Meloxidyl overdose ?

[Mariamm]

Hello everybody.
I’m having some issues with my very young piggy. She is sneezing and has a runny nose. I took her to an exotic vet a week ago and she gave us Meloxidyl 1,5mg/ml to take 0,25ml twice a day. I’ve been giving her Meloxidyl for a week, and yesterday I saw that she stopped eating and sleeps a lot. And when I try to pick her up she doesn’t move much, she looks exhausted. So I started checking the dose that the vet gave us, and I think my poor girl might be overdose. She only weights 400grams , she’s 7 weeks old.
Can you please let me know if you have had similar thing happen to you? What should I do? I called the vet and she reassured me that for guinea pigs the dose is 1mg per 1kg body weight and there’s no error on her part and I should just let the piggy rest...

 

[Lady Kelly]

If the piggy is exhausted and not eating then she doesn't just need to rest, it sounds like her condition has worsened and her medications need reviewing. I don't know about the dose at all but I don't understand why you have only been given a painkiller/antiinflammatory when there is a suspected health concern. What did your piggy get diagnosed with? If it's an infection then it would need antibiotics too

 

[Wiebke]

Hello everybody.
I’m having some issues with my very young piggy. She is sneezing and has a runny nose. I took her to an exotic vet a week ago and she gave us Meloxidyl 1,5mg/ml to take 0,25ml twice a day. I’ve been giving her Meloxidyl for a week, and yesterday I saw that she stopped eating and sleeps a lot. And when I try to pick her up she doesn’t move much, she looks exhausted. So I started checking the dose that the vet gave us, and I think my poor girl might be overdose. She only weights 400grams , she’s 7 weeks old.
Can you please let me know if you have had similar thing happen to you? What should I do? I called the vet and she reassured me that for guinea pigs the dose is 1mg per 1kg body weight and there’s no error on her part and I should just let the piggy rest...

Hi!

Meloxidyl is a brand name for metacam, which is an analgesic (painkiller and anti-inflammatory), but not an antibiotic. Can you please check whether it is cat or dog metacam? While it would be high for her weight with dog metacam, it is not a killing dose; it sounds like a dose on the low side for cat metacam, which is three times weaker.

Has your vet given you an antibiotic for a potential URI? And has she checked for an infection?

Not eating and lethargy are emergency symptoms when it comes to guinea pigs. How experienced is your vet with guinea pigs? Not all exotics vets are.
Please step in with syringe feeding asap. Guinea pigs that have stopped eating and drinking cannot afford to 'rest' - you need to keep the guts going, feed every two hours as much as she will take. Only give 0.1-0.2 ml of mushed up pellets at once and make sure that she swallows them before you give more in order to prevent things to go up her nose or even worse, down her lungs. You need to cut off the syringe tip as shown in the guide, otherwise the important fibre will come through. Keep feeding every 2 hours around the clock and try to come as close to 40-60 ml in 24 hours. Use our guinea pig whispering tips to tell her that you love her, be lavish with your praise and cajole her as much as possible. It is going to be rather a fight, I am sorry to day.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies

You have done everything right on your side. As I don't know your vet's diagnosis and reasoning, I cannot comment on her choice of medication.

 

[Mariamm]

If the piggy is exhausted and not eating then she doesn't just need to rest, it sounds like her condition has worsened and her medications need reviewing. I don't know about the dose at all but I don't understand why you have only been given a painkiller/antiinflammatory when there is a suspected health concern. What did your piggy get diagnosed with? If it's an infection then it would need antibiotics too

The vet didn’t see any signs of URI, so she diognosed her with « nasal inflammation caused by a foreign object » I don’t know if this is correct English. Basically the vet thought that she has hay stuck in her nose and that caused her to have an inflammation.
We went back yesterday for a check-up and I insisted on having an antibiotic as I didn’t see any changes with the anti-inflammatoire drug only. So from today we’re also taking « ronaxan » .

 

[Mariamm]

Hi!

Meloxidyl is a brand name for metacam, which is an analgesic (painkiller and anti-inflammatory), but not an antibiotic. Can you please check whether it is cat or dog metacam? While it would be high for her weight with dog metacam, it is not a killing dose; it sounds like a dose on the low side for cat metacam, which is three times weaker.

Has your vet given you an antibiotic for a potential URI? And has she checked for an infection?

Not eating and lethargy are emergency symptoms when it comes to guinea pigs. How experienced is your vet with guinea pigs? Not all exotics vets are.
Please step in with syringe feeding asap. Guinea pigs that have stopped eating and drinking cannot afford to 'rest' - you need to keep the guts going, feed every two hours as much as she will take. Only give 0.1-0.2 ml of mushed up pellets at once and make sure that she swallows them before you give more in order to prevent things to go up her nose or even worse, down her lungs. You need to cut off the syringe tip as shown in the guide, otherwise the important fibre will come through. Keep feeding every 2 hours around the clock and try to come as close to 40-60 ml in 24 hours. Use our guinea pig whispering tips to tell her that you love her, be lavish with your praise and cajole her as much as possible. It is going to be rather a fight, I am sorry to day.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies

You have done everything right on your side. As I don't know your vet's diagnosis and reasoning, I cannot comment on her choice of medication.

