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Metacam dose

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Esstina2

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all, you may remember my Speedy recently had her dose of dog metacam increased from 0.07 once a day to 0.07 twice a day which has really helped her, however today she seems to be struggling again with her mobility. She weighs 990 gms . Would it be ok to give her a bit more safely just to get her moving again, the vet said she can have up to 0.18 but I think that is still too low? My vet isn't exotic so I am changing to another that is, but could do with a bit of advise today , thank you.
 
I’m afraid we can’t tell you what dosage to give, only a vet is legally allowed to do so.
 
Yes I thought so. Iv just registered her at another vets, exotic, hoping that they will prove more knowledgable than previous vets and be able to give her some relief and me more up to date advice
 
Actually it isn't that much more really is it, il see what new vet says , if they let me increase her dose a bit hopefully it will help her, thank you
 
Esstina2 said:
O.2 ml, could that be o.o2 or is it defo o.2? I ask cos that's a lot compared to what speedy has
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If jenny has that dose twice a day, it's double what Speedy gets......I'm defo going to do more research b4 seeing new vet tomo. I only hope this new vet is more piggy savvy xx thank u for replying
 
That is a very small dose for what they can safely have, I currently have several of mine on the dog metacam and all are on doses from 0.6ml-0.8ml twice daily, just as a comparison, with weights ranging from 700g to just over 1kg.

Unfortunately metacam is still commonly underdosed by non exotics vets as cats and dogs do not tolerate the drug in such high doses! Fingers crossed you get on well at the new vet 🙂
 
Tigermoth said:
She's also just started on gabapentin 0.04ml twice daily...
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My Nancy is 1kg. She's on 0.4ml dog metacam twice a day and 0.2ml gabapentin twice a day. She was on 0.3ml twice a day of gabapentin before we lowered it. So what your piggie is on is low, but I would absolutely ask a vet before increasing the dose.
 
Tigermoth said:
It is definitely 0.2ml. So a total daily dose of 0.4ml Vs your daily dose of 0.18...
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Iv just been to a new vet , she has put dose up initially to 0.2 ml and said to give it as one single dose. Her argument for this is that if I split it and only give half a dose, it may not be enough to help Speedy with pain management. Can I have your thoughts please, as I thought it best to split and give twice daily. She also said the dose can easily be upped if required which is what I wanted to hear.thanks in advance.
 
Esstina2 said:
Iv just been to a new vet , she has put dose up initially to 0.2 ml and said to give it as one single dose. Her argument for this is that if I split it and only give half a dose, it may not be enough to help Speedy with pain management. Can I have your thoughts please, as I thought it best to split and give twice daily. She also said the dose can easily be upped if required which is what I wanted to hear.thanks in advance.
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Split in half it would only be 0.1ml which is a small dose. I would stick with what the vet says. Try what they've said and if it doesn't work ring them and ask if you can give the 0.2ml twice a day.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It is best to be given twice a day but you have to do what your vet says.
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Not if they are wrong it isn't?
Lucy3733 said:
Split in half it would only be 0.1ml which is a small dose. I would stick with what the vet says. Try what they've said and if it doesn't work ring them and ask if you can give the 0.2ml twice a day.
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Yes thanks that's a good idea x
 
Esstina2 said:
Not if they are wrong it isn't?
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Legally you can only do what your vet tells you, we also can’t tell you to split it.
Your vet is not wrong. Twice a day matches a piggy’s metabolism but this dose is not really big enough to split and doing so could leave her with unmanaged pain.
 
Esstina2 said:
Iv just been to a new vet , she has put dose up initially to 0.2 ml and said to give it as one single dose. Her argument for this is that if I split it and only give half a dose, it may not be enough to help Speedy with pain management. Can I have your thoughts please, as I thought it best to split and give twice daily. She also said the dose can easily be upped if required which is what I wanted to hear.thanks in advance.
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Sigh. That’s frustrating. I’d very quickly be saying it’s not sufficient.
 
Tigermoth said:
Sigh. That’s frustrating. I’d very quickly be saying it’s not sufficient.
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Hi, iv been to see an experienced exotic vet today and finally feel I'm getting somewhere. The vet i saw last week put Speedy on 0.2ml once a day of dog metacam which wasn't sufficient in my opinion. The vet today has increased her dose to 0.3 ml twice a day which seems quite a jump up. Can anyone just reassure me that this dose is manageable for a 930 grm piggy? Thank you
 
Esstina2 said:
Hi, iv been to see an experienced exotic vet today and finally feel I'm getting somewhere. The vet i saw last week put Speedy on 0.2ml once a day of dog metacam which wasn't sufficient in my opinion. The vet today has increased her dose to 0.3 ml twice a day which seems quite a jump up. Can anyone just reassure me that this dose is manageable for a 930 grm piggy? Thank you
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0.3ml is totally fine. My Nancy is on 0.4ml twice a day and she is about 1080g but when she was 960g she was still on 0.4ml. There are a few vets that will give up to 1ml twice a day of dog metacam per 1kg.
 
Lucy3733 said:
0.3ml is totally fine. My Nancy is on 0.4ml twice a day and she is about 1080g but when she was 960g she was still on 0.4ml. There are a few vets that will give up to 1ml twice a day of dog metacam per 1kg.
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Thank you so much
 
Esstina2 said:
Hi, iv been to see an experienced exotic vet today and finally feel I'm getting somewhere. The vet i saw last week put Speedy on 0.2ml once a day of dog metacam which wasn't sufficient in my opinion. The vet today has increased her dose to 0.3 ml twice a day which seems quite a jump up. Can anyone just reassure me that this dose is manageable for a 930 grm piggy? Thank you
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Yay! Sounds much more appropriate.
 
A piggy savvy vet will not over prescribe any common medication. There are many factors that might influence a vet as to whether they prescribe once a day, twice a day, or a lower dose which is why the responses on here are more varied. Higher doses alongside secondary pain relief is appropriate for older piggies or terminal where quality of life being maintained comes before longevity. They may also be considered where pain relief is seen as needed for short term only e.g. post surgery.
Regardless of knowledge no vet wants to leave an animal suffering and in pain so, whilst it's good to do your research and try to support your vet with facts, there is an element of trusting the vet to make the right decisions based on their training and experience. Obviously it's much easier to do this when you find a vet with experience of piggies.
 
Lady Kelly said:
A piggy savvy vet will not over prescribe any common medication. There are many factors that might influence a vet as to whether they prescribe once a day, twice a day, or a lower dose which is why the responses on here are more varied. Higher doses alongside secondary pain relief is appropriate for older piggies or terminal where quality of life being maintained comes before longevity. They may also be considered where pain relief is seen as needed for short term only e.g. post surgery.
Regardless of knowledge no vet wants to leave an animal suffering and in pain so, whilst it's good to do your research and try to support your vet with facts, there is an element of trusting the vet to make the right decisions based on their training and experience. Obviously it's much easier to do this when you find a vet with experience of piggies.
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Iv used the same vet practice all my life for all my pets, and always believed them to be exotic as they have helped many of my piggies over the last 20 years, including performing surgeries, so I had no reason to think they weren't. It was only recently with Speedy, I realised that their knowledge of piggies wasn't as extensive as i had thought which is why I have now registered elsewhere, with the previous vets blessing. I'm thankful I trusted my instinct and did my own research as it led me to a more experienced vet!
 
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