Poor Nibble broke his leg :( question about meloxicam doseage

Bertiebobbins · 07-02-2016, 01:53 AM

My poor Nibble has broken one of his back legs, in completely mysterious circumstances - he came out for his run around night before last as usual, was fine when I put him back in his cage and when I checked him in the morning he was limping about. I don't know how on earth he managed that. He's been to the vet yesterday, treatment is nest rest in our little "hospital cage", antibiotics and managing his pain, and see how he goes. Aside from his ailment he's surprisingly fine in himself, eating drinking peeing etc etc and still so cuddly as he always is. Very happy with all the fuss he's getting!

My question is - he's been given meloxicam oral cat strength 0.5mg but the vet has said give him 1ml a day, which is approx the dose for a 10kg cat according to the syringe that came with it!! So obviously wrong. I've tried calling the vet but can't get hold of them..... It definitely isn't diluted down as I had to break the seal to get into it just now.

Nibble weighs 285g - can anyone help me work out the appropriate dose for him please? I am so terribly dyslexic with numbers I don't dare try and work it out myself for fear of overdosing him.

RubyDG · 07-02-2016, 02:05 AM

Ah no! Poor Nibble

. I can't help with the dosages unfortunately but hopefully one of the other members with more experience will be on soon. I hope he improves quickly, keep us posted!

cypher · 07-02-2016, 02:06 AM

Really sorry to hear this, hope the little guy heals well & quickly.
I can't help with the dose either, sorry, if no one can help I would wait until you can get through to the vet before giving any.

racinghamster · 07-02-2016, 03:35 AM

Most vet surgeries have answering machine messages with a number to phone an emergency vet if they can`t be contacted, so might be worth calling any number they give and just say you are calling for some urgent information regarding this medication your hamster was given as you don`t understand the dosage/syringe marking and where it should be or whether the medication needs diluting with water. Hopefully someone on the phone should be able to advise you and you can write down what they say. Explain that you have dyslexia issues too as the reason for calling as there seems to be some lack of communication between what your vet said and what you have been given.

Sorry to hear about Nibble and I hope he recovers soon. x

Thin Lizzy · 07-02-2016, 05:07 AM

Poor Nibbles, but with your love & care he'll make a good recovery.
Like RH mentioned, vet surgeries have an emergency contact number that they put on the answer phone when closed.

Coco61 · 07-02-2016, 05:55 AM

Sorry to hear about Nibble. Do hope he is on the mend soon. Good advice from others about vet contact.

Pebbles82 · 07-02-2016, 07:07 AM

Hi. I was prescribed 0.7ml for Charlie who was about 215 g at the time, so 1ml might be about right for a 285g hamster! It was the same one - 0.5mg cat Metacam. The vet who prescribed mine said that ironically a hamster needs a higher dosage level per weight, than a cat due to their high metabolism. So sorry Nibble has had this injury. I seem to remember he was a bit gung ho! Maybe he climbed the cage and got a foot caught or something and tried to twist free.

Penguin · 07-02-2016, 07:07 AM

I would call the emergency vet to check that dosage. When I had to give my dwarf painkillers i was instructed to only give 0.02ml (of what should be the same thing as you have been given) once every 24 hours, so 1ml sounds extreme to me.

They shouldn't charge anything for just checking with them

Hope everything will be alright

Edit: oh serendipity I didnt know that! Does sound logic though!

Bertiebobbins · 07-02-2016, 11:00 AM

Thanks for all the well wishes. So far so good - he's quite bright this evening and his leg is definitely looking less swollen now. He came out to sit on my knee for some cuddles and treats, and squeaked to me as he always does.

I did eventually get hold of the vet and turns out they had put 1ml instead of 0.1ml on the label. I think their pharmacy made the mistake. Mind you, the vet wasn't great, I'm going to request not to see him when we go for a check up next week - he seemed more concerned by the size/weight of my hamster and what he was eating (horrified anyone would give their hamster chicken!).

Coco61 · 07-02-2016, 11:10 AM

That's sounds a more sensible dose. Did Nibble take it directly from the syringe or will you put it in a favourite food like porridge?