• 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 Half Life

Zarla

Zarla

Alpha Buck
Hi everyone, hope you can help. I was wondering what the half life of Metacam is and how long it stays in rabbits' systems?

Stakki had a worrying period last Wednesday - 12 hours with no eating or droppings/wee in his litter tray and very lethargic, flopping and even rolling much more than normal. We took him to the vet's and she said he was grinding his teeth, so could be in pain. He often grinds his teeth when stroked or handled so I don't know if he was in pain? He's always tooth purred because he's a real cuddle bun who loves affection. :love:

She couldn't find anything obviously wrong but prescribed Metacam, 0.7 ml every 24 hours for ten days. Since then, Stakki (who's seven) has gradually got back to normal, although I'm worrying it's just the Metacam masking his symptoms. He doesn't deteriorate towards the end of the 24 hour period though.

I looked up the half life of Metacam and found varying results. Some say 24 hours and others 8 hours in rabbits. I was hoping someone here could help.
 
Last edited:
Zarla said:
Hi everyone, hope you can help. I was wondering what the half life of Metacam is and how long it stays in rabbits' systems?

Stakki had a worrying period last Wednesday - 12 hours with no eating or droppings/wee in his litter tray and very lethargic, flopping and even rolling much more than normal. We took him to the vet's and she said he was grinding his teeth, so could be in pain. He often grinds his teeth when stroked or handled so I don't know if he was in pain? He's always tooth purred because he's a real cuddle bun who loves affection. :love:

She couldn't find anything obviously wrong but prescribed Metacam, 0.7 ml every 24 hours for ten days. Since then, Stakki (who's seven) has gradually got back to normal, although I'm worrying it's just the Metacam masking his symptoms. He doesn't deteriorate towards the end of the 24 hour period though.

I looked up the half life of Metacam and found varying results. Some say 24 hours and others 8 hours in rabbits. I was hoping someone here could help.
Click to expand...

It is now thought that Rabbits metabolise Meloxicam, the active ingredient in Metacam, a lot faster than other species may. Many Rabbit Savvy Vets now prescribe Metacam in 12 hourly doses as giving it once every 24 hours may not give ongoing analgesic cover. Some references here :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16521861

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27751747?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Meloxicam.htm

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/pain-management-rabbits/drug-focus-meloxicam/
 
I don’t know what the half life is, I believe as Jacks Jane says it is thought that rabbits metabolise it quicker than other animals. My new vet, an exotic specialist, prescribed twice-daily metacam for our bunnies (for wounds from fighting, a bad back and now an anti inflammatory for possible respiratory infection/issue alongside abx).

That said, it’s been a week so I wouldn’t start changing it now. Really you need to be talking to your vet about taking him off the metacam - if the symptoms come back then this would point to the cause of his stasis being pain (stasis itself is also painful so the pain signs before could be misleading about the route cause). And then your vet can do extra tests to find out what the issue is, if they can’t find anything consciously they will probably have to put him under for a GA to examine teeth better/do xrays.
 
Last edited:
Thank you. He has a ten day prescription and nothing after that. If it's metabolised quickly that's good news as he hasn't stopped eating again or been listless despite only getting it once a day.

The vet said he wasn't in stasis. I guess he was eating just enough to prevent it.
 
Zarla said:
Thank you. He has a ten day prescription and nothing after that. If it's metabolised quickly that's good news as he hasn't stopped eating again or been listless despite only getting it once a day.

The vet said he wasn't in stasis. I guess he was eating just enough to prevent it.
Click to expand...


My vet usually gives once a day, so if it's working for him that's good :)
 
MightyMax said:
My vet usually gives once a day, so if it's working for him that's good :)
Click to expand...

My vet also only recommends it once a day as well, but it's a relatively high dose - 1ml for the one bunny, and just over half for the other (the one rabbit is quite fat :lol:)
 
My vet says once a day,yet allows me to split his daily dose in half and give twice a day if I think a bunny is metabolixing it more quickly and has pain.
 
I checked with my vet today as to why it's only once a day at full dose (Thumper needs it as her arthritic paw is playing up). She stated that it has only been regulated to be given to rabbits once a day, and if given more often than once in 24hrs can cause gastric problems, hence our veterinary surgery will only prescribe it for once a day. So I'm going by that! Thumps has enough problems with her guts through stasis so I'm not going to add to them by going against veterinary advice.
 
Angie B said:
I checked with my vet today as to why it's only once a day at full dose (Thumper needs it as her arthritic paw is playing up). She stated that it has only been regulated to be given to rabbits once a day, and if given more often than once in 24hrs can cause gastric problems, hence our veterinary surgery will only prescribe it for once a day. So I'm going by that! Thumps has enough problems with her guts through stasis so I'm not going to add to them by going against veterinary advice.
Click to expand...
Ah that's interesting to know, yea my vet always prescribes it for twice a day, a didn't know most people only used it once a day til this thread haha

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
I definitely don't think Metacam lasts 24hrs. I'm not sure it even lasts 12 hrs given my experiences with an arthritic rabbit.
When a non-rabbity vet gives a repeat prescription for some metacam they also put the wrong advice on the label, every 24hrs and the stuff about vomitting which doesn't apply to rabbits.
But both the decent rabbit vets I know give Metacam every 12 hrs.
 
Our vet perscribes twice daily. I believe Toby was on 20kg and Charlie alot more than that twice daily.

I have always wondered that question

Sent from my SM-J320FN using Tapatalk
 
I think non rabbit savvy vets prescribe once a day. Rabbit savvy vets prescribe twice a day. I always give twice daily but I visit rabbit savvy vets so that’s what they tell me to!
 
Maybe this helps?

One study shows that the half-life of metacam in a rabbit system is about 8 hours (another study: "the mean time to maximum plasma concentration was 6.5 and 5.8 hours and the mean terminal half-life was 6.1 and 6.7 hours, respectively.") 24 hours after the last dose there is almost no medicine left in the rabbits system ("Plasma drug levels decreased rapidly to near-undetectable levels by 24 h." - "Oral clearance of meloxicam is high in rabbits, indicating rapid metabolism and elimination.")
https://www.vgr1.com/metacam/

Also info here:

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Moonstone
Older mini lop going off food - probable lymphoma
3 4 5
Replies
83
Views
1K
Moonstone
Moonstone
A
Possible underlying cause for dental issues?
Replies
4
Views
68
Apache
A
S
Metacam Dispensing Rule Change in the UK
Replies
12
Views
719
KarenM
KarenM
Back
Top