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
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