HELP: Metacam duration

[BC Belgians]

Hi all, sorry I haven't been on RT in the last little while. Its been so busy at work and the farm and over the holidays. I hope everyone had a very nice X-mas.

12 days ago by prettiest junior doe (4.5 months old Belgian Hare) broke BOTH of her hind feet below or at the hock. My junior buck broke one of his hocks a few months ago and we just left it to heal on its own while keeping the buck confined. We are determined to see "Agoti" (the doe) through this crisis despite the complication of her having two broken feet. She is just the prettiest and sweetest thing, and I am wanting to take her babies to the next ARBA convention. I realize I need to investigate WHY this keeps happening, but right now I have a pain killer question:

I started her on Metacam 0.8 cc once daily immediately (Vet recommendation). I kept her on this dose for 5 days, then reduced to 0.6 cc for 5 more days. We are now down to 0.4cc since 36 hours and she seems uncomfortable. She did remarkably well on the higher doses ... doing all sort of cute bunny stuff ... but now she just sits hunched in a ball in her hospital cage (which is in our kitchen). I feel I should up the dose again, but it this safe? For how long can you give Metacam daily? For weeks? Months?

 

[crookdbeak13]

Sorry about the bun and the injuries BC Belgians....

This is what I have found on Metacam (Meloxicam): http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medicati ... gesics.htm

The website states:
Meloxicam
0.1 - 0.2 mg/kg
up to 1.5 mg/kg if needed
PO, SC (by mouth or subcutaneous injection)
sid (once daily)
Action lasts between 12-24 h.
Very palatable for rabbits
Concurrent use with another NSAID, corticosteroid, or nephrotoxic medication must be avoided. If unavoidable, the rabbit should be monitored closely.
Long-term use appears to cause little adverse effects in rabbits
Should not be used in rabbits suffering from liver or kidney failure

Hope this helps!

 

[BC Belgians]

Thanks crookdbeak13. :up: I had glanced at the Medirabbit site, but was probably too flustered to find what you found for me!

Here is Agoti in her hospital cage:




Her feet the day she broke them: They were sooo swollen!




Before the accident: BTW, she broke her feet having a run in the garden ... something my rabbits get to do almost daily :shock:


She is really long and fine with nice long front legs which she is not really showing off here. She has really nice color, too. Not too dark.


And this is how she eats her cecotrophes with broken feet!

 

[michaels4gardens]

JMHO, --I find it better to use the higher dose, for two weeks, or so- and then after healing has been noticed, start every other day administration for a week and see if this is "working" for the rabbit,[if it is not working try a reduced dose every day] if it is working, then, give every third day for up to a week, then if that is working, discontinue. bones should be knitted well enough by this time.
---JMHO, the most important thing is to keep the rabbit as comfortable as you can until healing is noticed, --then either reduce the dose gradually , or start skipping days. long term Meloxicam [metacam] is much less dangerous then GI stasis, from stress/ pain.

 

[BC Belgians]

That is great advise michael4gardens. We put her back on the higher 0.6 cc dose today and will stabilizer her on that for a few days before going to the every-other-day administration per your suggestion. It will be 14 days tomorrow since the accident.

I may as well bring it up now and in this thread. Any ideas why young rabbits break bones just running around? Vitamin D deficiency? Insufficient Calcium? Too much Phosphorus? Perhaps I have been feeding my hares too rich a diet (addition of rolled oats and hulled sunflower seeds) and they are growing too fast? Remember that I get fryer live weights of over 5 pounds at age 11-12 weeks.

I don't like the idea of reducing their exercise of my rabbits, because these rabbits are bred to resemble the English wild hare. When following this goal, I feel these rabbits should not just look like hares, but be athletic like them, too.

 

[michaels4gardens]

if there is no environment related reasons for the breaks, then diet and/ or genetics, would be the next best guess.

-- Wed Dec 31, 2014 10:05 am --

That is great advise michael4gardens. We put her back on the higher 0.6 cc dose today and will stabilizer her on that for a few days before going to the every-other-day administration per your suggestion. It will be 14 days tomorrow since the accident.

I may as well bring it up now and in this thread. Any ideas why young rabbits break bones just running around? Vitamin D deficiency? Insufficient Calcium? Too much Phosphorus? Perhaps I have been feeding my hares too rich a diet (addition of rolled oats and hulled sunflower seeds) and they are growing too fast? Remember that I get fryer live weights of over 5 pounds at age 11-12 weeks.

I don't like the idea of reducing their exercise of my rabbits, because these rabbits are bred to resemble the English wild hare. When following this goal, I feel these rabbits should not just look like hares, but be athletic like them, too.

JMHO, -it is more important to keep the rabbit comfortable until healing is evident, then it is to worry about the effects of the drug, even if it takes a month of metacam. I have seen large breed rabbits on [0.08 cc SQ], or [0.6 cc oral med], for a month or 2, with no serious side effects.- some breaks/ some rabbits will heal very slowly. [but if your rabbit "crashes" the long term effects of the meds, are not a issue anyway