What is Digoxin used for?

Digoxin is indicated for: atrial fibrillation, Cardiac (positive inotrope), Cardiac disease, Cardiac failure, Congestive heart disease, Congestive heart failure, dilated cardiomyopathy, Positive inotrope (congestive heart failure), supraventricular tachyarrhythmia, Supraventricular tachycardia.

Which species have cited Digoxin dosing data?

Digoxin dosing in the ExoticRx formulary covers 16 species: African Grey Parrot, Blue-and-Gold Macaw, Cat (Domestic), Chicken (Poultry), Chinchilla, Dog (Domestic), Ferret, Green-cheeked Conure, Guinea Pig, Lovebird, Pet Rat, Rabbit (Domestic), Syrian Hamster, Turkey, Umbrella Cockatoo, Zebra Finch.

Is Digoxin a controlled substance?

Digoxin is not federally scheduled in the US. Controlled-drug status differs by country — verify your local rules.

What are the warnings or contraindications for Digoxin?

NARROW therapeutic index. Monitor serum digoxin levels (target 1.0-2.0 ng/ml dogs). Toxicity: arrhythmias, anorexia, vomiting. Reduce dose in renal failure. Many drug interactions (quinidine, verapamil).

What are the side effects of Digoxin?

Reported side effects, adverse reactions, and contraindications for Digoxin: NARROW therapeutic index. Monitor serum digoxin levels (target 1.0-2.0 ng/ml dogs). Toxicity: arrhythmias, anorexia, vomiting. Reduce dose in renal failure. Many drug interactions (quinidine, verapamil).

How does Digoxin work?

Inhibits Na+/K+-ATPase, increasing intracellular calcium, enhancing contractility (positive inotrope). Also slows AV conduction (vagomimetic).

Digoxin

US brand names:Lanoxin, Cardoxin

Calculate dosage

Sourced from published veterinary references. Awaiting credentialed clinical reviewer — our editorial process.

Digoxin is dosed at 0.01–0.02 mg/kg PO q12h in african grey parrots, per 177. Coles BH. Prescribing for exotic birds. In: Bishop Y, eds. The Veterinary Formulary, 5th ed., Pharmaceutical Press, London, UK; 2001:99-105. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.490 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.18 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Birds). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929 — PRINTED DETAIL MISSING FROM THIS RULE (retrieved 2026-08-19): 0.01-0.02 mg/kg PO q12h¹⁷⁷ | Psi acines, passerines, raptors/congestive heart disease — Carpenter's 6th ed, Table 5.18 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Birds), corpus p.490. Clean-type duplicate: "0.01-0.02 mg/kg PO q12h | Psittacines, passerines, raptors/congestive heart disease" — Current Therapy in Avian Medicine and Surgery 1st ed (2016), Appendix 1 Table 14, printed p.821.. Verify against current literature before clinical use.

Drug Class

Cardiovascular

Routes

Backed by 16 published sources

· 177. Coles BH. Prescribing for exotic birds. In: Bishop Y, eds. The Veterinary Formulary, 5th ed., Pharmaceutical Press, London, UK; 2001:99-105. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.490 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.18 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Birds). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929 — PRINTED DETAIL MISSING FROM THIS RULE (retrieved 2026-08-19): 0.01-0.02 mg/kg PO q12h177 Psi acines, passerines, raptors/congestive heart disease — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.18 (corpus p.490). Figure exact. Missing, same block, same page: "induced arrhythmias in pigeons at 0.2 mg/kg/day609" and, one row below, "0.02 mg/kg PO q24h × 5 days367 | Budgerigars, sparrows (PD)/... this dose led to signs of toxicity in a mynah782"

Sample dosing (2 of 16 cited rules)

A dog/cat sample is shown here. Cited dosing for all 16 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.

Species	Route	Dose	Frequency	Evidence	Source
Dog (Domestic)	PO	0.005–0.01 mg/kg	q12h	Strong	Pariaut R. Atrial Fibrillation Current Therapies. Veterinary Clinics of North America-Small Animal Practice. 2017;47(5):977-+. PMID: 41079340 — Verified against Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th Ed, p.421 (2026-08-01). — Plumb's 10th ed (held) printed p.392, Digoxin monograph spanning p.392-395; page located 2026-08-05 from the book's own running heads, verified to name the drug in its body text. — SOURCE EDITION: Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook — ISBN 9781394172207, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781394172207
Cat (Domestic)	PO	0.005–0.01 mg/kg	q48h	Moderate

177. Coles BH. Prescribing for exotic birds. In: Bishop Y, eds. The Veterinary Formulary, 5th ed., Pharmaceutical Press, London, UK; 2001:99-105. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.490 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.18 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Birds). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929 — PRINTED DETAIL MISSING FROM THIS RULE (retrieved 2026-08-19): 0.01-0.02 mg/kg PO q12h¹⁷⁷ | Psi acines, passerines, raptors/congestive heart disease — Carpenter's 6th ed, Table 5.18 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Birds), corpus p.490. Clean-type duplicate: "0.01-0.02 mg/kg PO q12h | Psittacines, passerines, raptors/congestive heart disease" — Current Therapy in Avian Medicine and Surgery 1st ed (2016), Appendix 1 Table 14, printed p.821.

· 177. Coles BH. Prescribing for exotic birds. In: Bishop Y, eds. The Veterinary Formulary, 5th ed., Pharmaceutical Press, London, UK; 2001:99-105. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.490 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.18 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Birds). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929 — PRINTED DETAIL MISSING FROM THIS RULE (retrieved 2026-08-19): same printed row, Carpenter's 6th ed Table 5.18 corpus p.490 / Current Therapy printed p.821. Scope "Psittacines" covers Agapornis roseicollis.

