How much medication is my guinea pig getting?
How much should he be getting?
How often should I give it?
GLOSSARY
HOW MUCH MEDICATION IS MY GUINEA PIG GETTING?
DETERMINING DOSAGE AMOUNT OF A LIQUID SUSPENSIONTo figure out how much of a particular drug your guinea pig IS getting, you need three pieces of information:
Dose in cc -- the amount in cc to give at one time
Weight of your guinea pig in kilos (see Conversion Chart)
Concentration of the drug in the suspension (usually listed in mg/ml). If the concentration of the drug is not written on the container, call your vet and ask how many mg/ml.
With this information, we can determine how many mg of a drug your guinea pig is receiving and compare it to standard dosages for that drug in mg/kg.
Say your cavy's getting 0.625 cc of trimethoprim sulfa. Using our sample pig, we find:
..... The dose in cc is 0.625cc of trimethoprim sulfa.
..... The weight of the pig is exactly 1 kilo (2.2lbs).
..... The concentration of the suspension is the standard of 48mg/cc.
To figure out how many mg of active ingredients he's getting multiply the concentration X the dose in cc to yield the dose in mg:
48 mg/cc X 0.625 cc = 30 mg
He weighs a kilo so the dosage he is getting is:
30 mg/kg (the kg represents his 1 kilo weight)
Check the Antibiotics page. The appropriate dosage is 30 mg/kg q12h so the dose amount prescribed for trimethoprim sulfa (bactrim) was correct.
If our pig was only 500 grams (half a kilo) the dose he was receiving would have been 30mg per his weight of 0.5kg:
30 mg/0.5kg = 60 mg/kg = twice the recommended dose.
So remember: telling someone your guinea pig is getting 0.5cc of baytril is meaningless unless you provide all of the following information:
Dose -- the amount in cc you are giving at one time
Weight of your guinea pig in kilos AND
Concentration of the drug in the suspension in mg/ml (mg/cc). 
HOW MANY CC'S OF A DRUG SHOULD I BE GIVING MY CAVY?
DETERMINING DOSE IN CC -- In order to determine how much of a particular drug your guinea pig should be getting in a liquid suspension, you need three pieces of information: Dosage [amount] (the amount of the drug to be administered per quantity of body weight, usually given in mg/kg (less frequently as mg/lb).
Weight of guinea pig (preferably in kilos, as most drugs list mg/kg).
Concentration of the drug in the suspension (usually listed in mg/ml or mg/cc).
First determine the dose in mg:
Dosage X Weight = Dose in mg (the precise amount of the drug that the cavy should receive)
EXAMPLE: A guinea pig of 0.8 kg needs ivermectin topically at 0.5mg/kg
0.8 kg X 0.5mg/kg = 0.4mg ivermectin
Then determine the dose in cc:
Dose divided by Suspension = Dose in ml (the precise amount of the suspension containing the correct amount of the drug in mg)
EXAMPLE: Ivermectin 1% solution has 10mg/ml (i.e. 10 mg/cc). Calculate dose in cc for the above pig needing 0.4mg ivermectin
Dose divided by suspension is 0.4mg divided by 10 mg/cc = 0.04cc
Note: there are ivermectin dosing charts on the site. See how your calculations compare with the charts. Topical Ivermectin Treatment OR Oral Ivermectin Treatment
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I BE GIVING MY CAVY THIS DRUG?
FREQUENCY The most accurate and easy to understand terminology for describing when to administer drugs is q24h, q12h, q8h etc, where a dose is given and the next dose is given "X" hours later (24 hours, 12 hours, 8 hours, etc.).Since older terminology may mislead the lay person into the belief that doses need not be spaced evenly over a given period of time, avoid the old terminology:
SID = daily
BID = twice daily
TID = three times daily
QID = four times daily
And instead use:
q24h = every 24 hours
q12h = every 12 hours
q8h = every 8 hours
q4h = every 4 hours
A dose that is written as "Oral Dose: 30 mg/kg q12h" means that a dose of 30mg/kg is given every 12 hours, for a total of 60 mg/kg in 24 hours.
GLOSSARY FOR THIS PAGE:
mg = milligram = a unit of mass or weight = the weight of drug itself
ml = milliliter = a unit of capacity = a volume of fluid
cc = cubic centimeter = a unit of capacity = a volume of fluid
1 ml = 1 cc
Many drugs are administered in a liquid suspension:
suspension = an amount of a drug (in mg) mixed with a fluid (in ml) usually represented as mg/ml (since 1 cc = 1 ml, mg/cc is the same thing)
EXAMPLE:
5 mg ivermectin/ml means each ml contains 5 mg of ivermectin
The dose is quantity of a drug to give your guinea pig at one time.
The dosage is the amount (by weight), frequency, and number of doses to give your guinea pig.
dose in mg = amount in mg of drug
dose in cc = amount in cc of liquid suspension containing the drug (see above)
dosage amount = amount of drug (in mg) per specific weight of pig, usually represented in mg/kg
EXAMPLE:
0.5 mg ivermectin/kg means the dosage for ivermectin is 0.5mg for every kilogram of pig
One teaspoon = 5ml (or, more accurately, 4.9290 milliliters)
One "drop" is roughly 0.034 cc (3 drops are about 0.1cc).
It is recommended to use more accurate methods of measurement than drops.