# Too much Ivermectin



## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

I was worming our ~125 lb ram tonight, and I must not have had the ring locked on the plunger. I ended up giving him the whole plunger,  enough for a 1250 lb horse! 

I couldn't find anything online about ivermectin overdosing  - only that it is important not to underdose .... 

Will he be ok? I guess you can't induce vomiting in sheep!


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## VA Shepherd (Dec 26, 2010)

I'd call the vet, before doing anything else.

But as a possibility, if you want to give it a try-- I've never done this, but the lady who told me about is one of the most experienced shepherds I know. She does this in cases of bloat, I don't know if it will work in this case or not, but FYI: Place a strong stick in his mouth, between the back teeth, to hold the mouth open. Make sure no one is standing anywhere in front of him to avoid being splattered with vomit. Straddle him, with your knees on either side, and bring them together very hard behind the ribs, on the stomach. The result, if done correctly, is reported to be very impressive projectile vomiting. As I said, this is supposed to be an emergency cure for bloat; it may need all that pressure from within to work. But she did once save a sheep which had eaten a toxic plant using this method, so I thought I'd share it. Good luck.


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

At 10x the recommended dosage, I would be concerned. This page talks about ivermectin toxicity.

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/ivermectin-toxicity/page1.aspx


I hope he is ok.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

All I know that could be done is drench him with a LOT of activated charcoal, and then pump his stomach.

But that's a* lot *of money, and it may already be too late.

Hopefully he'll survive without too much permanent damage.

That's why I always recommend using *liquid *Ivomec measured with a syringe

Good luck!


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

I just checked on him, and there were none of the signs from the website (THANKS Liberty Wool!) He was even hopping around, and was getting frisky with his whether buddy. But it's only been 4 hours. I'll call the vet first thing in the morning. 

Thanks everyone - I hope this isn't a costly mistake  He's such an awesome boy, and his wool is amazing, so I was really hoping for lambs this year. 



Bearfootfarm said:


> That's why I always recommend using *liquid *Ivomec measured with a syringe


I will ABSOLUTELY be doing this from now on! Could I use the paste in a syringe until the tubes are gone? I've always hated trying to figure out the dosage from those plungers


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

If toxicity results the vet may prescribe a glucocorticoid.

But it sounds like he is doing ok?


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

So far so good - checked him several times throughout the night and today, and he's his normal self. 

I called the vet's office this morning as soon as they opened, and am waiting for a call back from the vet. 

Keeping my fingers crossed...:frypan: I am beating myself up over this - stupid stupid mistake


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

From what I've heard from others, Ivermectin has to be REALLY HUGELY overdosed to cause damage. It's supposed to be one of the "safe" dewormers, as opposed to things like tramisol that are more harmful if overdosed. 

Hopefully it'll just be a scare and not an actual problem with him. Hoping for the best!


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Could I use the paste in a syringe until the tubes are gone?


You might as well.
You may have to water it down to get it in a syringe


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

I'm amazed that he ate the contents of an entire tube. My experience with paste wormers and sheep/goats is that you might get the dose down the drain, but most of it gets spit out. That is a lot of paste in a sheep's mouth. Maybe he walked around and spit it out.


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

The vet finally called (mine is on vacation, so it's another in the practice). I was beginning to think that he was so far gone that it didn't matter at this point, or that everything would be fine....

She said he should be fine PHEW! She said that the only issue may be if the worms all die at once that they could get impacted. So we should give him 20 cc of mineral oil tonight and tomorrow morning, just in case. She originally said to watch for signs of colic and give it to him if I see it, but I asked if I could just give to him as preventative, and she said sure. Oh phew! Much relief here!



houndlover said:


> I'm amazed that he ate the contents of an entire tube. My experience with paste wormers and sheep/goats is that you might get the dose down the drain, but most of it gets spit out. That is a lot of paste in a sheep's mouth. Maybe he walked around and spit it out.


That could be. It could be also that the tube wasn't full too - I don't remember checking it. I just remember that the plunger went in way too fast and it was too easy. There's a lot of "maybe's". 

I know one thing - I learned a lot from this, and will check and double check, and definitely use measurable syringes from now on. I'll keep a very close eye on him for the next few days too. 

Thanks everyone - I really appreciate the help and support from this site! I don't post often here in the sheep forum, but read (and LEARN) every day! THANKS!!!! :goodjob:


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## KimTN (Jan 16, 2007)

He'll be fine. I have done the same thing several times on accident ofcourse. One time, a goat that really liked wormer sucked a whole tube before I could stop her. Several other times, I was fighting with sheep and the device was either not locked or turned out that way and I gave them a whole tube. Not happy about it, but I never had an animal even look sick afterward. Those same sheep are still here years after the fact.


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## Hossplay (Jul 21, 2012)

PKBoo said:


> I was worming our ~125 lb ram tonight, and I must not have had the ring locked on the plunger. I ended up giving him the whole plunger,  enough for a 1250 lb horse!
> 
> I couldn't find anything online about ivermectin overdosing  - only that it is important not to underdose ....
> 
> Will he be ok? I guess you can't induce vomiting in sheep!


I did the same thing only the lamb was 25 lbs and the runt of triplets to boot. I thought sure I had killed her. She showed no ill effect whatsoever.


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## Jeannie Nash (Jan 3, 2018)

Good to know that its so safe. I always worry that my husband gets overly enthusiastic deworming the lambs!


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## Hom3y (Jun 25, 2018)

I've had this issue and I didn't know what to do too so I just called the vet since he knows better about the remedy.


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## 2cappy52 (Feb 25, 2020)

I did the same thing once and was sure that I had killed my sheep. I would find her dead in the morning.
Nope, it didn't faze her in the least.
Now I pre-measure the paste from the tube onto a spoon full of those molasses-coated pellets that sheep go gaga over. Then I put a few more of the same pellets on top of the ivermectin paste, and feed them the ball of pellets right out of my hand. It's a little bit like a jelly donut. By feeding out of my hand I can be sure they eat and lick every last part of their dosage. This wouldn't be practical with a big flock, granted...


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## RogerScottC (Dec 16, 2020)

No. It pays to read up anything yourself of course, but 91 mcg per kilo for and entire horse is far below what my reading shows as typical. 200mcg/kilo being common.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

The sheep is likely dead, as the original post was in 2011.

I am perturbed by the "new" forum software that brings up old posts in order to generate click traffic.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> The sheep is likely dead, as the original post was in 2011.
> 
> *I am perturbed by the "new" forum software that brings up old posts in order to generate click traffic.*


After a back and forth with Admin, it ain't gonna change, Alice. 
The only thing I can think of is to keep posting like you did and maybe, just maybe, people will become aware. Although it's so interesting that most of these posts are first posts and the posters are never seen again.....


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Yes, I know. The admin and owners are shooting themselves in the foot.


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