How much medication is my guinea pig getting?
How much should he be getting?
How often should I give it?
GLOSSARY
HOW MUCH MEDICATION IS MY GUINEA PIG GETTING?
DETERMINING DOSAGE AMOUNT OF A LIQUID SUSPENSIONTo figure out how much of a particular drug your guinea pig IS getting, you need three pieces of information:
Dose in cc -- the amount in cc to give at one time
Weight of your guinea pig in kilos (see Conversion Chart)
Concentration of the drug in the suspension (usually listed in mg/ml). If the concentration of the drug is not written on the container, call your vet and ask how many mg/ml.
With this information, we can determine how many mg of a drug your guinea pig is receiving and compare it to standard dosages for that drug in mg/kg.
Say your cavy's getting 0.625 cc of trimethoprim sulfa. Using our sample pig, we find:
..... The dose in cc is 0.625cc of trimethoprim sulfa.
..... The weight of the pig is exactly 1 kilo (2.2lbs).
..... The concentration of the suspension is the standard of 48mg/cc.
To figure out how many mg of active ingredients he's getting multiply the concentration X the dose in cc to yield the dose in mg:
48 mg/cc X 0.625 cc = 30 mg
He weighs a kilo so the dosage he is getting is:
30 mg/kg (the kg represents his 1 kilo weight)
Check the Antibiotics page. The appropriate dosage is 30 mg/kg q12h so the dose amount prescribed for trimethoprim sulfa (bactrim) was correct.
If our pig was only 500 grams (half a kilo) the dose he was receiving would have been 30mg per his weight of 0.5kg:
30 mg/0.5kg = 60 mg/kg = twice the recommended dose.
So remember: telling someone your guinea pig is getting 0.5cc of baytril is meaningless unless you provide all of the following information:
Dose -- the amount in cc you are giving at one time
Weight of your guinea pig in kilos AND
Concentration of the drug in the suspension in mg/ml (mg/cc). 
HOW MANY CC'S OF A DRUG SHOULD I BE GIVING MY CAVY?
DETERMINING DOSE IN CC -- In order to determine how much of a particular drug your guinea pig should be getting in a liquid suspension, you need three pieces of information: Dosage [amount] (the amount of the drug to be administered per quantity of body weight, usually given in mg/kg (less frequently as mg/lb).
Weight of guinea pig (preferably in kilos, as most drugs list mg/kg).
Concentration of the drug in the suspension (usually listed in mg/ml or mg/cc).
First determine the dose in mg:
Dosage X Weight = Dose in mg (the precise amount of the drug that the cavy should receive)
EXAMPLE: A guinea pig of 0.8 kg needs ivermectin topically at 0.5mg/kg
0.8 kg X 0.5mg/kg = 0.4mg ivermectin
Then determine the dose in cc:
Dose divided by Suspension = Dose in ml (the precise amount of the suspension containing the correct amount of the drug in mg)
EXAMPLE: Ivermectin 1% solution has 10mg/ml (i.e. 10 mg/cc). Calculate dose in cc for the above pig needing 0.4mg ivermectin
Dose divided by suspension is 0.4mg divided by 10 mg/cc = 0.04cc
Note: there are ivermectin dosing charts on the site. See how your calculations compare with the charts. Topical Ivermectin Treatment OR Oral Ivermectin Treatment
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I BE GIVING MY CAVY THIS DRUG?
FREQUENCY The most accurate and easy to understand terminology for describing when to administer drugs is q24h, q12h, q8h etc, where a dose is given and the next dose is given "X" hours later (24 hours, 12 hours, 8 hours, etc.).Since older terminology may mislead the lay person into the belief that doses need not be spaced evenly over a given period of time, avoid the old terminology:
SID = daily
BID = twice daily
TID = three times daily
QID = four times daily
And instead use:
q24h = every 24 hours
q12h = every 12 hours
q8h = every 8 hours
q4h = every 4 hours
A dose that is written as "Oral Dose: 30 mg/kg q12h" means that a dose of 30mg/kg is given every 12 hours, for a total of 60 mg/kg in 24 hours.
GLOSSARY FOR THIS PAGE:
mg = milligram = a unit of mass or weight = the weight of drug itself
ml = milliliter = a unit of capacity = a volume of fluid
cc = cubic centimeter = a unit of capacity = a volume of fluid
1 ml = 1 cc
Many drugs are administered in a liquid suspension:
suspension = an amount of a drug (in mg) mixed with a fluid (in ml) usually represented as mg/ml (since 1 cc = 1 ml, mg/cc is the same thing)
EXAMPLE:
5 mg ivermectin/ml means each ml contains 5 mg of ivermectin
The dose is quantity of a drug to give your guinea pig at one time.
The dosage is the amount (by weight), frequency, and number of doses to give your guinea pig.
dose in mg = amount in mg of drug
dose in cc = amount in cc of liquid suspension containing the drug (see above)
dosage amount = amount of drug (in mg) per specific weight of pig, usually represented in mg/kg
EXAMPLE:
0.5 mg ivermectin/kg means the dosage for ivermectin is 0.5mg for every kilogram of pig
One "drop" is roughly 0.034 cc (3 drops are about 0.1cc).
It is recommended to use more accurate methods of measurement than drops.