• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Dog metacam dose

JosieK

JosieK

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 28, 2021
Messages
128
Reaction score
271
Points
340
Location
West Yorkshire
Hi,

My Dougal has a possible UTI/bladder sludge and is squeezing while peeing. No blood or anything in his pee luckily.The vet couldn't find any stones but we are due to go back next week if no improvement to have X rays done.

Dougal has been prescribed Baytril 0.7ml once a day and Dog Metacam 0.3 ml once a day.

Do these doses sound right? I am thinking the Metacam is very low, not sure about the Baytril.

He is a very large boy at around 1800 grams of weight.

Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want to give him too much medication but I feel like the Metacam is not really touching the pain.
 
I’m not sure on the dosage but I know they need to have it twice daily as they metabolise it quickly. So each dose only lasts 12 hours.

I’m sure someone will be along soon to tell you more about the dosage.
 
I agree, he should be having metacam twice a day. For his size that dose seems low to me but doses can vary a lot depending on what is being treated and the level of pain. If it is making no difference I would speak to your vet about increasing the dose as well as the frequency. I have a sow weighing around 1.1kg on long term dog metacam for bladder issues who gets 0.4ml twice a day.
 
:agr: metacam can be given in a sliding scale according to weight and pain level. It can safely be given twice daily in the short term as it is metabolised so quickly by piggies. My own experience has been that for a piggy of that weight I would expect to be giving a higher dose and twice daily. It may be worth speaking to the vet to see if they will describe a higher dose twice daily.
 
We would need to know the concentration of the Baytril to assess the amount, as the dosage is assessed in mg/kg. It may appear as a percent concentration or in mg/mL.
 
I have just been back to the vet for X rays and poor Dougal has bladder stones. I am just going down to the vet again now to give him a cuddle, he is due to have surgery in a couple of hours. Please send healing vibes his way ❤️
 
Oh no poor Dougal. Sending lots of healing vibes his way. Fingers crossed for a swift recovery. 🤞
 
It is such a worrying time when our piggies are poorly. Sending you a hug 🤗
 
I just called the vet. They said he is still quiet but moved around a bit. Apparently he has had some syringe food earlier and they put in some greens but they are not sure how much he has eaten by himself yet. They are monitoring him and will step in with more syringe food and water if needed. He is on pain relief. Does anyone have any experience with recovery times? Does this sound normal or should I be worried? He had the operation around 2:30/3:00 pm today I think.
 
It really depends on what they are giving him for pain relief as some things will relieve pain well but can supress the appetite. They will be trying to get that balance right. It's also going to be the time when he's naturally more inclined to sleep so you'll have more idea by the morning. It's still very early on - he's survived the surgery which is great and if he's moved around a bit and found the greens he'll know where everything is if he's ready. You might have to supplement him when he comes home for a while though. He sounds like a big ol' boy!
 
Free Ranger said:
It really depends on what they are giving him for pain relief as some things will relieve pain well but can supress the appetite. They will be trying to get that balance right. It's also going to be the time when he's naturally more inclined to sleep so you'll have more idea by the morning. It's still very early on - he's survived the surgery which is great and if he's moved around a bit and found the greens he'll know where everything is if he's ready. You might have to supplement him when he comes home for a while though. He sounds like a big ol' boy!
Click to expand...
Thanks so much, I hope he makes it through recovery, we just love him so much. I am naturally a very anxious person so doubt I'll be getting much sleep tonight. I just feel so bad thinking of him in a strange place and in pain but I know that the nurses can look after him better than I can and he is in the right place.
 
Recovery times can vary depending on various things such as how long he was under and what type of anaesthetic was used as well as the pig himself. Injectable anaesthetics take longer to recover from than just gas so he may feel drowsy for sometime. As @Free Ranger says the pain meds will make a difference too. If he has had vetergesic, for example, he will be away with the fairies and have suppressed appetite.
 
I will ask more details in the morning about medications when I speak to the vet. Apparently he has had 5 stones removed so he must be quite sore 😔 I am just crossing my fingers that I don't get a call with bad news during the night.
 
JosieK said:
Hi, the Baytril bottle says 2.5% strength
Click to expand...
2.5% concentration is 25mg/mL, so .7 mL of 25mg/mL solution would be 17.5mg. Your piggy is 1800g or 1.8kg, so the dosing he's receiving is 9.7 mg/kg. Normal dosing for a guinea pig ranges from 2.5-10 mg/kg when given twice a day. You're giving once a day, so equivalent to 4.85 mg/kg if it were twice a day, or midlevel dosing.

JosieK said:
I have just been back to the vet for X rays and poor Dougal has bladder stones. I am just going down to the vet again now to give him a cuddle, he is due to have surgery in a couple of hours. Please send healing vibes his way ❤️
Click to expand...

JosieK said:
I have just had an update, the surgery went well and he is slowly waking up now. Now I just hope the recovery goes well. He will stay in hospital over night and I will get another update at 9pm tonight
Click to expand...
So sorry to hear your piggy needed surgery! Best wishes to him for a speedy and complete recovery!
 
Dougal has been home since this morning. He seems exhausted and is sleeping a lot. We have managed to keep up his medication and tiny bits of critical care here and there. He's not too keen on hay yet but had had some veg and also fresh grass which I am hoping is somewhat of a replacement for hay? Will try to get some more critical care into him in a while but it's a struggle.
 
It may be the anaesthetic is still to wear off. Hopefully he’ll be more alert soon. Do keep trying with the top ups given he’s hardly eating hay. Fresh grass is good as he needs fibre to replace the hay he’s not eating.

You could try offering the critical care on a spoon or in a bowl. Hope he’s eating more soon and at least maintaining his weight. You’re doing good ☺️
 
You're doing good to find any grass at all! It's like gold dust around here.
Well done on keeping him going and comfortable. What painkiller is he on? In the past I've found opioids supress the appetite but I've limited experience and some might be better than others. They do alleviate pain though...
 
If he's eating grass that's good, it contains the fibre he needs and a lot of moisture too. It is often the go to food for poorly pigs as it is what their natural diet would mostly consist of.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top