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Giving Loxicom/metacam For The First Time

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Hank288

Hank288

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I went to the vets yesterday with Dotty who is still not eating well. She was given ephiren or something like that (it was an appetite stimulant). She also gave me loxicom for cats so I have the small syringe. I was told to give her 0.5ml once per day. She is having it as the vet said it would reduce inflammation in her mouth if there still was any to see if this is the problem.
Dotty weighs 1kg so is this dose right.
Also does she need probiotics 1 hr after or is that just for antibiotics?
I am going to be syringe feeding her so I can add some probiotics into that for her. The vet hoped that me getting more fluids into her would fix her sticky poo as well.
Just wanted some advice having never given medication.
Thanks
 
I'm sorry I can't help, but hope someone else can soon. Hope your piggy gets well soon
 
which syringe do you have? is it the actual metacam syringe or have they given you a normal 1ml syringe? the actual metacam syringe is a pain to convert the doses with so we usually get given a normal 1ml syringe and a brown meds bottle to pour some of the metacam into and syringe up from there.

the dose sounds very low. the dog metacam strength is 3x that of the cat metacam and 0.5ml once a day with that would be classed as a lower dose. inflammation doses tend to be even higher than doses given for pain relief aswell. you could perhaps discuss this with the vet and see what they say. it really depends on the amount of inflammation the vet thinks could possibly be there, and if she has any other heath issues at the moment that could mean that a lower dose is better. only the vet can answer that really.

a probiotic doesn't have to be given at the same time as metacam, however if she has soft poops then it could help, and get her to drink more water aswell at the same time. i use the avipro plus one - a pinch in 1ml water :)
 
can you get to ashleigh vets in whalley range? you really won't get better around our area :)

eta: was she given metacam after the dental to be given at home? if not, this will be why she has been struggling :(
 
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I think the dosage is right, I seem to remember my previous vet (being an excellent vet) saying that 0.5ml was the maximum dose as I was told that was the most I could go up to with Bea's end of life care if she was struggling on a lower dose.

I would say that if her guts aren't quite up to speed, probiotics couldn't hurt to give her. I don't think it needs to be an hour afterwards as that is usually antibiotics. I hope she starts to make a recovery soon.
 
Sounds a bit low to me too as the Cat Metacam dose is usually higher than the dog one if I remember correctly. With dog Metacam I dose at 0.2ml twice a day. I would recommend splitting the dose in 2 aswell due to the fact that pigs have a fast metabolism.
 
for comparison, mollie is on 0.5ml dog metacam twice a day at the moment (prescribed by specialist exotics vet)- doses seem to vary alot, but the more specialist vets tend to give higher doses (or what they consider adequate/normal doses)

if you could though, i would really recommend going to ashleigh vets. they take referrals from a very wide area around here so it is possible that your vet now uses them for referrals aswell should an animal require it :)
 
@biscandmatt your observation is spot on about dosage rates. My specialist exotics vet always gives what others consider to be high doses but she gives them for limited periods with planned reviews at regular intervals. However I'm not a vet so can only follow the recommended dosage prescribed. @Hank288 if you doubt the dose then by all means get a second opinion from an exotics specialist. Hope she starts eating again.
 
Hank288 said:
I went to the vets yesterday with Dotty who is still not eating well. She was given ephiren or something like that (it was an appetite stimulant). She also gave me loxicom for cats so I have the small syringe. I was told to give her 0.5ml once per day. She is having it as the vet said it would reduce inflammation in her mouth if there still was any to see if this is the problem.
Dotty weighs 1kg so is this dose right.
Also does she need probiotics 1 hr after or is that just for antibiotics?
I am going to be syringe feeding her so I can add some probiotics into that for her. The vet hoped that me getting more fluids into her would fix her sticky poo as well.
Just wanted some advice having never given medication.
Thanks
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The cat loxicom dose is on the low side. Metacam/loxicom is a painkiller and anti-inflammatory, not a bacteria killing (including the good gut bacteria) antibiotic, so probiotics are not needed, but they won't hurt, either. It is good that you are syringe feeding; the more fibre you are getting in, the better for the guts.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-syringe-feeding-guide.115359/

@Abi_nurse @furryfriends (TEAS) @MintyAndGarry (TEAS)
 
VickiA said:
@biscandmatt your observation is spot on about dosage rates. My specialist exotics vet always gives what others consider to be high doses but she gives them for limited periods with planned reviews at regular intervals. However I'm not a vet so can only follow the recommended dosage prescribed. @Hank288 if you doubt the dose then by all means get a second opinion from an exotics specialist. Hope she starts eating again.
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is that molly varga by any chance? she used to work with my vet and they are very similar in the treatment they give :)
 
Yes this is a very low dose for your piggie. 0.5ml of the cat metacam is 0.25mg.

The dose rate we routinely use is 0.6mg/kg twice a day this would be for your 1kg lady...

0.4ml of the DOG metacam or
1.2ml of the CAT metacam

Making the once a day dose your piggie getting being very low not to mention just once a day.

These higher dosages are commonly used by exotics vets and the like with no problems at all.

