Help calculating metacam dose (2025)

A couple of days ago I posted about Barney having arthritis in his leg and possibly needing metacam at some point. Well I think that time has come. I just came home to find him hunched up staring at the back of his pigloo refusing to move. He wouldn't come out for food but did turn around and eat when I put food beside him. Since then he has gone up the hutch ramp but it was when I wasn't looking so I didn't see how he was moving.

My question is: can anyone tell me how to calculate the minimum dose of metacam for him? He was on the maximum of 1ml twice a day when he recently had a UTI but I don't feel he needs that much at this point. He is 1.1kg.

thank you x

AbiS said:

A couple of days ago I posted about Barney having arthritis in his leg and possibly needing metacam at some point. Well I think that time has come. I just came home to find him hunched up staring at the back of his pigloo refusing to move. He wouldn't come out for food but did turn around and eat when I put food beside him. Since then he has gone up the hutch ramp but it was when I wasn't looking so I didn't see how he was moving.

My question is: can anyone tell me how to calculate the minimum dose of metacam for him? He was on the maximum of 1ml twice a day when he recently had a UTI but I don't feel he needs that much at this point. He is 1.1kg.

thank you x

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Hi!

Firstly - which metacam are we talking? Cat metacam is three times weaker than dog metacam.

For dog metacam: 0.05 ml (i.e. 1 drop) twice daily is the lowest dose. The highest possible regular dose is 0.25 ml, but in extremis, for a very short time or at the end of a life you can go higher.

Unlike dogs and cats, guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism (a dose is assimilated in about 10 hours; hence why it is important do give metacam twice daily) and their kidneys are not impacted by long term use the way general vets with little experience with with guinea pigs are wrongly assuming. The metacam builds up in the body when in regular use. You up the amount further a little whenever you notice a deterioration in mobility.

I would also recommend to look at joint supplement from oxbow or vegan human joint supplement.

@Wiebke is this the stuff?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxbow-Natural-Science-Joint-Support/dp/B007PZEC52

AbiS said:

@Wiebke is this the stuff?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxbow-Natural-Science-Joint-Support/dp/B007PZEC52

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Yes.

Wiebke said:

Hi!

Firstly - which metacam are we talking? Cat metacam is three times weaker than dog metacam.

For dog metacam: 0.05 ml (i.e. 1 drop) twice daily is the lowest dose. The highest possible regular dose is 0.25 ml, but in extremis, for a very short time or at the end of a life you can go higher.

Unlike dogs and cats, guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism (a dose is assimilated in about 10 hours; hence why it is important do give metacam twice daily) and their kidneys are not impacted by long term use the way general vets with little experience with with guinea pigs are wrongly assuming. The metacam builds up in the body when in regular use. You up the amount further a little whenever you notice a deterioration in mobility.

I would also recommend to look at joint supplement from oxbow or vegan human joint supplement.

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My vet prescribes dog metacam routinely at 0.4ml/kg once or twice a day. I have had several pigs (and rabbits) on long term metacam at these dosages for a variety of conditions and have not seen any apparent side effects.

AbiS said:

@Wiebke it is cat metacam. And yes, am definitely going to look for some oxbow joint supplement

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With cat metacam, you start at 0.15 ml twice daily and work up from there. You can safely give up to 1 ml twice daily if your piggy is very painful.

Wiebke said:

With cat metacam, you start at 0.15 ml twice daily and work up from there. You can safely give up to 1 ml twice daily if your piggy is very painful.

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If the pain is getting very severe and you are coming up 1.2 ml twice daily, you may want to talk with your vet about using tramadol.

Skypipdot said:

My sow is 1kg and got 0.25ml twice daily so yea. 0.5ml a day. I think its dog loxicom

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They dose that amount, twice a day

furryfriends (TEAS) said:

I believe most exotic vets now dose dog metacam at 0.5ml per kilo body weight, twice a day,for guinea pigs. @Abi_nurse please can you confirm it that’s correct?

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Yes that's correct though we often use 0.6mg/kg.

There is no minimum dosage though the less you give the less likely it is to work at all. We sometimes try to lower dosages for long term but have ones on higher dosages forever with no issues. It's more about keeping them comfortable more than anything.

For a 1kg piggie you can safely give -
1.2ml of the cat metacam/loxicom twice a day or
0.4ml of the dog metacam/loxicom twice a day

Hope this helps. Sorry about the late reply.

x