right knee, a bit like a sprain i imagine. she wasn't weight bearing at all when she saw him on friday morning so she is making a bit of progress. i think that when i let she and Eddie out of the pen on saturday afternoon she over-did it a bit so i have kept them confined since then. vet said if no improvement by tuesday to bring her in for an xray, at the initial consultation he felt her leg and said no sign of a break or dislocation but felt warm as if inflamed and she was quite annoyed when he touched it.

i think if she was off her food i would be very worried, but as i said she's eating etc as normal, bright as a button in all other respects.

Then response to metacam would depend on what dose she is receiving relative to her body weight? I.e. is she receiving enough. But it may also be that the injury is more severe if she's not responding to a good dose. How old is Bella and what breed? Could arthritis and an acute flare up be a possibility? Which leg is it? Foreleg or hindleg? Hindleg tends to be more affected by arthritic changes.
 
I have to disagree with this, Bella had the cat version after dislocating her hip (and having it pop back in :shock:) and it was a dream, within an hour or so she had perked up A LOT and started to eat properly etc. But I guess it could depend on the bunny.

If you gave enough of the cat strength then I presume it would act the same as a smaller dose of the dog strength. But I do know that because Metacam is not licensed for rabbits, some vets (the non-bunny savvy ones) will only prescribe the smallest dose of the weakest solution to cover their own backs should something go wrong. If it worked for your bunny then that's great!
 
Then response to metacam would depend on what dose she is receiving relative to her body weight? I.e. is she receiving enough. But it may also be that the injury is more severe if she's not responding to a good dose. How old is Bella and what breed? Could arthritis and an acute flare up be a possibility? Which leg is it? Foreleg or hindleg? Hindleg tends to be more affected by arthritic changes.

she's almost 2years, nethie dwarf and its her hind leg thats the problem shes on the cat version of metacam 0.5mg/ml and i was advised to give her 1/2 ml once a day.
 
If you gave enough of the cat strength then I presume it would act the same as a smaller dose of the dog strength. But I do know that because Metacam is not licensed for rabbits, some vets (the non-bunny savvy ones) will only prescribe the smallest dose of the weakest solution to cover their own backs should something go wrong. If it worked for your bunny then that's great!

Well she did have quite a lot of it, don't remember how much exactly but I remember the syringe being almost full each time. So I assume it was an appropriate amount for her weight etc. :) But the dog version probably is more effective.
 
Im glad I saw this post. Rolo having problems with his back right leg. Not hopping about and then hopping on tiptoes. Vet didnt think anything was broken. But I saw the post about having a hip come out of its socket. Would I know if this had happened to Rolo? I know I sould abit daft, but is it obvious?

Rach x
 
Im glad I saw this post. Rolo having problems with his back right leg. Not hopping about and then hopping on tiptoes. Vet didnt think anything was broken. But I saw the post about having a hip come out of its socket. Would I know if this had happened to Rolo? I know I sould abit daft, but is it obvious?

Rach x

My Bella dislocated her hip about 2 years ago, I didn't see what happened but she probably tried to jump on top of something and slipped, next thing I knew she was sat hunched in a corner grinding her teeth. It was quite obvious straight away that there was something wrong with her leg though, she couldn't use it at all and kept falling over :( Also when she sat down you could see it "poking out" (for want of a better word) slightly more than the other :shock: Luckily it then popped back in by itself somehow (I have no idea how but could've happened when she tried to move around or something) and she was fine after that but had to have Metacam for 2 weeks just in case (she was quite obviously in a lot of pain though as she wasn't eating at all, which is VERY unusual for her :() It took a long time for her to be able to use her leg properly though, and during the time it took to heal she did hop on tiptoes like you describe. So while I'm not very experienced with leg injuries in rabbits, I do think it could be possible that Rolo has had something similar happen to him. But if his hip was actually dislocated as of right now you'd probably notice it.
 
Thanks for replying to my post.

Strangely, I did think that one side of Rolo's back end looked bigger than the other. And when hes sitting, the right haunch (not sure if thats the right terminoligy) didnt seem as "tight" to his body as the other one.

Vet did check him over and said he couldnt find anything....Im not so sure now.

Rach x
 
The vet who examined Bella couldn't find much either, he did say that her leg could be dislocated but couldn't confirm it without an x-ray, which I couldn't afford at the time. He wasn't rabbit savvy though and had to phone someone else for advice, who apparently thought it would probably pop back in by itself (which it did, but I don't know if that was just luck or if the general rule is to leave it and see what happens :?). We then got sent home with Metacam.

If this is what's happened to Rolo I would suggest restricting his space if you haven't already? Or at least make sure there's nothing around that he could hurt himself on. Is he on pain relief at the moment? Is he eating, drinking and behaving normally?
 
He refuses to come out of his cage.

He had a shot at the vets, but we werent not given anything to bring home. Vet assured us it wasnt needed.

Yes, hes eating fine. Nothing wrong with his appetite and he is using his litter tray. I put a rose stem with lots of leafage on this morning and he stripped it in SECONDS!

I dont think hes grinding his teeth. And everynow and then he lays full stretch with his legs out to the poorly side.

Rach x
 
Aww, bless him :( But it's definitely a good sign that he's eating well and such, like I said Bella wouldn't eat without the Metacam. I do think you should've been given some pain relief to bring home though. I'd wait for a while maybe and if things don't seem to improve I'd definitely discuss it with a vet. He could be in pain or he could be refusing to come out because the accident happened outside of it and now he's scared. I hope he'll be back to normal soon!
 
Thanks. Yes Im glad he's eating well. And his tum is soft. So Im happy with that.

Am going to leave him for a couple of days. Then see about another trip to vets. Rolo gets so stressed out at the vets. Infact, I worry more about taking him that his leg!

When we took him the other day he stopped breathing! He just goes floppy with his mouth open. Its awful! I know hes not bothered by travelling. But as soon as we get inside the door of the surgery. He starts squeeking and gasping. Poor babe!

Thanks so much.

Rach x
 
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