· 7. Allen DG, Pringle JK, Smith DA. Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, 2nd ed., LippincottWilliams & Wilkins, Philadelphia; 1998. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.656 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 6.13 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Backyard Poultry and Waterfowl). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929; Backyard Poultry Medicine and Surgery — ISBN 9781119511755, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781119511755

· Allen DG, Pringle JK, Smith DA. Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, 2nd ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia; 1998. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.656 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 6.13 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Backyard Poultry and Waterfowl). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929; Backyard Poultry Medicine and Surgery — ISBN 9781119511755, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781119511755

· Coles BH. Prescribing for exotic birds. In: Bishop Y, eds. The Veterinary Formulary, 5th ed., Pharmaceutical Press, London, UK; 2001:99-105. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.490 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.18 (Miscellaneous Agents Used in Birds). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929 — PRINTED DETAIL MISSING FROM THIS RULE (retrieved 2026-08-19): same printed row, Carpenter's 6th ed Table 5.18 corpus p.490 / Current Therapy printed p.821. Scope "Psittacines" covers Ara ararauna.

· Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Meerschweinchen, Chinchilla und Degu, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2012. / Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Hamster, Ratte, Maus und Rennmaus, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2014. / 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.794 doi:10.1055/b-004-129947 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.5 (Cardiovascular Agents Used in Rodents). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929

· Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Meerschweinchen, Chinchilla und Degu, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2012. | Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Hamster, Ratte, Maus und Rennmaus, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2014. | 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.794 doi:10.1055/b-004-129947 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.5 (Cardiovascular Agents Used in Rodents). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929

· Ewringmann A, Gloeckner B. Leitsymptome bei Meerschweinchen, Chinchilla und Degu, Enke, Stuttgart, Germany; 2012. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.794 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.5 (Cardiovascular Agents Used in Rodents). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929

· Mayer J. Rodents. In: Carpenter JW, eds. Exotic Animal Formulary, 4th ed., Saunders/Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2013:476-516. | Meredith A. BSAVA Small Animal Formulary: Part B: Exotic Pets, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Quedgeley, Gloucester, UK; 2015. | Morrisey JK, Carpenter JW. Formulary. In: Quesenberry KE, Carpenter JW, eds. 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.794 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.5 (Cardiovascular Agents Used in Rodents). Located 2026-08-05: the only table covering this species in which the drug's own row prints this dose. The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: BSAVA Small Animal Formulary, Part B — Exotic Pets — ISBN 9781910443712, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781910443712; Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929; Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery — ISBN 9780323484350, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323484350

· 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.871 — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929; Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery — ISBN 9780323484350, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323484350 [w3r2 2026-08-14] LOCATOR: Carpenter 6th ed, Table 10.8 (Cardiovascular Agents Used in Rabbits), the 0.005-0.01 mg/kg PO q12-24h sub-row bearing superscript 166. The digoxin block prints five sub-rows spanning 0.0005 to 0.07 mg/kg, a 140-fold spread - the rule correctly stores ONE sub-row and must not be blended. Held copy is a paginationless ebook conversion, so the table and not the page is the citable location.

· Morrisey JK, Malakoff RL, Quesenberry KE, et al. Cardiovascular and other diseases Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery, 4th ed., Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2021:55-70. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.946 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 11.7 (Cardiopulmonary Agents Used in Ferrets). The copy held is an ebook conversion with no printed page numbers, so the table — not the page — is the citable location. — SOURCE EDITION: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — ISBN 9780323833929, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323833929; Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery — ISBN 9780323484350, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780323484350

· Pariaut R. Atrial Fibrillation Current Therapies. Veterinary Clinics of North America-Small Animal Practice. 2017;47(5):977-+. PMID: 41079340 — Verified against Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th Ed, p.421 (2026-08-01). — Plumb's 10th ed (held) printed p.392, Digoxin monograph spanning p.392-395; page located 2026-08-05 from the book's own running heads, verified to name the drug in its body text. — SOURCE EDITION: Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook — ISBN 9781394172207, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781394172207

· Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th ed (2023, held copy; the original seed cited the 9th, which was never consulted) — Plumb's 10th ed (held) printed p.392, Digoxin monograph spanning p.392-395; page located 2026-08-05 from the book's own running heads, verified to name the drug in its body text. — SOURCE EDITION: Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook — ISBN 9781394172207, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781394172207

Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th ed (2023, held copy; the original seed cited the 9th, which was never consulted) — Plumb's 10th ed (held) printed p.392, Digoxin monograph spanning p.392-395; page located 2026-08-05 from the book's own running heads, verified to name the drug in its body text. — SOURCE EDITION: Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook — ISBN 9781394172207, https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781394172207

Digoxin

Drug Class

Routes

Indications

Mechanism of Action

Side effects & warnings

Species with Digoxin dosing data (16 dose rules)

Evidence levels across 16 dose rules

Backed by 16 published sources

Sample dosing (2 of 16 cited rules)

Upgrade for Full Details

Digoxin

Drug Class

Routes

Indications

Mechanism of Action

Side effects & warnings

Species with Digoxin dosing data (16 dose rules)

Evidence levels across 16 dose rules

Backed by 16 published sources

Sample dosing (2 of 16 cited rules)

Upgrade for Full Details

More Cardiovascular drugs