Sourced from published veterinary references. Awaiting credentialed clinical reviewer — our editorial process.
Carprofen is dosed at 1–5 mg/kg PO q12-24h in rabbits, per Harcourt-Brown F. Textbook of Rabbit Medicine, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK; 2002. | Morissey JM, Carpenter JW. Appendix: Formulary. In: Quesenberry KE, OrcuttCJ, Mans C, et al. Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery, 4th ed., Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2021:620-630. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.857. Verify against current literature before clinical use.
Preferentially inhibits COX-2, reducing prostaglandin synthesis at sites of inflammation while relatively sparing COX-1 (GI, renal, platelet).
Side effects & warnings
Hepatotoxicity reported (especially Labrador Retrievers). Monitor liver enzymes. GI ulceration risk. Avoid in cats (limited safety data). Not for use with other NSAIDs.
Species with Carprofen dosing data (33 dose rules)
Each ExoticRx dose rule is graded by the strength of its primary evidence — see the editorial process.
Sample dosing (2 of 33 cited rules)
A dog/cat sample is shown here. Cited dosing for all 28 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.
· 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.790 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· 183. Lawton MPC. Pain management after surgery. Proc North Am Vet Conf. 1999;782. | 220. McArthur SDJ, Wilkinson RJ, Barrows MG. Tortoises and turtles. In: Meredith A, Redrobe S, eds. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets. 4th ed. Gloucester, UK: British Small Animal Veterinary Association; 2002:208-222. — Source: Mader's Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery, 3rd Ed, p.1414
· 25. Heatley J. Hedgehogs. In: Mitchell MA, Tully TN Jr., eds. Manual of Exotic Pet Practice; Saunders/Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2009:433-455. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.742 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 8.6 (Analgesic/Antiinflammatory Agents Used in Hedgehogs).
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255. Edling TM. Anaesthesia and analgesia. In: Chitty J, Harcourt-Brown N, eds. BSAVA Manual of Psittacine Birds; British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucester, UK; 2005:87-96. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.458 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.6 (Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Agents Used in Birds).
· 269. Lawton MP.C. Pain management after surgery. Proc North Am Vet Conf; 1999:782. / 316. McArthur SD.J, Wilkinson RJ, Barrows MG. Tortoises and turtles. In: Meredith A, Redrobe S, eds. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets, 4th ed., British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucestershire, GB; 2002:208-222. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.252 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 4.6 (Analgesic (Including Antiinflammatory) Agents Used in Reptiles).
· 269. Lawton MP.C. Pain management after surgery. Proc North Am Vet Conf; 1999:782. | 316. McArthur SD.J, Wilkinson RJ, Barrows MG. Tortoises and turtles. In: Meredith A, Redrobe S, eds. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets, 4th ed., British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucestershire, GB; 2002:208-222. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.252 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 4.6 (Analgesic (Including Antiinflammatory) Agents Used in Reptiles).
· 269. Lawton MPC. Pain management after surgery. Proc North Am Vet Conf; 1999:782. || 316. McArthur SDJ, Wilkinson RJ, Barrows MG. Tortoises and turtles. In: Meredith A, Redrobe S, eds. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets, 4th ed., British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucestershire, GB; 2002:208-222. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.252 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 4.6 (Analgesic (Including Antiinflammatory) Agents Used in Reptiles).
· 43. Bailey TA, Apo MM. Pharmaceutics commonly used in avian medicine. In: Samour J, eds. Avian Medicine, 3rd ed., Mosby Elsevier, Edinburgh, Scotland; 2016:637-678. | 255. Edling TM. Anaesthesia and analgesia. In: Chitty J, Harcourt-Brown N, eds. BSAVA Manual of Psittacine Birds; British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucester, UK; 2005:87-96. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.458 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.6 (Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Agents Used in Birds).
· 43. Bailey TA, Apo MM. Pharmaceutics commonly used in avian medicine. In: Samour J, eds. Avian Medicine, 3rd ed., Mosby Elsevier, Edinburgh, Scotland; 2016:637-678. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.458 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.6 (Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Agents Used in Birds).
· Bodley K. Appendix 4. Drug Formulary. In: Vogelnest L, Portas T, eds. Current Therapy in Medicine of Australian Mammals; CSIRO Publishing, Clayton South, Vic; 2019:702-727. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.710 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 7.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Sugar Gliders).
· Brown SA. Clinical techniques in the ferret. Semin Avian Exot Pet Med. 1997;6:75-85. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.943 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 11.6 (Analgesic Agents Used in Ferrets).
