Dosage for Borax and Panacur

[Hazel]

Hello everyone, some of you might remember me and my rabbit Oscar.

He has been losing his balance the last few days so the vet prescribed the usual round of dewormer and antibiotic. The strength seems to be a good bit higher than recommended, and the length of treatment shorter. My question is, should I lower the dose and treat him for longer than the prescription says?

Here are the numbers:

Panacur: 100mg/ml, give 0.5 mls once a day for 3 days

Borax suspension: 30mg/ml, give 0.3 mls once a day for 7 days

Odcar weighs 2.5 pounds, so a little above 1 kg.

Please respond so I can get him started on these asap.

Thank you all!

[Wick & Fable]

Unfortunately, I think this is best discussed with the vet who prescribed it and letting them know transparently you have concerns about the recommended course relative to your past experience. As users here are not qualified vets, it would not be appropriate for us to recommend a certain course over what the veterinarian recommended without you consulting them about your concern first.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[DanaNM]

Hi Hazel, nice to see you again! What are they treating him for? I’m not familiar at all with Borax suspension.

I used this drug calculator to check his Panacur dosage: https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/dosage and got that he’s getting 44 mg/kg, which does seem high. But then I don’t know what they are treating for? Usually for EC is’t 20 mg/kg, and I think 10 mg/kg for intestinal worms.

So yeah, I agree it would be good to discuss with your vet. I’ve had vets make errors before (but in the other direction) and they never admitted it, so I found a new vet (who confirmed they were underdosing!). 🙁

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

I agree that it does seem like a high dose of Panacur. I would definitely talk to your vet and tell them your concern. I remember when Dana had a problem with her vet prescribing the wrong dosage.

As for Borax, I have not heard of this being used for medical purposes. At least not internally and not in rabbits.

[Hazel]

Thanks everyone for the input!

My bad, I meant to write Orbax, not Borax. Orbax is an antibiotic closely related to Baytril.

He has been having issues with falling over/rolling lately. The vet found nothing pointing to a specific cause so he’s treating him for e. Cuniculi and also prescribed the antibiotic in case it’s a bacterial infection of some kind.

I had talked to the vet about giving him the recommended 28 days of Panacur but he insisted that would be way too much. Makes sense I guess considering the high amount I’m supposed to give.

[Bam]

Hi Hazel!

I’m sorry Oscar is unwell.

I too find it weird that hes getting such a high dose Panacur and for only 3 days. That is not the standard treatment for EC.

Most vets would give meloxicam too, since its an anti inflammatory and a lot of the problems ec causes are due to inflammation. As you know corticosteroids are best avoided in rabbits, so meloxicam (metcam, loxicom, rheumacam and other brand names) is given instead.

[Hazel]

I adjusted the panacur to the regular dose. The antibiotic I’m just not sure about, can’t find much about it online. I’ll call them about it on monday.

He was starting to do better before I started the meds though, so maybe he doesn’t need them at all. I’ll give it to him just in case though.

[Bam]

I remember Molly Varga said Baytril could have some additional effect on ec, in a webbinar I listened to some years ago. Orbax seems to be v similar to Baytril (as you said).

EC symptoms can come and go, esp those that are in the form of seizures or seizure-like. It is currently believed that most of the acute symptoms (or signs) occur when the parasites inside the cells for some reason start multiply wildly and rapidly, until the cells burst and spill their contents. This causes the body to mount an inflammatory reaction that can be quite forceful.

[LBJ10]

Ah, OK, it’s orbifloxacin. It isn’t commonly prescribed, but there is some literature out there talking about it’s use in rabbits. It’s a fluoroquinolone, so yes, it’s in the same class as Baytril. Suggested dosage is 5-20 mg/kg of body weight.

I don’t think having an antibiotic paired with the Panacur is a bad idea. It isn’t unusual for a vet to take a dual approach, especially if they are not positive that it’s EC. Bam has a good point though. An anti-inflammatory might not be a bad idea either.

[Hazel]

Thanks so much for the dosage LBJ, I couldn’t find that information anywhere 🙂

Looks like they were pretty spot on with that, just the panacur was way high.

Oscar is doing much better, seemed to be slightly better the day I took him to the vet already. It might not have been an infection at all but who knows.

Thanks so much for the help everyone, I appreciate it!

[jerseygirl]

Just popping in to say hello!
Glad to hear Oscar is already on the mend 😊

[Hazel]

Thanks jersey!

Hope you and your furbabies have been doing well 😊

Meant to ask before, is there a reason why my posts have to be approved before posting or is it standard procedure now?

[Hazel]

Nevermind, this one posted immediately 🤣

[LBJ10]

Yes, it appears that what they prescribed is within the suggested dosage range. Still not sure what was up with the Panacur. Did you manage to ask your vet? I curious what their reasoning was or if it was a mistake.

Have you posted on the forum since it was updated? I think after it was updated, it put everyone in a new member/untrusted status. When someone is a new member, it sends their posts to moderation. This happens for the first however many posts. Then they should start going through after that.

[jerseygirl]

It made me think or Baycox (toltrazuril) another wormer like panacur commonly used for livestock.
Prescribed for 3 days to treat coccidia, rather than 2 weeks on a sulfa med.

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