• 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.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Metacam dose - dosing syringe into mg or ml

N

nessar

Warren Veteran
Out of interest, mainly because with rabbits a lot of people quote metacam doses in mg or ml rather than using the dosing syringe, what is the formula to change a kg dose into a dose measured in mls or mg? In other words, how many mg is in a 1 or 10 kg dose of dog metacam?

Barney has a 25kg dog dose once a day and was wondering what this is in ml and also mg. Dog metacam is 1.5mg per ml but I can't figure out how many mgs per kg dose on the syringe? Read an old thread on it but it was rather confusing.

To clarify, I'm not asking about what dose rabbits should have, but rather what the conversion rate is between the syringe dosing (metacam syringe doses in kg) and mg. Hope that makes sense.
 
I dont usually use the Metacam syringe, but I have just drawn up a trial 10kg dose and transferred it into a 1ml syringe. It looks as though a 10kg dose equates to 0.5ml (0.75mg)
 
I know this is an old thread, but I am desperate to find out more about this; I need to be armed with info when I speak to my vet tomorrow, and can't get my head around the doses :(
Daisy is just over 5kg. When having oral dog metacam, she has a 30kg dog dose. How many mls does this equate to? And what about mg? It's very confusing :(
Also, if having injectable metacam which is stronger, her dose is 0.5ml once daily. This is for bad arthritis, and it just doesn't seem to be having much effect at all :(
Does anyone know what you can go up to, for long-term use? Daisy is getting desperate now, she is clearly in pain all the time and barely eating. This needs sorting ASAP :(
 
ripminnie said:
I know this is an old thread, but I am desperate to find out more about this; I need to be armed with info when I speak to my vet tomorrow, and can't get my head around the doses :(
Daisy is just over 5kg. When having oral dog metacam, she has a 30kg dog dose. How many mls does this equate to? And what about mg? It's very confusing :(
Also, if having injectable metacam which is stronger, her dose is 0.5ml once daily. This is for bad arthritis, and it just doesn't seem to be having much effect at all :(
Does anyone know what you can go up to, for long-term use? Daisy is getting desperate now, she is clearly in pain all the time and barely eating. This needs sorting ASAP :(
Click to expand...

You may find that Tramdol is more effective than Metacam for bad arthritis :wave:
 
MightyMax said:
I have had it in liquid form, and it's a small dose and easy to disguise :D
Click to expand...

We had it in liquid as well and although Mini wont take it eagerly like metacam I can get it into her relatively easily. Unfortunately my vets are having a hard time getting hold of it so this time they've given me capsules to open and dissolve in water, don't know how easy that's going to be, have got some liquid left to use up first.
 
Elena said:
We had it in liquid as well and although Mini wont take it eagerly like metacam I can get it into her relatively easily. Unfortunately my vets are having a hard time getting hold of it so this time they've given me capsules to open and dissolve in water, don't know how easy that's going to be, have got some liquid left to use up first.
Click to expand...

I didn't realise it was so hard to get hold of. My vet seems to have a consignment of it :D
 
ripminnie said:
I know this is an old thread, but I am desperate to find out more about this; I need to be armed with info when I speak to my vet tomorrow, and can't get my head around the doses :(
Daisy is just over 5kg. When having oral dog metacam, she has a 30kg dog dose. How many mls does this equate to? And what about mg? It's very confusing :(
Also, if having injectable metacam which is stronger, her dose is 0.5ml once daily. This is for bad arthritis, and it just doesn't seem to be having much effect at all :(
Does anyone know what you can go up to, for long-term use? Daisy is getting desperate now, she is clearly in pain all the time and barely eating. This needs sorting ASAP :(
Click to expand...
I *think* for a 30kg dose it is 1.5ml (2.25mg).
Please correct me if I'm wrong anyone!

I've just drawn this dose up for a rabbit I'm looking after and it looks like so much! But then I remember he's a 4+kg rabbit. I've only ever given it to rabbits that were 1.8-2.2kg.

I also suggest talking to the vet about gabapentin. It seems more are prescribing it for arthritic rabbits.
 
jerseygirl said:
I *think* for a 30kg dose it is 1.5ml (2.25mg).
Please correct me if I'm wrong anyone!

I've just drawn this dose up for a rabbit I'm looking after and it looks like so much! But then I remember he's a 4+kg rabbit. I've only ever given it to rabbits that were 1.8-2.2kg.

I also suggest talking to the vet about gabapentin. It seems more are prescribing it for arthritic rabbits.
Click to expand...

Gabapentin is for nerve related pain but has been shown to be effective in some cases. It's not without side effects and causes withdrawal symptoms so shouldn't be stopped abruptly. I would prefer to begin with tramadol and then move onto Gabapentin if necessary.
 
I looked in to this a lot before my boys were neutered. There's very different opinions on the doses but it seems like 0.3mg/kg is standard to start with and this can go up to 0.6mg/kg.

Metacam is 1.5mg/ml so if we use 0.3mg/kg dose then that's 0.2ml/kg

Dogs have a maintenance dose of 0.1mg/kg (three times less than a bunny) so need 0.067ml/kg

If your rabbit is receiving enough for a 30kg dog they're getting 3mg. This is a dose of about 0.6mg/ml for a 5kg bunny so that sounds about right
 
Hi my Alan has bad arthritis he's on 1ml twice daily prob for the rest of his life....he seems a tiny bit better but still sitting really awkward he is also having joint support for dogs half a capsule once a day prescribed by vet x
 
I do not know the answer to your question but Julie had bad arthritis. She was on liquid Tramadol ( my regular pharmacist would turn it into the liquid for her) and Metacam. He vet had suggested that we split both doses into twice a day 2 hours apart from each other. That worked for Julie instead of increasing the doses. It just covered her the whole day that way.
 
I'm not 100% on the metacam, but Barney was on a 25kg dog dose and weighed between 3.2-3.6kg, so your bunny's dose sounds about right. I'd also really recommend tramadol. I found I could disguise it in critical care, or banana if he was being fussy. It will also soak into excel pellets if you add water. I found it more effective to use both than the metacam alone - when he first started on tramadol I got binkies for the first time in years!

Sounds mean but I found locking him in a small room or a dog crate for half an hour with any non-tasty meds mixed with food, with nothing else to do, was usually enough to persuade him to eat it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

lucy24
Metacam dose question
Replies
3
Views
628
olices
olices
A
Friend's rabbit hasn't eaten or drunk by herself in 2 weeks
Replies
5
Views
723
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
D
Paralysis of the hind legs - inability to diagnose with photo (solved - Salmonella)
Replies
5
Views
904
Zarla
Zarla
Back
Top