Sourced from published veterinary references. Awaiting credentialed clinical reviewer — our editorial process.
Clomipramine is dosed at 16–32 mg/kg PO q12h in pet rats, per 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.799 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.7 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Rodents). — REQUIRES CLINICAL JUDGEMENT (retrieved 2026-08-19): Chain is faithful but terminates unsourced: "Mammals: Rats: 16-32 mg/kg p.o. q12h." — BSAVA Small Animal Formulary 10th ed Part B: Exotic Pets, printed p.82, printed with NO reference (its only reference, a = Seibert 2004, supports the bird dose). No document supplies whether a TCA at 64 mg/kg/day is safe in a pet rat. — SOURCE CHAIN: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.7 — "Clomipramine 16-32 mg/kg PO q12h(122) — Rats". Superscript 122 resolves in Carpenter's own reference list to BSAVA Small Animal Formulary Part B (Exotic Pets), which prints the same figure at (printed p.82) — "Mammals: Rats: 16-32 mg/kg p.o. q12h". The two texts are ONE source, not independent corroboration. — PROVENANCE, read in full 2026-08-19: BSAVA Small Animal Formulary Part B (Exotic Pets) (printed p.82), DOSES — "Mammals: Rats: 16-32 mg/kg p.o. q12h." The rat line carries NO reference marker; the only referenced line in that block is the avian one (Seibert et al. 2004, feather-picking in cockatoos). Carpenter's Table 9.7 row cites this same book (superscript 122), so the two texts are ONE lineage, not corroboration. — TRACE ATTEMPT 2026-08-19, result NEGATIVE: the figure could not be traced to any source beyond the formulary chain. Rat behavioural-pharmacology models use clomipramine at 0.6-50 mg/kg (schedule-induced polydipsia 5 mg/kg, Woods, Psychopharmacology 1993, ; forced swim 10-50 mg/kg; neonatal depression model 15 mg/kg SC q12h, Labra-Ruiz, Brain Sci 2025), but NO published behavioural model uses 16-32 mg/kg PO q12h. No second clinical pet-rat dose was found in the veterinary literature. — SEARCH LIMITS, stated so nobody repeats them: no BSAVA errata or corrigenda could be retrieved (bsava.com and bsavalibrary.com return HTTP 403 to anonymous fetch, so absence is not proof none exists); and Johnson-Delaney's Exotic Companion Medicine Handbook and Mayer & Donnelly's Clinical Veterinary Advisor: Birds and Exotic Pets returned catalogue pages only, so whether either prints a rat clomipramine dose is UNKNOWN rather than negative. Verify against current literature before clinical use.
Potent serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. More serotonin-selective than amitriptyline. Also has anticholinergic properties.
Side effects & warnings
FDA-approved for separation anxiety in dogs. 2-4 weeks for effect. GI upset, sedation, urinary retention. CONTRAINDICATED with MAOIs. Serotonin syndrome risk. Lower seizure threshold.
Species with Clomipramine dosing data (10 dose rules)
Each ExoticRx dose rule is graded by the strength of its primary evidence — see the editorial process.
Sample dosing (2 of 10 cited rules)
A dog/cat sample is shown here. Cited dosing for all 8 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.
Hewson CJ, Luescher UA, Parent JM, Conlon PD, Ball RO. Efficacy of clomipramine in the treatment of canine compulsive disorder. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1998;213(12):1760-1766. doi:10.2460/javma.1998.213.12.1760 — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.289, Clomipramine monograph spanning p.289-291.
King JN, Steffan J, Heath SE, et al. Determination of the dosage of clomipramine for the treatment of urine spraying in cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2004;225(6):881-887. doi:10.2460/javma.2004.225.881 — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.289, Clomipramine monograph spanning p.289-291.
· 221. Desmarchelier MR. Clinical psychopharmacology for the exotic animal practitioner. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2021;24:17-35. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.471 doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2020.08.003 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.10 (Psychotropic and Antiepileptic Agents Used in Birds.a,b).
