• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Metacam doses

Hugo's There

Wise Old Thumper
I know this subject is of great interest to many of you so thought I would post this although tbh it might not be anything new!

I have been in discussion with our vets regarding metacam doses as they are still preferring to use the dose stated in the BSAVA manual of 0.2mg - 0.6mg/kg every 24 hours. I gave them a copy of the paper presented at the RWAF conference last year by Kevin Eatwell that states he uses 0.6mg/kg every 12 hours or 0.4ml/kg every 12 hours, as there are a few of our bunnies that I feel would benefit from using that higher dose.

I must admit I have been really impressed with the effort our vets have put in to this. they have had group meetings, looked at all the research and spent a lot of time getting in touch with Kevin at the Royal D!ck vet school.

Kevin has told them that although he does use this higher dose long term for arthritis and other painful conditions the bunny does have to be free from other diseases particularly kidney issues for this dose to be appropriate. So it would be wise to run regular blood screening for kidney disease among other things especially for senior bunnies who are receiving that higher dose to make sure there is no underlying disease that may compromise their ability to tolerate it.

I am now waiting to hear back from our vets to see which of our rabbits can be blood tested so we can move on to a higher dose for them.

Like I said this may be old news as I don't have time to read all the info posted on here but thought it might be of interest to someone :D
 
That's useful. Thanks Liz. When I saw Simon today, he said he occasionally uses Tramadol as pain relief for bunnies. It's an opiate based pain killer and can be given in conjunction with Metacam. Just something to bear in mind for the future.
 
Thank you it's not something I feel any of ours need right now but definitely something I would ask about in the future if I thought it might help x
 
I didn't realise such high doses could be used long term although I knew short term the doses are much higher. I struggle to work out if Grim's in pain or just so bunged up he's uncomfortable. :( I will speak to the vets next time I go about higher doses for both of them. Smoo is between 3 to 4kg and is only on 0.5ml of Metacam a day which is a tiny amount. This is to manage jaw and other abscesses and multiple tumours, but she never seems in pain.
 
I know this subject is of great interest to many of you so thought I would post this although tbh it might not be anything new!

I have been in discussion with our vets regarding metacam doses as they are still preferring to use the dose stated in the BSAVA manual of 0.2mg - 0.6mg/kg every 24 hours. I gave them a copy of the paper presented at the RWAF conference last year by Kevin Eatwell that states he uses 0.6mg/kg every 12 hours or 0.4ml/kg every 12 hours, as there are a few of our bunnies that I feel would benefit from using that higher dose.

I must admit I have been really impressed with the effort our vets have put in to this. they have had group meetings, looked at all the research and spent a lot of time getting in touch with Kevin at the Royal D!ck vet school.

Kevin has told them that although he does use this higher dose long term for arthritis and other painful conditions the bunny does have to be free from other diseases particularly kidney issues for this dose to be appropriate. So it would be wise to run regular blood screening for kidney disease among other things especially for senior bunnies who are receiving that higher dose to make sure there is no underlying disease that may compromise their ability to tolerate it.

I am now waiting to hear back from our vets to see which of our rabbits can be blood tested so we can move on to a higher dose for them.

Like I said this may be old news as I don't have time to read all the info posted on here but thought it might be of interest to someone :D

I did exactly the same with my vet for Maurice :wave:

We blood test him every 8 weeks or so to check his kidney function (and the red blood cell count for his anaemia)

At one point we tried him on tramadol but it actually had an adverse affect on his RBC count. Jane uses it successfully with some of her bunnies though :D
 
I did exactly the same with my vet for Maurice :wave:

We blood test him every 8 weeks or so to check his kidney function (and the red blood cell count for his anaemia)

At one point we tried him on tramadol but it actually had an adverse affect on his RBC count. Jane uses it successfully with some of her bunnies though :D

Goodness it will cost me a fortune to get them all blood tested every 8 weeks. I'm hoping for every 3 to 6 months!
 
Very interesting. I have read on here because rabbits have a fast metabulism that metacam is absorbed quickly so now when Mr B is having bad dental pain I give him two 0.6 ml doses of metacam in 24 hours, with the vets knowledge while he is recovering, but only for a few days. I haven't discussed a high long term dose.
 
Goodness it will cost me a fortune to get them all blood tested every 8 weeks. I'm hoping for every 3 to 6 months!

It's mostly for the RBC count and haemoglobin levels :wave: we just chuck kidney function in too and the insurance covers it :oops:
 
This is what I am currently doing for Mimzy, he gets .35 mls twice a day. I have to be sure to push to have his bloods done next month to be certain it is not causing him kidney troubles. Thank you for that reminder, Liz. :)
I wish he didn't need such a high dose. My vet doesn't want to go any higher and I know at some point it's not going to help with his bone pain. :(

That will probably be the time to make a decision. :cry:
I should mention that I've kept his dose high for about a year and a half since his head tilt as well, to be sure any inflammation in general is kept at bay.
 
Well we have arranged for the vet to visit us next week to give every bun a check up. Not only will those on metecam get checked, some are due vaccinations too so thought we might as well take opportunity to get them all health checked. Then if any need blood testing we can just take those to the surgery, rather than take lots up to see who needs one.

We haven't had a home visit for years ( they got too expensive) so this should be fun. Thank goodness Steve has a week off work to help me catch them all :D
 
Doughnut was on 0.6ml a day split into three lots and she was only a 1kg then. The specialist had taken bloods so that was all OK but she was on this dose for quite a while.
 
Doughnut was on 0.6ml a day split into three lots and she was only a 1kg then. The specialist had taken bloods so that was all OK but she was on this dose for quite a while.
If she weighs 1kg then based on the dose Kevin ggives she could be on double this as she can have 0.6ml twice daily long term with regular blood testing x
 
She has had 0.8ml on a few days but thankfully she doesn't need it any more as metaclop keeps her well and pain free
 
Well we have arranged for the vet to visit us next week to give every bun a check up. Not only will those on metecam get checked, some are due vaccinations too so thought we might as well take opportunity to get them all health checked. Then if any need blood testing we can just take those to the surgery, rather than take lots up to see who needs one.

We haven't had a home visit for years ( they got too expensive) so this should be fun. Thank goodness Steve has a week off work to help me catch them all :D

Oh dear, that sounds like a labor of Hercules! :shock: I'll keep a good thought for you that all goes smoothly. :)
 
Back
Top