shaz
Warbling Degu
Posts: 37
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Post by shaz on Aug 27, 2011 9:08:52 GMT
I took Cheese to vets yesterday as from where her and onion were fighting last weekend couple of her paws are quiet poorly and swollen and we was just worried about an infection.
There isnt and infection according to vet but she has given me Baytril (which I have seen others write about) to give her for 5 days to make sure there isnt an infection there.
She also gave me Metacam... I'm a little concerned about this... i had to sign a disclaimer as they said it wasnt licenced for Degus but they have used it on them before. Has anyone come accross this before? I want to give it to cheese as her foot is quite swollen but i dont want to do her more damage....
as always any advice would be great!!
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Post by Maravilla on Aug 27, 2011 9:32:01 GMT
Is it allowed in this forum to talk about dosage? (I am asking because I know a forum where it is only allowed in PM). What dosage were you told to give per day? And what concentration (mg/ml) is your Metacam?
In general there isn't any problem, lots of people supply it to their degus. But it depends on dosage and concentration.
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Post by fred on Aug 27, 2011 10:01:05 GMT
Is it allowed in this forum to talk about dosage? (I am asking because I know a forum where it is only allowed in PM) Has been discussed before, so no problem here.
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shaz
Warbling Degu
Posts: 37
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Post by shaz on Aug 27, 2011 11:45:02 GMT
Ermmm ... concentration not sure .... label on bottle says
"Metacam Oral Susp 3ml Cats (0.33bot) Give one small drop once daily"
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Post by Maravilla on Aug 27, 2011 12:23:37 GMT
I have also the small 3ml bottle for cats, saying 0,5mg/ml. We supplied one small drop per day, I think over about 3-4 days (it was after a tooth extraction).
Maybe Metacam is not officially released for degus in your country. Different countries, different laws... Here it is a common pain killer, also for small animals like degus. If you are not sure keep the period of administration as short as possible. Another possibility would be to ask at the chemist's if there is something homoeopathic you could give.
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shaz
Warbling Degu
Posts: 37
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Post by shaz on Aug 27, 2011 13:26:31 GMT
Maravilla... thank you its good to know hat it is ok in other countries to use.... the vet did say its not licenced due to the costs involved in testing it they (the company) dont think it cost effective to test it.
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Post by simong on Mar 1, 2012 12:14:40 GMT
for what it's worth, I've had a degu with teeth / sinus problems (now sadly deceased) that was taking Metacam 2 drops twice per day for about 18 months. It's possible the Metacam was a factor in his relatively early demise (vet's best guess was liver failure) but there's no question it gave him a better quality of life for the time he was taking it and didn't seem to give him any other side effects (like lethargy of lack of appetite).
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Post by amie on Mar 1, 2012 12:17:23 GMT
Metacam, although perhaps not an 'on the books' med, is perfectly fine. It's acts as a pain killer and an anitinflammatory.
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luna1
Burrowing Degu
Nozzle, my miracle!
Posts: 143
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Post by luna1 on Mar 1, 2012 12:44:53 GMT
I have used Metacam very sucessfully for several years in all of my Degu's when it has been needed. The oral suspension for Cats is perfectly fine but I am concerned when you are told to use just one drop. That is open to interpretation and everybody's is different When used responsibly it is a great pain reliever and yes it is true, it isn't licensed for use with Degu's but that has already been explained. Baytril isn't licensed for use in birds as there was a question over the efficacy and safety of it but I know that it is used in birds with great success. A lot of these drugs are not licensed for use with small animals but the reason is normally money for research, not because the drugs aren't appropriate. Metacam when used responsibly does not cause premature death unless there is already an underlying health issue with internal organs anyway. I lost a Degu last year due to chronic sinus and respiritory problems and he was on Meloxicam for the last few months of his life. We had a PM done in case the drugs had contributed but found that he had cystic kidneys and this was a genetic factor rather than a drug induced disease. Sorry for waffling but there is a lot of confusion out there regarding pain relief in Degu's and this is one of my real interests, through experience, discussions with my Vet and the drug companies, I think that we will see a very different approach in the not too distant future. How much does Cheese weigh? My Vet always works it on 'megs per kegs' so to speak. There are weight charts but these aren't always accurate. Metacam, as with any drug, should always be measured accurately in a syringe.
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Post by Karma on Mar 1, 2012 14:46:02 GMT
There is differences in regulation and licensing. Here in Canada metacam isn't even labelled for cats - still used but "off-label".
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Post by blossombrooks on Mar 1, 2012 23:47:09 GMT
I've had metacam before as pain relief for daisy degu. I was supplied with a minuscule syringe and the vet weighed her to calculate dosage. Daisy was weighing 120g then (she was still very young) I think and the dosage was 0.05 *edit*(may be 0.005, I'm doubting myself now!) of a ml. I can't say my vet ever elaborated that it hadn't been tested on degus, I just followed their recommendation and it helped a lot. Perhaps your vet could supply you with a very small syringe and help you work out a more specific dose?
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19Uhr30
Warbling Degu
Keep calm and DFTBA
Posts: 40
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Post by 19Uhr30 on Mar 14, 2012 19:04:43 GMT
I know I'm a bit late here, but the online database of the University of Zurich states that for an oral application of meloxicam (the active ingredient in metacam) a degu should get 1 mg per kg weight. Of course you need to know the concentration of your metacam preparation to do the math... The Source is in German but the numbers are the same. ;-)
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