Looking for a vet Gloucestershire area

[Charlottibiscot]

Hi all, to be straightforward I'm looking for an experienced vet around the Gloucestershire/Bristol area.

I'm having issues with my current vets being very apprehensive to go up to an off label dosage with my guinea pig Mabel (they're saying 0.1ml Dog Metacam ONCE daily, and I'm saying 0.1ml TWICE daily due to their increased metabolism and the fact that Mabel is clearly in pain and starts to lose weight when I give her 0.1ml.once a day).

My vet surgery is not happy with me and have gotten to the point they keep repeating themselves on the phone etc not happy to even let me book an appointment with a vet.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. I've heard of Langford vets in Bristol - are they experienced in guinea pig dosage? Are they recommended? Are they more pricey?

Any other recommendations much appreciated. Right now I've run out of metacam medication for my guinea pig unfortunately which will result in weight loss for her so this is a rather immediate issue.

I've had a look at the vet list too but my surgery that I go to is listed on there so I'm looking more for other people's experiences now.

Thanks

 

[piggieminder]

I have heard Vale Vets in Dursley are very good.

I use Highcroft on the Wells Road in Bristol but that's probably a bit far for you. They are brilliant with guinea pigs, great with dosage of dog Metacam and other off license meds. They are expensive but brilliant with piggies.

Little Wheekers use Emerson's Green Vets or Tasker and Whatkin's for their piggies. I don't know if Emerson's Green would be nearer for you. Tasker and Whatkin's are Portishead I think.

Good Luck, sending your Mable healing vibes.

 

[Gem789]

Hi all, to be straightforward I'm looking for an experienced vet around the Gloucestershire/Bristol area.

I'm having issues with my current vets being very apprehensive to go up to an off label dosage with my guinea pig Mabel (they're saying 0.1ml Dog Metacam ONCE daily, and I'm saying 0.1ml TWICE daily due to their increased metabolism and the fact that Mabel is clearly in pain and starts to lose weight when I give her 0.1ml.once a day).

My vet surgery is not happy with me and have gotten to the point they keep repeating themselves on the phone etc not happy to even let me book an appointment with a vet.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. I've heard of Langford vets in Bristol - are they experienced in guinea pig dosage? Are they recommended? Are they more pricey?

Any other recommendations much appreciated. Right now I've run out of metacam medication for my guinea pig unfortunately which will result in weight loss for her so this is a rather immediate issue.

I've had a look at the vet list too but my surgery that I go to is listed on there so I'm looking more for other people's experiences now.

Thanks

I hope you can find a decent vet for Mabel.My vets normally dose 0.4ml of dog loxicom twice daily depending on the weight of the piggy and with a very poorly piggy in the past I was allowed to give 0.6ml twice a day while she was in a lot of pain.

 

[VickiA]

It’s so frustrating when you know they need more pain relief than the vet is prescribing. My Iris is on 0.4 of dog strength twice daily. So I feel your pain. Good luck trying other vets.

 

[Charlottibiscot]

It’s so frustrating when you know they need more pain relief than the vet is prescribing. My Iris is on 0.4 of dog strength twice daily. So I feel your pain. Good luck trying other vets.

Thanks both. I had a call from my vet just now wanting to book her in for an appointment tomorrow (yay!) to properly discuss medications + possible use of gabapentin + another look at her teeth, which is good news as long as we leave with the right dosage!

He's apprehensive about ulcers/kidney issues because it's for long-term use but in my mind anything is better than her losing weight and 0.2ml daily (1.5mg/ml) is a low dose from my research? so the risk is very low imo, but I'm happy with using whatever works tbh.

I'll keep working with this vet for now and see what happens very unhappy with the receptionist staff being so cold tho - I'm not a demon, all I want is for my piggy to feel better, my eye twitches all day from the stress of this

 

[Charlottibiscot]

I have heard Vale Vets in Dursley are very good.

I use Highcroft on the Wells Road in Bristol but that's probably a bit far for you. They are brilliant with guinea pigs, great with dosage of dog Metacam and other off license meds. They are expensive but brilliant with piggies.

Little Wheekers use Emerson's Green Vets or Tasker and Whatkin's for their piggies. I don't know if Emerson's Green would be nearer for you. Tasker and Whatkin's are Portishead I think.

Good Luck, sending your Mable healing vibes.

Thank you so much! I'll save this information for later if I need to use it

 

[piggieminder]

Guinea pigs metabolism is different to cats and dogs, they can tolerate metacam at higher doses which is also why they need it twice a day. I have two boars who have been on .4ml - .5ml dog strength for arthritis since October 2022. The vets later added in Gabapentin, we had to adjust the dose down slightly for one of the boys as he was getting lethargic. Red and Brillo do have 6 monthly check ups to be able to receive their repeat prescriptions but as they are wonky geriatrics that's a good thing to do anyway. Brillo has gradually lost weight as he aged so the dose of Metacam has been gradually reduced over time to account for this. The only side effect of the Metacam we have noticed is that Brillo kept having soft poop after about 2 years, we reduced the dose by .05ml and have not had this problem since.

 

[Charlottibiscot]

Guinea pigs metabolism is different to cats and dogs, they can tolerate metacam at higher doses which is also why they need it twice a day. I have two boars who have been on .4ml - .5ml dog strength for arthritis since October 2022. The vets later added in Gabapentin, we had to adjust the dose down slightly for one of the boys as he was getting lethargic. Red and Brillo do have 6 monthly check ups to be able to receive their repeat prescriptions but as they are wonky geriatrics that's a good thing to do anyway. Brillo has gradually lost weight as he aged so the dose of Metacam has been gradually reduced over time to account for this. The only side effect of the Metacam we have noticed is that Brillo kept having soft poop after about 2 years, we reduced the dose by .05ml and have not had this problem since.

Thank you very much for this, it really helps to hear your experience.

I'm seeing Mabel back to her normal self at a far lower dose (compared to your pigs) of 0.1ml (dog Metacam 1.5mg/ml) twice daily, although she's only tiny at 0.7kg now.

Yes, I found this study on guinea pig metabolism regarding Metacam which is interesting and hopefully I can show my vet!

This would make the dosage I am giving her 0.15mg twice daily which is within guidelines according to the packet dosage instructions once you factor in piggy metabolism and her weight (she can go up to 0.35mg per dose, with a maximum of 2 doses in 24h - like you mentioned, this is different for each piggy/temporally depending on guinea pig weight).

Anyways, I shall go to sleep now and discuss this with my vet tomorrow and see what they have to say!

The research behind correct dosage is quite fascinating to me.

Thanks again!