any suggestion for otc antibiotic - I am losing her

[little leaf]

I am so frustrated !! I have called 5 vets- NONE will see my cham, and my reg vet is out of town unitll Thurs/ I think ( know) my cham is very sick - the only vet who would even consider giving me an antibiotic changed their mind, they dont treat chams, but did call some place, and at first was going to give me baytril - but then the was told that it is not used anymore for chams- that she needs Fore-taz ( sp?) and they did not have that, so they called me back and told me not to come - what do i do - can anyone suggest ANYTHING otc - if I do nothing, she is going to die - i know she wont make it to Thur/ - I was hand feeding her, but today she has no interest in food / water at all - she is also blind now- I am treating her for an eye infection - but she only had one eye- and it is now swollen shut -
I have another post - 10,9,8 - has all my cham info - a few friends have suggested Tetracycline - but I only have Tetracycline Hydrochloride - is that the same? the vet suggested I take her to OSU- that is out of the question as for 1, it is 3 hrs away = and I would not get out of there for under $ 1 K - ( trust me, if I had $1k I would be willing to spend it - I do not look at her as a "disposable pet" - but I do have to be real about the cost =( - she was a rescue - but I am in way over my head, with no help
can anyone help PLEASE - TY

 

[little leaf]

yes, I told them that it was, but they (the vet) said that because they were not used to dealing w/ chams, and the place they called said not to give it - that is why they wont- I am NO vet- but I am sure I knew more than they did about chams- and i know next to nothing ( as you can tell by the health of my cham I have been trying to get help for her from the 2nd day I got her- I knew she was not right - but its all been dead ends - TY for your suggestion - I am going to go check it out- her eye does look better today tho-

 

[Kate]

It must be so frustrating that no vet will treat her. If the vet who didn't have the medication in stock had called another one I'm sure someone had it . What was the tetracycline for?

 

[little leaf]

he did have the baytri - he just would not give it to me - I have no idea who they called to get their info from - but ..I was able to get my hands on some- now I just need to figure out the does for her-
the Ter/ I use on our chicken flock as a maintenance for them - they dont get it all the time - we have a farm, and I also do work w/ our Humane Society and an animal rescue - that is kinda how I ended up with the Cham - I just cant say no to any kind of critter in need -

 

[Kate]

he did have the baytri - he just would not give it to me - I have no idea who they called to get their info from - but ..I was able to get my hands on some- now I just need to figure out the does for her-
the Ter/ I use on our chicken flock as a maintenance for them - they dont get it all the time - we have a farm, and I also do work w/ our Humane Society and an animal rescue - that is kinda how I ended up with the Cham - I just cant say no to any kind of critter in need -

Sorry to be so late in replying but now you have the baytrall you could pm the vets on here. There is Dr o and Ferretiinmyshoes. You will need your chams weight. It's worth a shot. Good luck.

 

[little leaf]

update:
well, she is doing about the same- I did give her the baytril (sp?) and there is someone on here who has been a HUGE help on everything . I am giving her 7 drops of bug juice/water every 2 hrs - her eye is doing much better , it was full of dirt or some brown matter - I think I have gotten it all out- she will open it now for a few seconds ( mostly to give me the stink eye when I do her juice-lol ) I am going to weigh her again to see how that is going she was 1.2 oz
I have put her to bed w/ no lights, and a heating pad hanging on the outside of the cage w/ a cookie sheet to hold it up ~ THANK YOU ALL again for all your help on her- I will post a pic of her as soon as i figure out how to do that -

 

[Kate]

update:
well, she is doing about the same- I did give her the baytril (sp?) and there is someone on here who has been a HUGE help on everything . I am giving her 7 drops of bug juice/water every 2 hrs - her eye is doing much better , it was full of dirt or some brown matter - I think I have gotten it all out- she will open it now for a few seconds ( mostly to give me the stink eye when I do her juice-lol ) I am going to weigh her again to see how that is going she was 1.2 oz
I have put her to bed w/ no lights, and a heating pad hanging on the outside of the cage w/ a cookie sheet to hold it up ~ THANK YOU ALL again for all your help on her- I will post a pic of her as soon as i figure out how to do that -

That is such a relief that you are getting help. My thoughts are with you and your baby girl.

