Antibiotics vs Salmonella and sub Q vs IM?

[FaunaBgirl]

Can I assume that a chameleon that has been on antibiotics for one thang may no longer carry salmonella if there was any?

After administering Fortaz for two weeks, will I need to administer a second round in a month to fulfill the successful obliteration of a URI? And if so, at what duration?

Also, I've always given antibiotics IM. I'm friends with a vet who said I can Sub Q the Fortaz. Doesn't ring right with me. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Can I assume that a chameleon that has been on antibiotics for one thang may no longer carry salmonella if there was any?

After administering Fortaz for two weeks, will I need to administer a second round in a month to fulfill the successful obliteration of a URI? And if so, at what duration?

Also, I've always given antibiotics IM. I'm friends with a vet who said I can Sub Q the Fortaz. Doesn't ring right with me. Any thoughts on this?

If the URI is gone I don't see any reason to subject them to another treatment.

Sub Q and IM medication. That does not sounds right. If it is IM it should be given Intramuscular. I am no vet so it is entirely possible it can. I don't think it is much more trouble to IM the meds as intended.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

Mader's Reptile Med book lists Fortaz (Ceftazidime) as: "SQ, IM or IV". Also 20mg/kg. He also lists giving it to chameleons every 24 to 48 hours. That note about chameleons in Mader's book was referenced to a paper by Dr. Stahl .

 

[Sepioteuthis]

Howdy,

Mader's Reptile Med book lists Fortaz (Ceftazidime) as: "SQ, IM or IV". Also 20mg/kg. He also lists giving it to chameleons every 24 to 48 hours. That note about chameleons in Mader's book was referenced to a paper by Dr. Stahl .

Dr Stahl has prescribed Fortaz sub Q for one of my chams before.

 

[FaunaBgirl]

Veiled cham in question weighs 9.5 ounces. I'm giving him .05 mil every 48 hours. Sub Q and today, IM Doesn't seem like much.
I must spend a lot of time interacting with him as well as making sure he drinks a lot of water. At least he let me kiss him today after I gave him his shot.

 

[palmbob]

As for your original question about Salmonella, you cannot assume there is no Salmonella after any treatment of antibiotics, even if you cultured it previously, found it to be sensitive, and cultured it afterwards and it was negative. Salmonella is a notoriously tricky and unpredictable genus of bacteria and many forms are irregularly resistant despite culture and sensitivity... but at least having done a culture and sensitivity and discovering what antibiotics it was sensitive to should you discover it, will at least give you the best liklihood of ridding your lizard of it. But without that information you cannot make any assumptions. If your lizard had Salmonella, it could easily have been resistant to Fortaz.

 

[FaunaBgirl]

As for your original question about Salmonella, you cannot assume there is no Salmonella after any treatment of antibiotics, even if you cultured it previously, found it to be sensitive, and cultured it afterwards and it was negative. Salmonella is a notoriously tricky and unpredictable genus of bacteria and many forms are irregularly resistant despite culture and sensitivity... but at least having done a culture and sensitivity and discovering what antibiotics it was sensitive to should you discover it, will at least give you the best liklihood of ridding your lizard of it. But without that information you cannot make any assumptions. If your lizard had Salmonella, it could easily have been resistant to Fortaz.

Thank you for your input on the Salmonella portion of my query. While I don't believe my CB veiled has ever had salmonella, I know there are about 2,235 strains of it and that around 36% of lizards are carriers, therefore I am still concerned as I am very close to my cham. He likes me to kiss his snout and I can't resist. I am fascinated with my findings of communication and his level of understanding, which I hope to get on film someday.