· Caplen G, Baker L, Hothersall B, et al. Thermal nociception as a measure of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug effectiveness in broiler chickens with articular pain. Vet J. 2013;198:616-619. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.647 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 6.5 (Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Agents Used in Backyard Poultry, Gamebirds, and).
· Edling TM. Anaesthesia and analgesia. In: Chitty J, Harcourt-Brown N, eds. BSAVA Manual of Psittacine Birds; British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucester, UK; 2005:87-96. — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.6 (Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Agents Used in Birds). | CORRECTION: the verbatim quote held in this rule's notes is NOT from the Edling/carpenter anchor. It is Methods text from Chen et al., "Delayed evoked potentials in zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) under midazolam-butorphanol-isoflurane anesthesia", PeerJ 2019;7:e7937, doi:10.7717/peerj.7937 (PMC6815651), read in full text.
· Edling TM. Anaesthesia and analgesia. In: Chitty J, Harcourt-Brown N, eds. BSAVA Manual of Psittacine Birds; British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucester, UK; 2005:87-96. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.458 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.6 (Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Agents Used in Birds).
· Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Hamster, Ratte, Maus und Rennmaus, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2014. | Flecknell PA. Analgesia and post-operative care. Laboratory Animal Anaesthesia; 2016:141-192. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.790 doi:10.1055/b-003-125775 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Hamster, Ratte, Maus und Rennmaus, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2014. | Flecknell PA. Analgesia and post-operative care. Laboratory Animal Anaesthesia; 2016:141-192. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.790 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· Harcourt-Brown F. Textbook of Rabbit Medicine, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK; 2002. | Morissey JM, Carpenter JW. Appendix: Formulary. In: Quesenberry KE, OrcuttCJ, Mans C, et al. Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery, 4th ed., Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2021:620-630. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.857
· Kubiak M. Sugar gliders. In: Kubiak M, eds. Handbook of Exotic Pet Medicine; Wiley Blackwell, Oxford, UK; 2021:125-139. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.710 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 7.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Sugar Gliders).
· Lawton MP.C. Pain management after surgery. Proc North Am Vet Conf; 1999:782. | McArthur SD.J, Wilkinson RJ, Barrows MG. Tortoises and turtles. In: Meredith A, Redrobe S, eds. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets, 4th ed., British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucestershire, GB; 2002:208-222. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.252 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 4.6 (Analgesic (Including Antiinflammatory) Agents Used in Reptiles).
· Lawton MP.C. Pain management after surgery. Proc North Am Vet Conf; 1999:782. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.252 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 4.6 (Analgesic (Including Antiinflammatory) Agents Used in Reptiles).
· Lawton MPC. Pain management after surgery. Proc North Am Vet Conf; 1999:782. (co-cited: McArthur SDJ, Wilkinson RJ, Barrows MG. Tortoises and turtles. In: Meredith A, Redrobe S, eds. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets, 4th ed., British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucestershire, GB; 2002:208-222.) — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.252 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 4.6 (Analgesic (Including Antiinflammatory) Agents Used in Reptiles).
· Liles JH, Flecknell PA. A comparison of the effects of buprenorphine, carprofen and flunixin following laparotomy in rats. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 1994;17:284-290. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2885.1994.tb00247.x — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· Liles JH, Flecknell PA. A comparison of the effects of buprenorphine, carprofen and flunixin following laparotomy in rats. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 1994;17:284-290. | Wenger S. Anesthesia and analgesia in rabbits and rodents. J Exot Pet Med. 2012;21:7-16. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.790 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· McArthur SD.J, Wilkinson RJ, Barrows MG. Tortoises and turtles. In: Meredith A, Redrobe S, eds. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets, 4th ed., British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucestershire, GB; 2002:208-222. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.252 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 4.6 (Analgesic (Including Antiinflammatory) Agents Used in Reptiles).
· McGeown D, Danbury TC, Waterman-Pearson AE, et al. Effect of carprofen on lameness in broiler chickens. Vet Rec. 1999;144:668-671. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.647 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 6.5 (Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Agents Used in Backyard Poultry, Gamebirds, and).
· Meredith A. BSAVA Small Animal Formulary: Part B: Exotic Pets, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Quedgeley, Gloucester, UK; 2015. — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· 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.790 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· Miller AL, Richardson CA. Rodent analgesia. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2011;14:81-92. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.790 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.4 (Analgesic Agents Used in Rodents).
· RIMADYL - Carprofen Injection [US Product Label]. Zoetis. DailyMed setid 27197d3c-8e25-4e78-b83b-ee26f9249369. Plus Plumb's 10th ed printed p.192 DOGS (oral route as served).