Metacam dose? Syringe feeding help

Hi female rabbit had Spey. Not much confidence in vet. Said to give her 0.8ml metacam once a day plus 2 paracetamol. Which I am not going to do as paracetamol apparently destroy her liver. Is it ok to give her 0.8ml every 12 hours - so twice a day? She is 2.5kg. any help?

Also she won't take oral syringe even wrapped up in a towel. She pushes it out with her tongue and refuses to swallow. It's a massive 60ml one so I've ordered smaller ones from Amazon but I expect the critical care will need to be made with more water? As it smaller. Been trying to smear it on her paws so she lick it off.

She is eating fresh greens and has tiny poops. Just needs the critical care feed as not eating pellets yet.

Hi! I’ve never heard of giving rabbits paracetamol and definitely wouldn’t do it myself so I think you’re right in not giving it her. When my bunny was spayed we also had to give her metacam every 12 hours but I have a feeling we only gave her 0.5ml each time in a 1ml syringe. I could be wrong as this was a while ago now but I think that’s what our vet told us to give her. I would definitely recommend using a 1ml syringe over a 60ml as this is likely very uncomfortable for her due to its large size in her tiny mouth (not sure why you’d be given such a large syringe in the first place). Don’t get me wrong it can be a struggle giving rabbits medicine, but the only advice is give is ideally get another person to help, put the bunny on a high surface where they can’t jump down from and ask the person helping to hold and comfort her there whilst you give the medicine. Put the syringe at the side of her teeth/tongue/mouth, by lifting up their lip a little and there should be an opening where you can give her the medicine. Make sure you push the syringe back far enough that she swallows the medicine but not so far that you’re shoving it all down the back of her throat. Hard to explain how to do this but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

As for the critical care, you can use a small 1ml syringe if your bunny takes this easier, and yes you will have to mix it with water. I think it’s around 2 parts water to 1 part critical care I think (don’t quote me on that - look on the packet and it will tell you) but if you are using a smaller syringe then you will most likely have to add more water in order to make sure it will actually go in the syringe as critical care can be quite thick. Do the same thing with the critical case in terms of feeding it her as I outlined above regarding the medicine, just give it her slower to allow her to chew it and give lots of breaks to try and reduce how stressed she gets.

I hope my advice helps and what you’re describing sounds typical of how bunnies act after spaying, she should return to normal within a week or two hopefully!

Zoe99 said:

Hi female rabbit had Spey. Not much confidence in vet. Said to give her 0.8ml metacam once a day plus 2 paracetamol. Which I am not going to do as paracetamol apparently destroy her liver. Is it ok to give her 0.8ml every 12 hours - so twice a day? She is 2.5kg. any help?

Also she won't take oral syringe even wrapped up in a towel. She pushes it out with her tongue and refuses to swallow. It's a massive 60ml one so I've ordered smaller ones from Amazon but I expect the critical care will need to be made with more water? As it smaller. Been trying to smear it on her paws so she lick it off.

She is eating fresh greens and has tiny poops. Just needs the critical care feed as not eating pellets yet.

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Which Metacam is it? The cat one or the dog one? just they are different strengths, so to work out dose would need to know.

I use a large syringe like that for CC but smaller ones work too, if they're really small you can just make two up at a time etc. I find making the CC less wet easier to get them to take it sometimes, it's tough though some buns seems to be very against it. It's good she's eating something, you could see if she'll just eat more greens and slowly start nibbling hay again if the syringe feeding is stressing her out. Imo as long as there's output and she's eating it should hopefully improve and go back to normal.


I can't believe your vet said to give her paracetamol though! Damn, I assume you're looking for a new vet? If you post your rough location in rabbit chat and ask for exotic vet suggestions, people might know of one near by you if not there's a list here -

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ve...s-that-have-been-recommended-by-rabbit-owners

but not all vets worth seeing are on it, I found my vet through asking for recommendations on here

Hope this helps and sending lots of vibes for your bun

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Metacam comes in different strengths - dog or cat. This means that we cannot safely answer your question on dosage. The dosage will also depend on the weight of the rabbit.

If I were you I would contact your vet and say you do not want to give Paracetamol and so what would they suggest as a reasonable Metacam dosage twice a day for your rabbit.

Regarding the syringe-feeding I sympathise as it is not always easy with some rabbits. I would try mixing the critical care with some organic baby food (with suitable ingredients for a rabbit). As I think Shimmer advised on another of your threads, your aim is to get more food into her tummy to increase her output. Perhaps even try liquidising some green vegetables with some pellets or critical care. She may even eat it herself out of a bowl.

Good luck

When Doughnut was ill I gave her 0.8ml twice a day of the dog one and she was only 1kg. That was the dose my specialist told me to give.

Graciee said:

Which Metacam is it? The cat one or the dog one? just they are different strengths, so to work out dose would need to know.

I use a large syringe like that for CC but smaller ones work too, if they're really small you can just make two up at a time etc. I find making the CC less wet easier to get them to take it sometimes, it's tough though some buns seems to be very against it. It's good she's eating something, you could see if she'll just eat more greens and slowly start nibbling hay again if the syringe feeding is stressing her out. Imo as long as there's output and she's eating it should hopefully improve and go back to normal.


I can't believe your vet said to give her paracetamol though! Damn, I assume you're looking for a new vet? If you post your rough location in rabbit chat and ask for exotic vet suggestions, people might know of one near by you if not there's a list here -

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ve...s-that-have-been-recommended-by-rabbit-owners

but not all vets worth seeing are on it, I found my vet through asking for recommendations on here

Hope this helps and sending lots of vibes for your bun

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A well respected Exotics Specialist has recommended using paracetamol for pain relief for my rabbit. Although unusual it can prove beneficial in certain circumstances.

Sarahbun said:

A well respected Exotics Specialist has recommended using paracetamol for pain relief for my rabbit. Although unusual it can prove beneficial in certain circumstances.

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Wow that's interesting! How did they dose it?

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My Bailey just finished taking his Metacam. he is 2.2 kg and he was taking the dog Metacam twice daily of 0,8ml.
If your bunny is eating her greens and hay I wouldn’t worry about the pellets until she’s better.
When giving our rabbit medicine we place him on a towel on the table and one person puts their hand under his head to keep it up slightly and holds him down with the other and then theirs like a gap Beside side teeth that we get the syringe into.

Graciee said:

Wow that's interesting! How did they dose it?

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http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

Jack's-Jane said:

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

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Thanks Jane. So it's completely safe? I swear I remember my Vet saying something about it having negative effects before, unless I'm thinking of something else! Also is it considered normal pain relief after a spay? TIL.

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Graciee said:

Thanks Jane. So it's completely safe? I swear I remember my Vet saying something about it having negative effects before, unless I'm thinking of something else! Also is it considered normal pain relief after a spay? TIL.

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IME it has never been prescribed for any Rabbit I have cared for since 1998. It is certainly not considered to be a 'routine' analgesic choice. But in certain circumstances a Vet may consider prescribing it. It's not 'dangerous' as such, not like giving oral Penicillin, IYSWIM x