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Meloxicam making pig drowsy?

S

shug

New Born Pup
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Hi all,

New pig owner here! We've had Sugar and Honey for almost a month now and they are both so lovely.

Unfortunately, a couple of days after getting Sugar, we noticed a head tilt and some irritation with her right ear, so we got her to the vet. She was put on baytril 0.2 twice a day for two weeks. She seemed fine on it (if squirmy taking it), and was definitely livelier. Her head tilt started to improve.

We took her back to the vet after the two weeks, and unfortunately the middle ear infection is still there. The vet told us to carry on the baytril at the same dosage for a further week, as well as giving her meloxicam 0.17 once a day (first day was 0.33). Since then, we've noticed the head tilt is coming back more prominently, and she's resting a lot more. Whenever I see her she's in hiding, which I wouldn't have thought was odd if I hadn't seen her running around before. She also does fight back still against the syringe, but it's definitely not as much as it used to be (which may just be that she's not fussed anymore?). She's eating still, but I'm not sure if she's doing so when I'm not feeding her.

Do any of these medicines cause drowsiness? Or is this the ear infection?

I'm so worried about my little piggy! Any help would be great.
 
They don’t cause drowsiness.

It sounds like the infection is not going.
Having her pain meds low and then seeing a change in her behaviour would indicate she is in pain.
Is she on dog or cat meloxicom?
How much does she weigh?
0.17ml once a day is tiny amount and as low as the vet can go. Potentially bordering on not doing much. But it depends on their weights. Piggies do need their pain meds twice a day as they metabolize them within 12 hours.
Ear infections are rather painful.

It’s so important that you weigh her every morning while she is unwell (otherwise they should be weighed once a week as part of routine care).
This is the only way to monitor you are getting enough syringe feed into her each day to keep her weight stable. And also to know if she is eating independently. Hay is 75% of what they need in a day and it’s intake cannot be gauged by eye.
You are aiming for around 60ml if syringe feed per day but the weight checks are the thing which tell you whether she’s getting the right amount
Eating hurts when they’ve got an ear infection so her fighting could be in response to pain.

Wiebke

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI
3 The Weekly and the Daily...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures'

Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and death
12...
  • Like
  • Love
 
Piggies&buns said:
They don’t cause drowsiness.

It sounds like the infection is not going.
Having her pain meds low and then seeing a change in her behaviour would indicate she is in pain.
Is she on dog or cat meloxicom?
How much does she weigh?
0.17ml once a day is tiny amount and as low as the vet can go. Potentially bordering on not doing much. But it depends on their weights. Piggies do need their pain meds twice a day as they metabolize them within 12 hours.
Ear infections are rather painful.

It’s so important that you weigh her every morning while she is unwell (otherwise they should be weighed once a week as part of routine care).
This is the only way to monitor you are getting enough syringe feed into her each day to keep her weight stable. And also to know if she is eating independently. Hay is 75% of what they need in a day and it’s intake cannot be gauged by eye.
You are aiming for around 60ml if syringe feed per day but the weight checks are the thing which tell you whether she’s getting the right amount
Eating hurts when they’ve got an ear infection so her fighting could be in response to pain.

Wiebke

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI
3 The Weekly and the Daily...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures'

Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and death
12...
  • Like
  • Love
Click to expand...
Thanks for this!

I'm so worried about her, I hate seeing her go from happy to this. We're going back to the vet tomorrow so I will mention all of this and see if we can boost her pain killers.
 
shug said:
Hi all,

New pig owner here! We've had Sugar and Honey for almost a month now and they are both so lovely.

Unfortunately, a couple of days after getting Sugar, we noticed a head tilt and some irritation with her right ear, so we got her to the vet. She was put on baytril 0.2 twice a day for two weeks. She seemed fine on it (if squirmy taking it), and was definitely livelier. Her head tilt started to improve.

We took her back to the vet after the two weeks, and unfortunately the middle ear infection is still there. The vet told us to carry on the baytril at the same dosage for a further week, as well as giving her meloxicam 0.17 once a day (first day was 0.33). Since then, we've noticed the head tilt is coming back more prominently, and she's resting a lot more. Whenever I see her she's in hiding, which I wouldn't have thought was odd if I hadn't seen her running around before. She also does fight back still against the syringe, but it's definitely not as much as it used to be (which may just be that she's not fussed anymore?). She's eating still, but I'm not sure if she's doing so when I'm not feeding her.

Do any of these medicines cause drowsiness? Or is this the ear infection?

I'm so worried about my little piggy! Any help would be great.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry. The middle ear capsule is a walled-off system and therefore much more difficult to reach medically. :(
It is the infection and not the analgesic that is the root of your girl's symptoms.

The metacam/meloxicam is very much at the lowest end and so is the baytril. Middle ear infection is very painful, as I know from my own experience. It impacts on your jaw movement, appetite, balance etc. How old is your girl?

Please continue medicating and feeding. Weigh her on your kitchen scales first thing the morning when the daily weight swing is lowest so for best day to day comparison, which then helps you to know whether you have been feeding enough or need to feed more often over the coming 24 hours.

All you can do is hang on in there as best as you can right now and hope that she makes it through. Do you have rabbits as well?

Here is our Crisis and Emergency Care information collection:

Wiebke

Thread 'Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment'

1 Statement
2 Emergency assessment and accessing vets
- How urgent is my guinea pig's problem?
- Finding an emergency vet
- Seeing a vet not familiar with guinea pigs (including lists of safe and dangerous medications)
3 First Aid care and easily available products
- General 'always have at home' stuff and comfort measures for very ill guinea pigs
- Improvising support feed; recovery formulas, probiotics, vitamin C and...
  • Like

My fingers are firmly crossed. I wish I had better news. You are doing all you can.
 
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