Correct Metacam Dosage for a Chinchilla

Although I really don't want to, I need to go back to Ralph's vet for pain medication. I am livid that they did those x-rays and just sent him home without any pain medication. How would THEY like it if the roots of their teeth were growing up into their sinus cavity?

I do not trust this vet to correctly dose for a chinchilla. Does anyone know the correct dosage? Yesterday Ralph weighed 656g.

Thank you in advance.

depends on what metacam they prescribed. my chin weighed 640 when they calculated and his dosage was .10 cc of the 1.5 suspension. that was to be given 2 x a day OR i could give him .20 cc one time a day.
the syringe size is the small thin one that is a total of 1 CC so basically are giving one tenth of a cc. i hope that makes sense.
you should not have to go back, you should be able to call and get it prescribed. there is no need to stress ralph out any more.
if they only did anethesia and x-rays it would not cause any additional pain to his mouth. if they did any filing or any type of dental work they should have prescribed it.
to address the whole issue of the tooth roots growing, hopefully they will prescribe a course of action that works for ralph.

mishellyshel said:

if they only did anethesia and x-rays it would not cause any additional pain to his mouth. if they did any filing or any type of dental work they should have prescribed it.

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Who cares if he's not in any "additional pain"? Ralph is in enough pain that he had pretty much stopped eating pellets and has lost enough weight that I can feel his ribs. They might not have caused the pain by doing the x-rays, but it is completely inhumane to observe this, then to have x-rays that point to the reason and not prescribe something.

Around 0.1 mL should cover him Shayna. That's what I was told to give a similar sized chin after a spay.

I agree. This isn't about having x-rays and pain. It's about what the malo is causing. The vet should have sent something home after seeing the state of his roots.

i totally agree..........was just noting that would not have caused additional pain.
they should have given him something after reviewing the xrays.
my chin is actually on 2 different pain meds and it has been controlling his malo for months now. while metacam is okay for mild pain (think tylenol), i also use tramadol for his jaw pain.

Thanks, Peg. So if I tell them I need .1mL, they will know what to do? Well I know you can't know if they will know, but what I mean is, that should mean something to them?

ETA - This vet will really need it spelled out for them. I've also emailed Angie (chinvet).

if they have worked with small animals they should know how to calculate the weight.
they will probably end up just giving you the bottle with the dosage.
maybe you could post the suspension. the one i use is the 1.5 suspension and the dosage was the .10
at least get the meds and people here can help you with the dosage.
not sure what area you are in but in my area, i end up paying about $35 for a bottle.

My Metacam is 1.5 mg/mL and I give .1 mL. Supposedly you can go higher, but since prolonged use of Metacam can cause I believe kidney issues, I try and keep it on the low end.

If he's in severe pain, you might consider an injectable pain killer that will get there faster and you won't have to mess with his mouth so much.

One drop of Metacam is 0.03-0.05ml so giving 0.1ml is roughly equivalent to 2 drops.

In the initial period after any dental work or examination where the jaw has been held open by clamps so the vet can see in the mouth properly there can be increased aching and/or discomfort. Even if there has been no burring done the mouth can be a bit tender.

Personally I think if a chinchilla's pain cannot be controlled on Metacam then further pain relief like Vetergesic or Tramadol can be given for a short time only (e.g post burring - for a couple of days). I do not believe in using multiple pain relief unless in very short-term cases and if Metacam does not control the pain then I believe it is time to make a hard decision.

Thanks, ladies.

My plan right now is to try and control the pain until he can see the dental specialist (his appt. is for October 7, but I'm going to see if I can have it moved up).

After eating 8g of powdered pellets last night, he seemed to have MUCH more energy this morning and was bouncing around. So, while I do think he's in pain, I am hopeful that it's nothing too severe.

I called the vet and asked for the Metacam. The receptionist asked if he had had Metacam before and when I said no, she said the vet would call me back.

good that he is eating a bit. wanted to also pass a recipe on to you given to me by my vet, it is for puffed pellets and sometimes it helps jumpstart the chin eating again. didnt work for my richie but my other chin loved them!

Use whatever pellets you are currently using, put in a strainer, run hot water over the pellets until wet and drain. spread on a baking dish with a little bit of black strap molasses and bake in the oven at 250 degrees for about 35 minutes. let cool and store in ziplock bag.

it makes the pellets softer and a little easier for a chin in mouth pain to eat.

OH one other thing i did, was i mixed up the critical care and syringed little circles on tinfoil and baked them until hard. after cooled i offerd them to the chins and they really liked them. they were a little softer than some other types of cookies and they were good for him.

i hope they help.

How many times per day is the .1 mL given?

I am so angry with the vet's office. I called at about 11:20 this morning and they said the doctor would call me back. Well 2.5 hours later and still no call back. I called again, and I don't think the message was ever given to her. I spoke with a vet tech, gave her the dosage, and she said the vet would call me back when she came back at 3pm. She also asked me how many times per day that does should be given (hence my question above).

If you tell them to give it to him 2 x a day they will refill it sooner, but as tunes said, start with .1 ml one time a day and hope that allieviates the pain, no reason to give more. but if he starts grinding his teeth, perhaps you can give the 2nd dose, 12 hours apart. hopefully when he is feeling less pain, he will eat more.

just make sure they are giving the 1.5 ml suspension
if it was me and i was able to, i would be at the vets office at 3pm to make sure i got what i needed. especially if they dont have it on hand, they may have to check with other vet office. they should have it as it is used in the treatment of other pets (i think dogs)

Not to be rude, but if the roots are growing into the sinus cavity, there is nothing that can be done to correct that short of pulling all of the affected teeth. The most that could be done is stop them from growing further... for a while anyway. And if the way it is now is causing pain then stopping the growth won't remove the pain that is already there.

Nicole, I'm not really sure that there was anything rude about your post.

I'm aware that there's really nothing to be done except pull the affected teeth. I'm just trying to keep him comfortable until he sees the dental specialist on October 7th. I'd like for them to look at his x-rays and give me their opinion (if they even can considering what poor quality the x-rays are).

I just picked up the Metacam. It's the 1.5 mg/mL solution, and she instructed me to give him .05 mL once per day. I told her that I was aware that it is often prescribed to chins at .1 mL per day but she didn't really want to hear it. I'm not surprised, since she's never listened to anything else I've had to say.

Ralph had eaten 4 more grams of his powdered pellets when I got home today.

IMO it could be construed as rude because working at the vet teaches you that although you can tell people what is wrong, and say what you would do if it was your pet, treatment or euthanasia options are personal decisions that belong solely to the pet owner.

Angie (Chinvet) told me .5 ml per 600 g chin 1 - 2 X daily

Peachy, you know your pet the best. Chilli's dose was initially .08 2x/day. Now we do .03 in the morning, slowly weaning him down in the mornings since he does not really eat much during the day anyway, and .06 at night, before he wakes up and is ready to eat. Since Ralph's pain will not be easing through healing, I would start with what the vet said, and see if it is enough. He may need slightly more in the night time. We now do meds at 6:30 am and pm.