METACAM dosage 0.55ml twice per day ??

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Mike221

Post   » Sun Oct 01, 2017 4:01 pm


Hello,

I have this thread already opened on Guinea Pig Cages forum so I will try to keep it short here.

Vet prescribed dog Metacam(1.5mg/mL) 0.55ml twice per day for 14 days.
That comes to 1.1 mL in 24-hour period or around 1.6 mg/kg.

Recommended dose on Guinea Lynx website and numerous other references I found is 0.2 mg/kg.
So vet prescribed 8 times higher dose.
I found only 1 similar case on this forum 6 years ago, where vet prescribed similar dosage to a pig named Gilbert, and there was lots of discussion and quotes about it. Most people not agreeing.

Short illness history:
Cupko has a clear nasal discharge that appears maybe once per day or even once in two days when he sneezes.
First it was only one nostril, now both of them.
Vet gave us Metacam to fight possible inflammation, since she believes there is no need for antibiotics at this time.
If that doesn't help, then go back for further exam (blood work + x-ray).
First we decided to watch him closely and not use any medication, because his symptoms are so mild.
Then yesterday after being in the playpen for half hour and constantly being active and running and mounting(domination games with his cagemate), he sneezed couple of times and again there was discharge from his both nostrils, more than usual. 2 Days before that nothing and now since then again nothing.

We decided to go with Metacam, but dosage seems very high.
We will contact vet tomorrow morning and possibly get a second opinion.

My main question would be:
Is Metacam used in higher dosage/longer when fighting a possible inflammation in opposite to using it as a pain reliever?

I did my own calculations, and based on the info from this website we started giving him 0.15ml per day (0.07 twice a day),
which comes to 0.22mg. He weights 1100 grams.

Any input is highly appreciated. I am just trying to get as much info as possible

Thanks

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Oct 01, 2017 9:20 pm


You can use 0.5 mg/kg, I believe. The most recent Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary mentions >= (up-to/equal-to) 0.5mg/kg PO, SC q24h for guinea pigs. There is a range. I don't know the answer from your question concerning higher dose for inflammation.

Mike221

Post   » Sun Oct 01, 2017 10:29 pm


Thank you.

I will discuss it with my vet tomorrow and hopefully adjust the dosage.

Have a great evening

Mike221

Post   » Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:22 am


Update:

After hearing back from the exotic vet that has seen Cupko, she said they are giving Metacam to guinea pigs based on the Rat chart.
Although she is aware that recommended for guinea pigs is 0.5 mg/kg, they still follow the Rat chart and never had any problems.
Rats, guinea pigs, hamsters etc. are all rodents and is similar.

She left me a voicemail, as I couldn't reach her during the morning.

Don't know what to say to that.
I am not a veterinarian or a medicine expert.

It is the most reputable animal hospital in my area and a part of the university.

Anyways, we have decided to give him as recommended in Carpenter's book.
So he is getting 0.15 ml twice a day and seems to be doing good.
We'll see by the end of the week if his symptoms are gone and go from there.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:28 am


I found a pdf with some higher doses for rats and mice. They mention three days. Due to possible liver issues, I believe, and the fact that your guinea pig seems to be doing well on the Carpenter's dose, it seems a good choice:
https://animalcare.ubc.ca/sites/default ... 016%29.pdf
Dose for adult rats is 1 mg/kg once daily for up to 3 days.  Dose for adult mice 
is  5 mg/kg* once daily for up to 3 days.  *This is the updated recommended dose for mice.
In this interesting comparison of buprenorphine (0.03 mg/kg SC twice daily for 3 d) and meloxicam in rats (2 mg/kg SC initial dose followed by 1 mg/kg SC once daily for 2 d) , the result was better recovery with the meloxicam. Hard to tell which one actually alleviated the most pain. Buprenorphine tends to knock out an animal and dose must be carefully decided on which may have influenced the apparent better results with the meloxicam. Note the higher dose but short time of 3 days.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2949432/

Mike221

Post   » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:23 pm


Hmmm that's interesting.
So is 2 weeks too long to give guinea pig Meloxicam on the Carpenter's dose?

Cupko was sneezing again yesterday evening and had a discharge from the nose.
2 days before that nothing and nothing today that we would notice.


I booked him in tomorrow for a second opinion at a different vet.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:08 am


Sometimes meloxicam is given long term. I don't think Carpenter's specifies a length of time. Long term, perhaps at a lower dose.

Sounds like he might have a URI too.

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