Sourced from published veterinary references. Awaiting credentialed clinical reviewer — our editorial process.
Neomycin is dosed at 15 mg/kg PO q12h in guinea pigs, 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.773 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.1 (Antimicrobial and Antifungal Agents Used in Rodents.a). Verify against current literature before clinical use.
Binds 30S ribosomal subunit, inhibiting protein synthesis. Poorly absorbed orally; used for GI decontamination or topically.
Side effects & warnings
Do NOT give parenterally (severe nephrotoxicity/ototoxicity). Oral use reduces ammonia-producing GI bacteria. Prolonged oral use may cause malabsorption.
Each ExoticRx dose rule is graded by the strength of its primary evidence — see the editorial process.
Sample dosing (2 of 15 cited rules)
A dog/cat sample is shown here. Cited dosing for all 15 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.
Papich Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, 5th Ed, Neomycin, Small Animal Dosage, printed pp.559-560 (lookup pp.587-588): "Dogs and Cats • 10-20 mg/kg q6-12h PO." No per-dose reference is printed by Papich. Corroborating figure elsewhere in the cited book: plumb printed p.929 FERRETS entry "10 - 20 mg/kg PO 2 to 4 times daily". — EDITION UNVERIFIABLE 2026-08-07: this citation names Papich 5th ed, which is NOT held. Its page locator does not resolve to a page naming this drug in the 4th ed (2016), so the reference cannot be confirmed against any copy available here. Treat the page number as unchecked and consult the 5th edition directly.Compilation only — we have not located an independent source that prints this figure.
Papich MG. Saunders Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, 4th ed (2016) — Neomycin, Small Animal Dosage, printed p.559-560: "Dogs and Cats - 10-20 mg/kg q6-12h PO." The dosage block sits at the top of printed p.560, whose running head reads "Neostigmine" because that monograph starts lower on the page; the Neomycin monograph heading is on printed p.559.
· 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.773 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.1 (Antimicrobial and Antifungal Agents Used in Rodents.a).
· 129. Burke TJ. Antibiotic therapy in pet birds and reptiles. In: Weber AJ, Grey S, Townsend K, et al. Veterinary Pharmaceuticals and Biologicals, 5th ed., Veterinary Medicine Publishing Co, Lenexa, KS; 1986. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.417 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.1 (Antimicrobial Agents Used in Birds.a).
· 226. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Extralabel use and antimicrobials. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/antimicrobial-resistance/extralabel-use-and-antimicrobials. Accessed August 14, 2020. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.624 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 6.1 (Antimicrobial Agents Used in Backyard Poultry, Gamebirds, and Waterfowl.a,b).
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Compilation only — we have not located an independent source that prints this figure.
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241. Dorrestein GM. Passerine and softbill therapeutics. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2000;3:35-57. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.418 doi:10.1016/s1094-9194(17)30094-4 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.1 (Antimicrobial Agents Used in Birds.a).
· Besch-Williford CL. Biology and medicine of the ferret. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 1987;17:1155-1183. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.933 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 11.1 (Antimicrobial Agents Used in Ferrets).
· FDA NADA 094-975 — NEO-TERRAMYCIN 100/100 (NEOMYCIN-OXYTETRACYCLINE) POWDER [PHIBRO ANIMAL HEALTH] — https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=3e2a3dc9-6ae2-4e0c-9e2a-e1cf042c6587 NOTE: this label doses in g/head, g/lb, g/ton, mg/head, mg/lb, not mg/kg; the served figure is a unit conversion and is NOT printed verbatim on the label. Label dosing: '100 g/lb Neomycin Sulfate.' — 21 CFR § 520.1484 (Neomycin), conditions of use for Cattle, swine, sheep, and goats: 22.0462-22.0462 mg/kg (the regulation prints this per pound; converted at 2.2046226 lb/kg). Related tolerances: 21 CFR § 556.430. Retrieved from the eCFR API, snapshot 2026-01-01. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-520.1484 | mg/kg BASIS LOCATED 2026-08-19: Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, Neomycin monograph, printed p.956, CATTLE: "Oral administration to treat and control colibacillosis (bacterial enteritis) caused by Escherichia […]" The served figure is printed for this species in this unit.
· 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.773 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.1 (Antimicrobial and Antifungal Agents Used in Rodents.a).
· Papich Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, 5th Ed, Neomycin, Small Animal Dosage, printed pp.559-560 (lookup pp.587-588): "Dogs and Cats • 10-20 mg/kg q6-12h PO." No per-dose reference is printed by Papich. Corroborating figure elsewhere in the cited book: plumb printed p.929 FERRETS entry "10 - 20 mg/kg PO 2 to 4 times daily". — EDITION UNVERIFIABLE 2026-08-07: this citation names Papich 5th ed, which is NOT held. Its page locator does not resolve to a page naming this drug in the 4th ed (2016), so the reference cannot be confirmed against any copy available here. Treat the page number as unchecked and consult the 5th edition directly.
· Papich MG. Saunders Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, 4th ed (2016) — Neomycin, Small Animal Dosage, printed p.559-560: "Dogs and Cats - 10-20 mg/kg q6-12h PO." The dosage block sits at the top of printed p.560, whose running head reads "Neostigmine" because that monograph starts lower on the page; the Neomycin monograph heading is on printed p.559.
· Ritchie BW, Harrison GJ. Formulary. In: Ritchie BW, Harrison GJ, Harrison LR, Abridged, eds. Avian Medicine: Principles and Application; Wingers Publishing, Lake Worth, FL; 1997:227-253. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.418 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.1 (Antimicrobial Agents Used in Birds.a).