Rat with ear infection - back to the vet, polyp!

[lilspaz68]

LOL, it looks like my Missy is on the chunky side - she weighed in at 474 grams (a smidgeon over a pound). The RatFanClub recommends 0.6 to 1.5 ml for a 1lb rat, but seems like an awful lot for one go. Do they mean to break it into two doses of .3ml per day?

Metacam? Seriously?

You can give her .31 cc's once a day.

 

[SQ]

I think it means twice a day .... because of the rat's high metabolism, some think giving metacam twice a day may be more effective then giving it once a day
see: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=19376

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For those who prefer to use the Rat Guide: The RatGuide says 1 mg to 2 mg/kg once a day
She weighs 0.474 kg
Assuming your meds are 1.5 mg/ml, then 0.66 ml = 0.99 mg

At 2 mg/kg a day, she would get two doses of 0.31 ml a day (or one dose of 0.62 ml)
At 1 mg/kg a day, she would get 0.16 ml twice a day (or 0.31 ml once a day)

Edit: Many people start with a lower dose and then increase it if needed in order to find out the amount their rat requires.

 

[Livyaahh]

oh that looks bad poor girl, hope she gets well soon

 

[lilspaz68]

I have done both, given metacam twice a day or one big dose, and I found the once daily bigger dose worked much better at controlling the pain. IMO

 

[rhapsody]

Grr, after 2 weeks of meds, poor Missy's ear still wasn't 100%, so I dropped her off at the vet this morning. There had been definite improvement, but the infection was still lingering.

Most of the infected gunk had been cleared out during the treatment (there was a lot first go around), and the vet could now see that there was a small polyp in there. Its too small to warrant actual surgery, but he's going to cauterize it to get that swelling down. Hopefully we can get that ear squared away in the next week or so.

 

[mamarat]

Sending healing vibes to your sweetie.