Metacam for Robo.

[Lozz]

Hello!
I've had my little robo Harriet at the vets because she's been a bit unwell. She has an ongoing chest infection that is making her wheezy and squeaky so has been put on a dual course of antibiotics by the vet (who is brilliant and I would highly recommend him to anyone in the Cheshire/ Manchester area!) because she didn't respond to the Baytril in her water. She has also been bleeding 'down there' and has a little lump so the antibiotics will hopefully work for this too.
My question is, he gave me some Metacam for her and the dose is '1 drop daily,' so I squeezed the bottle to give her a drop but she won't take it on snacks or lick it off a spoon like my Syrian would so I had to administer it via a syringe. How big should the drop be? Has anyone ever given metacam to a robo before and would they know what the dosage is? She weighs 21g and she has been prescribed the 0.5mg/ml Metacam for cats.
Thank you so much, and if anyone has any experience with a similar situation or any advice, it would be greatly appreciated!
Xx

[cypher]

I've never had to give meds to a robo but have had to give the one drop dose to russians & Chinese, one drop is just that, one little squeeze of the bottle, I found that dripped onto either baby food or veg like a piece of cucumber it seemed to go unnoticed & was taken readily that way.

[Lozz]

Thank you! x

[racinghamster]

Hi Lozz. I`ve never used Metacam but it`s a pain killer and a type of NSAID (non steroidal anti inflammatory) drug, so be aware that it could cause stomach upset as it`s better to dose this in/with food. Something soft. But the hamster will possibly detect the medication either from taste or smell and refuse to take it, so giving it orally directly is probably more precise anyway. Baytril should be arguable dosed the same way. Not diluted, although sometimes this can be one of the ways to dose it if it`s given long term.

What age is Harriet? The lump could be a small tumour or something else, did the vet give you any clues? Blood is never a good sign but sometimes Baytril can help if it`s bacterial. x

[Lozz]

Ah okay, I'll give it to her with some food so as not to hurt her tummy- thank you I have to say, I didn't notice any improvement with the diluted Baytril but the vet said that on the dual-course she is on now there should be a marked improvement within a few days.
She is around 18 months old now based on the age I was told when I adopted her, but because all of my hams are rescues I can never be too sure.

The vet did make a few suggestions: he pressed on her tummy and she didn't seem to be in pain so he said it could be a urine infection or possibly a stone, so hopefully the Baytril and Doxy will have some effect on the bleeding. She squeaks and chirps a lot now because of her chest so it's hard to tell whether or not she is squeaking in pain when she wees.
She has a few things wrong with her at the moment that he thinks could all be related- itching, hair loss, bleeding and her lump- which I think he said could mean it is a hormonal issue (I'm having serious brain-fog trying to remember what he said, there was a lot to take in, so I don't know if any of this sounds right!)
Because she has a few things at the same time I think it is just a case of going with the antibiotics so we can start narrowing it down a bit. It's difficult because I don't know anything about her life before I adopted her, only that I adopted Coco (a Syrian) from the same house at the same time and she became poorly quite quickly. Oddly enough, they were both spotting quite frequently when I got them, but I can't think of anything in the way they were previously looked after that could've caused that.

I'm praying it isn't pyometra; my poor Coco was PTS a few weeks ago as a result of what we think was pyometra and she seemed to suffer so much towards the end. However, he did say if the lump doesn't clear he can do surgery when her chest is better. With Coco she was old and weak so I definitely would not have risked it but Harriet seems to be marching on in spite of everything! Has anyone had any experience with the surgery? He said it could be risky so I'm trying to weigh up the pros and cons- although hopefully the antibiotics will work and it won't come to that! He is a truly amazing vet with a real interest in small animals so he is the only person I would even consider, and if it could enhance her life then that would be brilliant, but I've read some stories of hamsters living their last few weeks in pain and suffering and that would absolutely break my heart.

Thank you everyone for putting up with my rambling posts! xx

[cypher]

Sometimes it can be really hard to diagnose exactly what's going on but it does sound as though you have a good vet who will do the best possible for your little one, keep trying with the meds & give them a chance to work, fingers crossed you'll see an improvement but if not hopefully your vet will be able to do more to help.
Good luck with her.