Metacam for Speedy

[Esstina2]

Speedy weight I kilo has had to go to the vets today as she was struggling to walk. She has had this problem before , and was given cat loxicom . Today a new piggy savvy vet has examined her and she has prescribed dog metacam 0.7 ml once a day, ongoing as the arthritis around Speedys right hock is now quite bad. I did ask if it would be better to split the dose but the vet said with it been stronger than the cat one, once a day would be ok. What are your thoughts please, as I always thought it best to give two doses each day. Thanks in advance

 

[Wiebke]

Speedy weight I kilo has had to go to the vets today as she was struggling to walk. She has had this problem before , and was given cat loxicom . Today a new piggy savvy vet has examined her and she has prescribed dog metacam 0.7 ml once a day, ongoing as the arthritis around Speedys right hock is now quite bad. I did ask if it would be better to split the dose but the vet said with it been stronger than the cat one, once a day would be ok. What are your thoughts please, as I always thought it best to give two doses each day. Thanks in advance

Hi

Guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism so I would personally recommend to split it and have round the clock cover as I do with my own arthritis piggies - I still have four older ladies left, three sows at 7 years/coming up to their 7th birthday and a ca. 5 year old sow (abandoned so age not known) with bad arthritis in her spine but not in her legs.
The dosage that way is comparable to what I have been prescibed for guinea pigs of my own with chronic pain from arthritis and can be safely upped even a little but more if really needed and if there is a further deterioration.
However, long term metacam does build up in the system so giving the full dosage once a day does work for chronic cases eventually as well .

Gabapentin or tramadol can be used for the extreme stages.

 

[Esstina2]

Hi

Guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism so I would personally recommend to split it and have round the clock cover as I do with my own arthritis piggies - I still have four older ladies left, three sows at 7 years/coming up to their 7th birthday and a ca. 5 year old sow (abandoned so age not known) with bad arthritis in her spine but not in her legs.
The dosage that way is comparable to what I have been prescibed for guinea pigs of my own with chronic pain from arthritis and can be safely upped even a little but more if really needed and if there is a further deterioration.
However, long term metacam does build up in the system so giving the full dosage once a day does work for chronic cases eventually as well .

Gabapentin or tramadol can be used for the extreme stages.

Thank you so much

 

[Wheekallweek]

I agree with @Wiebke, I think it's always best to split metacam into two doses a day for all day coverage. Hopefully with the stronger dose Speedy will be feeling much better soon

 

[Swissgreys]

I always split Metacam doses (even with dog metacam).
It wears off faster than with other animals and once the pain breaks through it is much harder to manage.

 

[Esstina2]

Thank you so much

0.07 ml per day isn't cutting it, I'm going to ring vets and ask if I can safely increase it to 0.05 twice az day, has anyone else given this much to a piggy? She weighs I kilo. Thank you

 

[YvonneBlue]

0.07 ml per day isn't cutting it, I'm going to ring vets and ask if I can safely increase it to 0.05 twice az day, has anyone else given this much to a piggy? She weighs I kilo. Thank you

Should the dose be 0.7ml rather than 0.07ml? I have three older piggies with arthritis and they are on 0.6ml/0.7ml of dog metacam twice daily. One of them is also on Gabapentin. We also give 4Joints which is a supplement 0.4ml once a day.

 

[Esstina2]

Should the dose be 0.7ml rather than 0.07ml? I have three older piggies with arthritis and they are on 0.6ml/0.7ml of dog metacam twice daily. One of them is also on Gabapentin. We also give 4Joints which is a supplement 0.4ml once a day.

I'm gonna ring up in morning and query it, but it defo says 0.07ml. The vet even showed me how to measure it in the syringe, it's a tiny amount

 

[Esstina2]

Should the dose be 0.7ml rather than 0.07ml? I have three older piggies with arthritis and they are on 0.6ml/0.7ml of dog metacam twice daily. One of them is also on Gabapentin. We also give 4Joints which is a supplement 0.4ml once a day.

Also the prescription is for meloxidyl 1.5mg if that means anything to anyone?

 

[Wheekallweek]

Larry and Eric had the dog metacam like your piggy. They had a much higher dose than 0.07ml, if I remember correctly Larry was on 0.4ml twice daily.
I'd definitely check that with your vet

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

I'm gonna ring up in morning and query it, but it defo says 0.07ml. The vet even showed me how to measure it in the syringe, it's a tiny amount

0.07ml dog metacam would be the same amount of active ingredient as 0.21ml cat metacam, which is what my vet says is the appropriate dose according to the documentation....Unfortunately experience here shows that that amount does almost nothing for their pain, as guineas can tolerate much higher amounts pro rata than cats, and metabolise it much quicker as well. But most general vets aren't aware of this (any more than the manufacturers).

 

[YvonneBlue]

I was actually talking to our vet today about Metacam and he said that many general vets are not aware of the research done into the dosage for guinea pigs. It has been proven that guinea pigs require a much higher dosage per kg of body weight than either rabbits or cats.

Perhaps you could ask your vet to seek advice from an exotics vet who specializes in guinea pigs.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I’m currently giving 0.4ml of dog Loxicom, twice daily, to a guinea pig who weighs 840g. The dose you’ve been prescribed, won’t be providing sufficient pain relief.