I’ve just checked and it’s a dog metacam. I’m so angry at myself I should have checked the dose before giving it to her.
I’ll stop giving it to her, hopefully she will be back to her usual self soon I started syringe feeding but she’s not too happy about it.

 

[Wiebke]

I’ve just checked and it’s a dog metacam. I’m so angry at myself I should have checked the dose before giving it to her.
I’ll stop giving it to her, hopefully she will be back to her usual self soon I started syringe feeding but she’s not too happy about it.

There is a good reason why she has stopped eating; and in this case it is a battle to get any food and water in unfortunately.

PS: The reason for the loss appetite and the leathargy it is not necessarily the dog metacam but it can be something not yet diagnosed or treated. We have yet to come across a negative reaction to much higher metacam overdosing (including giving 10 times the prescribed dose a few times!) in a dozen years of existence on this forum.

 

[Mariamm]

Updates on Mishka.
Since I stopped the Meloxidyl she started moving around more, she’s still not as active as she used to be, but hopefully she’ll be better soon.
I’m giving her antibiotics for the sneezing. We got an X-ray, her lungs are clear.
She’s eating on her own and pooping ( not as much as before ), but her poopies look normal.
I’m pretty sure it was because of the build-up of metacam in her system.
The vet told me that the dose for guinea pigs is 1mg per kg of body weight, but it seems too high for me...

 

[Wiebke]

Updates on Mishka.
Since I stopped the Meloxidyl she started moving around more, she’s still not as active as she used to be, but hopefully she’ll be better soon.
I’m giving her antibiotics for the sneezing. We got an X-ray, her lungs are clear.
She’s eating on her own and pooping ( not as much as before ), but her poopies look normal.
I’m pretty sure it was because of the build-up of metacam in her system.
The vet told me that the dose for guinea pigs is 1mg per kg of body weight, but it seems too high for me...

Please be aware that antibiotics cen be appetite killers, especially baytril. Are you topping up with syringe feed?

 

[Swissgreys]

Updates on Mishka.

The vet told me that the dose for guinea pigs is 1mg per kg of body weight, but it seems too high for me...

My vet (a guinea pig specialist) quoted the same dosage.
This is based on a relatively new study that was only published last year, so it shows your vet is pretty up to date with recent guinea pig research.
Our boar has been on this dose for over a week and is doing absolutly fine, although he is not on any other medication.

 

[Mariamm]

Please be aware that antibiotics cen be appetite killers, especially baytril. Are you topping up with syringe feed?

I’m doing two syringe feeding per day. She hates it so much, and I feel like I’m causing her lots of stress. She’s taking and antibiotic called « Ronaxan 20mg » , it’s a doxycycline generic I think. The vet told there’s no need for a probiotic but I got some anyway.

 

[Mariamm]

My vet (a guinea pig specialist) quoted the same dosage.
This is based on a relatively new study that was only published last year, so it shows your vet is pretty up to date with recent guinea pig research.
Our boar has been on this dose for over a week and is doing absolutly fine, although he is not on any other medication.

The thing is that my piggy is too young, and she weights only 400grams. For some reason it seems too high of a dose for me. Seeing that dogs need only 0,1mg per kg of body weight.
I’m considering finding another cavy savy vet to have a second opinion, but it’s quite difficult in my city.

 

[Merab]

Can't add to the advice given but want to assure you of my support

 

[Swissgreys]

The thing is that my piggy is too young, and she weights only 400grams. For some reason it seems too high of a dose for me. Seeing that dogs need only 0,1mg per kg of body weight.
I’m considering finding another cavy savy vet to have a second opinion, but it’s quite difficult in my city.

I understand your concern.
I am not a vet and I am not an expert, so I questioned my own vet (who is a vet and is an expert) and she actually showed me the paper online.
The study showed that guinea pigs are able to tolerate a larger dose per kilo than dogs becasue their metabolism is so much faster.
But naturally if you have any concerns you should ask your vet or seek a second opinion - advice from a stranger on a Forum in no way replaces responsible advice from an expert.
You are doing a wonderful job advocating for your guinea pig - they are lucky to have such a caring owner.

 

[Mariamm]

Can't add to the advice given but want to assure you of my support

Thank you so much she’s doing so much better. I don’t need to syringe feed her anymore, she is eating her pellets and veggies on her own.

 

[Mariamm]

I understand your concern.
I am not a vet and I am not an expert, so I questioned my own vet (who is a vet and is an expert) and she actually showed me the paper online.
The study showed that guinea pigs are able to tolerate a larger dose per kilo than dogs becasue their metabolism is so much faster.
But naturally if you have any concerns you should ask your vet or seek a second opinion - advice from a stranger on a Forum in no way replaces responsible advice from an expert.
You are doing a wonderful job advocating for your guinea pig - they are lucky to have such a caring owner.

I started giving her metacam again, but I lowered the dose. She’s getting the antibiotics and probiotics.
She seems fine for now, she’s eating on her own very well, and is very cooperative when it’s time to take the meds.

 

[Merab]

Glad things are improving