help! accidentally gave too much medicine :(

[vanillepetal]

hello! my bunny, Honey, was prescribed loxicom once daily and for 3 days after eating (she had very mild GI stasis). she is eating regularly again, but I accidentally mixed up her dose for the loxicom with her other medicine once it was time to stop the other one. she had 0.9 ml once Friday, 2.7 ml Saturday, and 0.9 ml today. I feel so terrible, I had written everything out and somehow still messed it up. ultimately, those extra two doses (1.8 ml total) would have been given over the course of the next couple of days as per the instructions of the vet, but I still worry for her. she did have some diarrhea yesterday, but is eating consistently and seems like her usual self. the vet is closed until Monday morning, so until I can call there, I wanted to ask here, should I be very concerned? I will not give her anymore loxicom until I've contacted the vet and received their input. I'm very worried already and I feel so guilty for having mixed things up so badly. for reference, Honey is 3 years old and weights around 3 lbs. any help is greatly appreciated ♡

 

[Preitler]

Which one do you have (I use the 1,5mg/ml dog version), the cat version is 0.5mg/ml if I remember correctly.
My vet obviously uses an outdated handbook, so I had to adjust the dose myself.

Anyway, Meloxicam is rather safe, I wouldn't expect much trouble but keep an eye on him.

If it's the 0,5mg/ml version that 0,9ml would be 0,45mg, that would be appr. 0,3mg/kg, lower end of the therapeutic range. Tripple of that would be high, but not on a level that would make me worry too much.
Medirabbit: http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

 

[vanillepetal]

Which one do you have (I use the 1,5mg/ml dog version), the cat version is 0.5mg/ml if I remember correctly.
My vet obviously uses an outdated handbook, so I had to adjust the dose myself.

Anyway, Melxicam is rather safe, I wouldn't expect much trouble but keep an eye on him.

If it's the 0,5mg/ml version tha 0,9ml would be 0,45mg, that would be appr. 0,3mg/kg, lower end of the therapeutic range. Tripple of that would be high, but not on a level that would make me worry too much.
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

thank you for your response! I have the dog one, it says 1.5 mg/ml. she was intended to have it once a day until she began eating again and then for 3 days afterwards, so she has technically only had 2 extra doses. I think she will be alright, and I have given her just a bit of extra pellets since she loves them, in hopes that they will support the absorption of the excess medicine. she also has munched on lots of hay and leafies too!

 

[JBun]

The recommended highest daily dose for rabbits is 1.5mg/kg per day, for up to 5 days, without it causing accumulation. Meloxicam is quickly eliminated once dosing is stopped, due to rabbits having a fast metabolism. This is why rabbits receive a much higher dose than other animals.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16521861/
For a 3lb (1.4kg) rabbit, the highest recommended dose (of 1.5mg/kg per day) would be approx. 1.3ml of the 1.5mg/ml suspension. So if this is the suspension you have, 2.7ml would have been about double the recommended dose for that size of a rabbit.

The possible risk would be to the higher dose being hard on the kidneys. The LD50 (median lethal dose) for acute oral toxicity for meloxicam that I found for rabbits, says that it's 320mg/kg. So at 3mg/kg, you were far below what's considered lethal, though I'm not sure what the upper single dose is that could start to cause kidney damage.

If she wasn't eating and acting normally following having that dose, for me that would be a concern and indication that it may have been affecting the kidneys and possibly need an immediate vet visit. But with her eating and acting normally, for me I would feel comfortable waiting until Monday when I could discuss it with her vet. Though if at any point you're concerned she's not doing well or is deteriorating, I would suggest contacting your vet immediately if possible, or an emergency vet experienced with rabbits.

 

[Preitler]

Hm, at 3lbs, if I didn't miscalculate, that's quite a lot. Anyway, that she's eating and acting normal that's a good sign. Not sure what the side effects can be, if there are any worries I would contact the vet.

 

[vanillepetal]

The recommended highest daily dose for rabbits is 1.5mg/kg per day, for up to 5 days, without it causing accumulation. Meloxicam is quickly eliminated once dosing is stopped, due to rabbits having a fast metabolism. This is why rabbits receive a much higher dose than other animals.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16521861/
For a 3lb (1.4kg) rabbit, the highest recommended dose (of 1.5mg/kg per day) would be approx. 1.3ml of the 1.5mg/ml suspension. So if this is the suspension you have, 2.7ml would have been about double the recommended dose for that size of a rabbit.

The possible risk would be to the higher dose being hard on the kidneys. The LD50 (median lethal dose) for acute oral toxicity for meloxicam that I found for rabbits, says that it's 320mg/kg. So at 3mg/kg, you were far below what's considered lethal, though I'm not sure what the upper single dose is that could start to cause kidney damage.

If she wasn't eating and acting normally following having that dose, for me that would be a concern and indication that it may have been affecting the kidneys and possibly need an immediate vet visit. But with her eating and acting normally, for me I would feel comfortable waiting until Monday when I could discuss it with her vet. Though if at any point you're concerned she's not doing well or is deteriorating, I would suggest contacting your vet immediately if possible, or an emergency vet experienced with rabbits.

thank you for the explanation! I will contact the vet Monday, as they are closed today. I will keep all of this in mind. I am still worried, but she seems so be doing alright and has been well today. I will be sure to update here if anything seems off.

 

[vanillepetal]

Hm, at 3lbs, if I didn't miscalculate, that's quite a lot. Anyway, that she's eating and acting normal that's a good sign. Not sure what the side effects can be, if there are any worries I would contact the vet.

I plan on calling the vet tomorrow morning as soon as I can, they are unfortunately closed today. my mother and I are monitoring her closely. thank you again for your help!