How long dies meloxicam last in bunny system?

[Bunnybutt]

Hello!

My little guy was having some tummy trouble yesterday (lots of stretching, eating less, but still eating. Less poop but still pooping,seemed uncomfortable) he’s had GI stasis a few times so  I gave him 3 doses of simethicone each an hour apart and 1 dose of meloxicam that I had from his last gi stasis bout. That was at 9 last night. All day he’s been kind of lethargic, eating some but not a lot. Pooping, peeing still though and he did play some this morning. My question is I know meloxicam can make bunnys a little out of it and not hungry, but how long should those side effects last? Should I wait to see the vet until tomorrow to see if he shakes out of this?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you!

 

 

[Wick & Fable]

In my personal experience, Meloxicam has either been prescribed as 1 dose per day or 2 doses per day, so my assumption from this is that it lasts several hours. That being said, based on the GI distress from the previous day and what you’ve reported, I personally find it unlikely that solely Meloxicam’s presence in your rabbit’s system would keep him from eating entirely (unless he has a reliable history of such an intense reaction from it). It is more likely that whatever GI distress is ongoing is also perpetuating lack of willingness to eat.

Re: whether to take your rabbit to the vet or wait it out, it’s a really difficult call for online users to make since we cannot be there monitoring your rabbit with you — if you can get an appointment with your usual rabbit-savvy vet, that could be considered the safe route. Whether going to a potentially non-rabbit-savvy emergency vet versus waiting it out is preferable is hard to say and will need to be your judgment. In general, if I’m seeing signs of the rabbit perking up, such as having energy, pooping, and peeing, I tend to wait it out a bit and do at-home measures: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Gastrointestinal_stasis#At-home_treatment

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]

How is your bun doing today?

I will look for the reference, but my memory is that meloxicam is metabolized in less than 12 hours in rabbits.  If the bun is feeling poorly, it shouldn’t make them not want to eat.

If your bun is still not back to normal today, I would contact a vet. There is also the consideration that it’s friday, so going into the weekend, which means it can be harder to get to a vet.

. . . 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.  

[Bunnybutt]

Hello and thank you so much for your replies!  So we were able to get into the vet yesterday and they said he did feel kind of gassy and they detected some discomfort on one side. So they said we could try and treat the symptoms 1st and if that doesn’t work we would do some x rays. They gave him some fluids, critical care which I’ve had zero luck giving him, and they wanted to give him buprenex but I already had meloxicam at home so I opted to stick with that.

When we 1st got home he was eating better but lying down a lot. So I gave him some simethi cone and 10 minutes later the meloxicam. Ive been up all night checking on him. He ate a little bit of spinach last night and he did poop some this morning and nibbled on some hay. He did get a lot more excited about treats this morning than he did the other day so I think we’re making progress? He’s had GI stasis before and usually hes bounced back faster so i’m nit sure if what i’m seeing is normal.

[DanaNM]

I’m glad you took him in, it sounds like he’s improved a bit. I would keep the vet posted on his symptoms though, they may want you to bring him back in for further treatment or the xrays. There are other ailments that can present like stasis (such as liver torsion).

. . . 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.  

[Bunnybutt]

Im definitely keeping a close eye on this little bugger, but he does seem to be nibbling more and now he’s flopping and I even got some binkys! The mild pain in one side worries me a little so I’m thinking about doing x rays a little later regardless just to make sure its nothing scary.

[Author]

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