Sourced from published veterinary references. Awaiting credentialed clinical reviewer — our editorial process.
Buprenorphine is dosed at 0.01–0.05 mg/kg IM q6-12h in rabbits, per Chi[tt]y J. Formulary. In: Harcourt-Brown F, Chi[tt]y J, eds. BSAVA Manual of Rabbit Surgery, Dentistry and Imaging; BSAVA Press, Gloucestershire, UK; 2013:430-431. |; Morissey JM, Carpenter JW. Appendix: Formulary. In: Quesenberry KE, Orcu[tt] C, Mans C, et al. Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery, 4th ed., Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2021:620-630. Verify against current literature before clinical use.
Partial agonist at mu-opioid receptors with high receptor affinity. Provides analgesia with a ceiling effect on respiratory depression.
Side effects & warnings
OTM (oral transmucosal) absorption effective in cats. Ceiling effect limits maximum analgesia. Difficult to reverse with naloxone due to high receptor affinity.
Species with Buprenorphine dosing data (40 dose rules)
Each ExoticRx dose rule is graded by the strength of its primary evidence — see the editorial process.
Constant rate infusion (CRI)
Buprenorphine CRI dose rule from the ExoticRx formulary. Verify against current literature before clinical use; CRI rates differ from bolus dosing and route, dilution, and monitoring matter. Sign in for the complete per-species CRI protocol set.
Species
Route
Rate
Indication
Evidence
Source
Dog (Domestic)
IV
0.002–0.004 mg/kg/hper hour (CRI); IV load 0.005-0.01 mg/kg first
Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th Ed (2023), printed p.152, DOGS - Analgesia b) Constant rate infusion (CRI) — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.150, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.Compilation only — we have not located an independent source that prints this figure.
Dog (Domestic)IV
0.002–0.004 mg/kg/hper hour (CRI); IV load 0.005-0.01 mg/kg first
A dog/cat sample is shown here. Cited dosing for all 22 species — reptiles, birds, pocket pets, livestock, and equine — is free on the per-species pages above. Pro adds the weight-based calculator for every species.
Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th Ed (2023), printed p.152, DOGS - Analgesia b) Constant rate infusion (CRI) — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.150, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.Compilation only — we have not located an independent source that prints this figure.
VETERGESIC Multidose 0.3 Mg/ML Solution for Injection for Dogs, Cats, and Horses [UK Datasheet]. Amersham HP7 9FB, UK: Ceva Animal Health Ltd; 2018.; VETERGESIC 0.3 Mg/ML Solution for Injection for Dogs and Cats [UK Datasheet]. Ceva Animal Health Ltd; 2018. — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.152, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.Compilation only — we have not located an independent source that prints this figure.
· 321. Gaggermeier B, Henke J, Schattmann U. Investigations on analgesia in domestic pigeons (C. livia, Gmel., 1789, var. dom.) using buprenorphine and butorphanol. Proc — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.448 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.5 (Chemical Restraint/Anesthetic/Sedative/Analgesic Agents Used in Birds.a,b).
· 47. Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Hamster, Ratte, Maus und Rennmaus, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2014. | 122. Meredith A. BSAVA Small Animal Formulary: Part B: Exotic Pets, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Quedgeley, Gloucester, UK; 2015. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.789 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents). — SPECIES-BOUND SOURCE: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents) — "Buprenorphine 0.01-0.05 mg/kg SC, IM. Gerbils, hamsters. q6-12h". NOTE ON SCOPE: the BSAVA component of this citation prints 0.01-0.05 mg/kg for FERRETS (bsava_b p.58) and for CATS (bsava p.490), not for hamsters; the hamster binding comes from Carpenter and from Ewringmann, whose title covers hamsters.
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Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th Ed (2023), printed p.152, DOGS - Analgesia b) Constant rate infusion (CRI) — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.150, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.
Compilation only — we have not located an independent source that prints this figure.
·
48. Fehr M, Sassenburg L, Zwart P. Krankheiten der Heimtiere, 8th ed., Schluetersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Hannover, Germany; 2015. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.789 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents). — SPECIES-BOUND SOURCE: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 — "Buprenorphine. 0.5 mg/kg SC q8h(48). Hamsters". Printed on the SAME page as the 0.01-0.05 mg/kg hamster row, so the two are a genuine 10x source disagreement, not a transcription error in either.
· Adamcak A, Otten B. Rodent therapeutics. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2000;3(1):221-237, viii. — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.150, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.
· BSAVA Small Animal Formulary, 10th Ed, Part B: Exotic Pets, p.44
· Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed. | Open-access corroboration: PMID:27931318 — guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), 0.05 mg/kg SC (subcutaneous) for the administered study dose; the general "suggested dosage range" sentence does not specify a route (peer_reviewed). [source route SC; interchangeable with IM for this drug] — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th ed, Table 9.3, Table 9.4 (the served figure is printed in each; all lie in the chapter covering this species).
· Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th ed (2023), Buprenorphine, rodent analgesic table: "0.2 mg/kg SC q4-6h — Chinchillas/PD" (ref 55). Ref 55: Fox L, Mans C. Analgesic Efficacy and Safety of Buprenorphine in Chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera). J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2018;57(3):286-290. doi:10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-17-000108. PMID 29690955. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5966237/
· Cary CD, Lukovsky-Akhsanov NL, Gallardo-Romero NF, et al. Pharmacokinetic Profiles of Meloxicam and Sustained-release Buprenorphine in Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2017 Mar;56(2):160-165. PMID: 28315645; PMCID: PMC5361041. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5361041/
· Chi[tt]y J. Formulary. In: Harcourt-Brown F, Chi[tt]y J, eds. BSAVA Manual of Rabbit Surgery, Dentistry and Imaging; BSAVA Press, Gloucestershire, UK; 2013:430-431. |; Morissey JM, Carpenter JW. Appendix: Formulary. In: Quesenberry KE, Orcu[tt] C, Mans C, et al. Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery, 4th ed., Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2021:620-630. — Carpenter 6th ed, Table 10.4 (Chemical Restraint/Sedative/Anesthetic/Analgesic Agents Used in Rabbits).
· Chum HH, Jampachairsri K, Mckeon GP, et al. Antinociceptive effects of sustained-release buprenorphine in a model of incisional pain in rats (Rattus norvegicus). J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2014;53:193-197. — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· Douglas JM, Guzman DS, Beaufrère H, Paul-Murphy JR. High doses of buprenorphine hydrochloride are well tolerated and produce a mild and prolonged thermal antinociceptive effect in orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica). Am J Vet Res. 2025. doi:10.2460/ajvr.24.11.0367https://europepmc.org/article/MED/39965328
· Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Hamster, Ratte, Maus und Rennmaus, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2014. | Meredith A. BSAVA Small Animal Formulary: Part B: Exotic Pets, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Quedgeley, Gloucester, UK; 2015. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.789 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents). — SPECIES-BOUND SOURCE: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents) — "Buprenorphine 0.01-0.05 mg/kg SC, IM. Gerbils, hamsters. q6-12h". NOTE ON SCOPE: the BSAVA component of this citation prints 0.01-0.05 mg/kg for FERRETS (bsava_b p.58) and for CATS (bsava p.490), not for hamsters; the hamster binding comes from Carpenter and from Ewringmann, whose title covers hamsters.
· Fehr M, Sassenburg L, Zwart P. Krankheiten der Heimtiere, 8th ed., Schluetersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Hannover, Germany; 2015. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.789 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents). — SPECIES-BOUND SOURCE: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 — "Buprenorphine. 0.5 mg/kg SC q8h(48). Hamsters". Printed on the SAME page as the 0.01-0.05 mg/kg hamster row, so the two are a genuine 10x source disagreement, not a transcription error in either.
· Fehr M, Sassenburg L, Zwart P. Krankheiten der Heimtiere, 8th ed., Schluetersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Hannover, Germany; 2015.; Flecknell PA. Analgesia and post-operative care. Laboratory Animal Anaesthesia; 2016:141-192. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-800036-6.00004-1 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents). | Frequency source, previously uncited: BSAVA Small Animal Formulary 10th ed Part B - Exotic Pets, p.58: "Guinea pigs, Chinchillas: 0.05-0.2 mg/kg s.c., i.v. q4-8h." The cited carpenter Table 9.4 row prints q8-12h, NOT the served q6-8h: "0.05 mg/kg SC q8-12h48,51 | Guinea pigs, chinchillas".
· Heard DJ. Principles and techniques of anesthesia and analgesia for exotic practice. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 1993;23:1301-1327. doi:10.1016/s0195-5616(93)50157-2; Ko JC, Marini RP. Anesthesia. In: Fox JG, Marini RP, eds. Biology and Diseases of the Ferret, 3rd ed., Wiley Blackwell, Ames, IA; 2014:259-283. — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 11.6 (Analgesic Agents Used in Ferrets).
· Plumb's 10th ed printed p.150, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.
· Plumb's 10th ed printed p.153, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.
· Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th Ed (2023), printed p.152, DOGS - Analgesia b) Constant rate infusion (CRI) — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.150, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.
· Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th ed (2023) — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.152, Buprenorphine monograph spanning p.150-154.
· Quesenberry, Orcutt, Mans & Carpenter, Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery, 4th ed., Table 9.4 'Analgesic Drug Dosages Recommended in Small Mammals', p.552 - Rat: buprenorphine 0.05-0.5 SC, IM q6h (table footnote: 'Doses are in milligram per kilogram unless specified otherwise')
· Ramsey I, ed. BSAVA Small Animal Formulary, 10th ed. Part B: Exotic Pets. Gloucester: British Small Animal Veterinary Association; 2023. p.44.