 

[carol5208]

I hope she pulls through. The comment that Baytril is no longer used on chameleons is incorrect. I have had mine on baytril recently and I have read on here numerous times it being given for respiratory infections. Not saying that Baytril is the correct antibiotic for your situation, just that it is still currently being used on chameleons.

 

[Mmcbain1]

I agree try to contact a vet on here and baytril has helped me!

 

[little leaf]

I know we are not out of the woods by a longgg shot- but at least now I feel better that I am doing the correct things for her- I told my self - knowing she was not doing well - I WILL NOT FALL IN LOVE with her- but.. to late - I love her - lol if she does not make it I will be so very sad, but she has taught me so much , and I am so glad to have found such a great site, with so many ppl who understand and also truly love their Chams , and all the support I see others give on all the other post - it is just so nice to see ppl helping others and not judging them - just helping and correcting in such a way that the new cham owner ( like me- lol ) does not feel to embarrassed about their lack of knowledge - even tho I have done hundreds of hrs of research over many yrs to try to be a good cham owner- I see I have 1000's more to do- lol - THANK YOU does not say it well enough to all of you on here
I posted 2 pics ( I hope) of her, one is of her eating her buggy juice ,she is such a good girl the way she opens her little mouth for me and one of her in her " I don't feel good " greens - but at least she is not all gray anymore i hope the pics worked - (her eye has the meds on , that is why so wet looking)

 

[Kate]

It is so easy to " fall in love ". I'm glad you are seeing a difference. Keep up the good work and let us know how she is doing.

 

[laurie]

Cheryl I think you are coming along. it is great that she likes to bug juice. If that is all she wants just let her have it. I did forget to tell you to add some calcium to the bug juice. She really doesn't look nearly as bad as I expected.

 

[Mmcbain1]

what is bug juice? I must have missed that?

 

[Kate]

You squish bugs to a liquid and feed via a syringe drop by drop if all else fails.

 

[ChameleonMom]

What a total sweetheart she is! She looks unwell but she doesn't look as bad as your posts suggested. It must be your total love, care and committment to her that is helping her heal. Trust me, she knows you are there for her! Keep up your good work and please keep us updated.

ps. I have had success with Baytril in the past, and will use it again, if I am required. I am sorry you're having problems obtaining vet assistance but thank god you have help from forum members. Continued good luck!

 

[ChameleonMom]

I hope she pulls through. The comment that Baytril is no longer used on chameleons is incorrect. I have had mine on baytril recently and I have read on here numerous times it being given for respiratory infections. Not saying that Baytril is the correct antibiotic for your situation, just that it is still currently being used on chameleons.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[laurie]

what is bug juice? I must have missed that?

The bug juice I have her using is make up of pedalite, ensure, crickets or what ever other feeders you have, and just a bit of calcium, either liquid or powder. then you blend it really well strain it and use a needless syringe to feed it. The key is you need to drop it very slowly in the mouth. If you put more than one drop at a time it can choak them.

 

[ChameleonMom]

Laurie is this the same bug juice every time or are you adapting it for this particular situation? I am asking because I have a reference file and wonder if I should copy/paste this into it, just in case of a future emergency. Thanks to let me know!

 

[little leaf]

so far, its seems to be working great she seems to like it ok-
how long do i keep her on the meds? also- I know the baytril is hard on her kidneys, should I be watching for any warnings that her kidneys are acting up- and what would I watch for ? she sounds like a rice crispy when she breaths - poor thing - her grip is still strong, so I am happy about that and she went from 1.2 oz to 1.4 still no poo -
sorry so many questions - just want to be sure I am staying on the right track with her
I am going to make some more juice in the Am - not so much this time- I could have fed an army of chams w/ the amount I made last time - you said make new every 2 days, so I will add the new bugs to this new batch - it will have meal worms, super worms, crickets , wax worms and then the other stuff - yummy - NO ONE in the house will ever use my blender again -

 

[squeekz1992]

That is great! I'm so glad to hear she is improving!!

Lots of water while you are giving her Baytril!! It's important, In my experience, I saw more yellow in the urate while giving baytril, so be careful and really watch that she drinks!