Hope she feels better soon.

x
 
Thank you everyone for your replies. she has been getting a little bit worse everyday and is no tilting her head a really odd angles while trying to eat. She was less enthusiastic about her syringe feed tonight. I had been giving her 0.75mls of loxicom a day but this does not seem to have helped at all.
She has not lost her appetite, she really wants to eat the food put down but she just cannot manage.
I have booked her into Ashleigh Vets tomorrow to see what they say, I just don't have a clue what is wrong with her.

I am also really worried as I go on holiday in 2 weeks and am away for 2 weeks. my neighbour is looking after them, she has her own piggies but wouldn't be able to give meds etc if she needed them. I just hope she is sorted by then, other wise I don't have a clue what I would do.
 
I'm sorry she seems worse. See what the vets says tomorrow. They may even be able to board them for you when you go away? Hopefully Ashleigh vets will prescribe a higher dose of pain relief at least but I hope they can get to the bottom of what's going on. Was it a dental she had originally?
 
Yes that was what she originally had, but she had started eating again after that and was much better in her self after a few days she was then fine for 2 weeks. I was just chopping her veg small. On Friday she went off grass and couldn't really eat anything. She now has a funny head tilt when she tries to eat her veg in the hutch. I am wondering if she has some form of infection, maybe even an unidentified abscess. Well I am hoping that is what it is.
 
It could be something with her teeth or a dental abscess brewing. it is good that you are going to have her checked by a knowledgeable vet. I am keeping my fingers very firmly crossed for you!
 
Dotty is having an overnight stay in the vets as she needs to have more investigation under GA tomorrow. The poor thing second time under GA in a month. She may also have to have an x-ray but he will ring me to let me know. She has a lump on the bottom of the left hand side of her jaw and when we looked inside (he let me have a look as well) it was bleeding a bit and seemed to be a bit of a hole. I will know more tomorrow. He gave her some metacam for tonight as it looked really sore. I really hope that she will be ok.
The vet was really good and very knowledgable. I will definitely go there again for any serious issues. Rather than waste money going to a vet who tries their best and then you still have to go to a specialist.
 
Keep us posted and sending Dotty healing wheeks for today, lets get to the bottom of this!
 
Poor girl. That sounds as if it may be an abscess. Do you know if your vet would consider Zithromax if it is? I suspect it may need to be left open and flushed daily too. At least she is in good hands at the new vets. I would usually be suggesting getting her to Simon in Northampton but you have a good vet and Simon is away for a couple of weeks.
 
Dotty does indeed have an abscess :td:. The vet is doing some x-rays to find out how extensive it is before starting treatment. I just have the agonising wait of waiting for him to ring me back now. I really hope she will be okay and will be fixed in time for me to go on holiday. If not I don't know what I am going to do.
 
Hank288 said:
Dotty does indeed have an abscess :td:. The vet is doing some x-rays to find out how extensive it is before starting treatment. I just have the agonising wait of waiting for him to ring me back now. I really hope she will be okay and will be fixed in time for me to go on holiday. If not I don't know what I am going to do.
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aw poor dotty. abscesses can take a long time to treat unfortunately and require daily care. i think i'd look into not going away or leaving them at the vets during that time so she can get the correct treatment from experienced vets and nurses.

glad you managed to get to ashleigh vets though. she will be in such great hands. x
 
I can't not go away unfortunately it is all booked up and cost quite a lot of money and I booked it ages ago before I knew she was sick. I would have to enquire about the cost of keeping her at the vets as once I have paid for the treatment I might not be able to afford boarding at the vets. This is looking like it is going to become a major problem :(
 
i know some of the nurses do home visits aswell but don't know the cost of that compared with them staying at the vets.

the only other thing i can think is if someone on the forum with experience was able to look after her and her bonded friend/s whilst you were away. it's got to be worth an ask just incase.

hope you hear back from the vets soon :)
 
if its something you are willing to consider maybe a follow up question for paying boarding at the vets as a certain amount to begin with and then installments over a few months when you get back if that helps it be more affordable?
 
It looks like she will not need to be boarded at the vets while I am away. Her abscess has not been opened up by the vet. He wants to try and treat it closed for the sake of the guinea pig. She has been prescribed a 15 day course of Zithromax and metacam. He hopes that the long course of antibiotics will clear it up. He said it has not spread into her mouth yet so we had hopefully caught it in time so that it will not need to be opened and flushed everyday.
We are going to keep a close eye on her and take her back if anything changes but the Aiden was very optimistic that we got it early enough. I certainly do hope that she makes a full recovery.
Thank for all your help and support guys :D
 
Hank288 said:
It looks like she will not need to be boarded at the vets while I am away. Her abscess has not been opened up by the vet. He wants to try and treat it closed for the sake of the guinea pig. She has been prescribed a 15 day course of Zithromax and metacam. He hopes that the long course of antibiotics will clear it up. He said it has not spread into her mouth yet so we had hopefully caught it in time so that it will not need to be opened and flushed everyday.
We are going to keep a close eye on her and take her back if anything changes but the Aiden was very optimistic that we got it early enough. I certainly do hope that she makes a full recovery.
Thank for all your help and support guys :D
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really great news :) fingers crossed that this course of meds works :)
 
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