· 221. Desmarchelier MR. Clinical psychopharmacology for the exotic animal practitioner. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2021;24:17-35. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.471 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.10 (Psychotropic and Antiepileptic Agents Used in Birds.a,b).
· 735. Ramsay EC, Grindlinger H. Use of clomipramine in the treatment of obsessive behavior in psittacine birds. J Assoc Avian Vet. 1994;8:9. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.471 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.10 (Psychotropic and Antiepileptic Agents Used in Birds.a,b).
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852. Seibert LM, Crowell-Davis SL, Wilson GH, et al. Placebo-controlled clomipramine trial for the treatment of feather picking disorder in cockatoos. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2004;40:261-269. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.471 doi:10.5326/0400261 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.10 (Psychotropic and Antiepileptic Agents Used in Birds.a,b).
· Hewson CJ, Luescher UA, Parent JM, Conlon PD, Ball RO. Efficacy of clomipramine in the treatment of canine compulsive disorder. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1998;213(12):1760-1766. doi:10.2460/javma.1998.213.12.1760 — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.289, Clomipramine monograph spanning p.289-291.
· King JN, Steffan J, Heath SE, et al. Determination of the dosage of clomipramine for the treatment of urine spraying in cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2004;225(6):881-887. doi:10.2460/javma.2004.225.881 — Plumb's 10th ed printed p.289, Clomipramine monograph spanning p.289-291.
· 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.799 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.7 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Rodents). — REQUIRES CLINICAL JUDGEMENT (retrieved 2026-08-19): Chain is faithful but terminates unsourced: "Mammals: Rats: 16-32 mg/kg p.o. q12h." — BSAVA Small Animal Formulary 10th ed Part B: Exotic Pets, printed p.82, printed with NO reference (its only reference, a = Seibert 2004, supports the bird dose). No document supplies whether a TCA at 64 mg/kg/day is safe in a pet rat. — SOURCE CHAIN: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.7 — "Clomipramine 16-32 mg/kg PO q12h(122) — Rats". Superscript 122 resolves in Carpenter's own reference list to BSAVA Small Animal Formulary Part B (Exotic Pets), which prints the same figure at (printed p.82) — "Mammals: Rats: 16-32 mg/kg p.o. q12h". The two texts are ONE source, not independent corroboration. — PROVENANCE, read in full 2026-08-19: BSAVA Small Animal Formulary Part B (Exotic Pets) (printed p.82), DOSES — "Mammals: Rats: 16-32 mg/kg p.o. q12h." The rat line carries NO reference marker; the only referenced line in that block is the avian one (Seibert et al. 2004, feather-picking in cockatoos). Carpenter's Table 9.7 row cites this same book (superscript 122), so the two texts are ONE lineage, not corroboration. — TRACE ATTEMPT 2026-08-19, result NEGATIVE: the figure could not be traced to any source beyond the formulary chain. Rat behavioural-pharmacology models use clomipramine at 0.6-50 mg/kg (schedule-induced polydipsia 5 mg/kg, Woods, Psychopharmacology 1993, ; forced swim 10-50 mg/kg; neonatal depression model 15 mg/kg SC q12h, Labra-Ruiz, Brain Sci 2025), but NO published behavioural model uses 16-32 mg/kg PO q12h. No second clinical pet-rat dose was found in the veterinary literature. — SEARCH LIMITS, stated so nobody repeats them: no BSAVA errata or corrigenda could be retrieved (bsava.com and bsavalibrary.com return HTTP 403 to anonymous fetch, so absence is not proof none exists); and Johnson-Delaney's Exotic Companion Medicine Handbook and Mayer & Donnelly's Clinical Veterinary Advisor: Birds and Exotic Pets returned catalogue pages only, so whether either prints a rat clomipramine dose is UNKNOWN rather than negative.
· Ramsay EC, Grindlinger H. Use of clomipramine in the treatment of obsessive behavior in psittacine birds. J Assoc Avian Vet. 1994;8:9. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.471 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.10 (Psychotropic and Antiepileptic Agents Used in Birds.a,b).