Baytril question

christineacero

christineacero

New Member
Hello all,

So I should've gone with my gut a few weeks ago when I suspected that Zuri had a respiratory infection. It got worse yesterday so I started researching reptile vets in my area. Thankfully, I found a reptile vet located in Lindsay, approximately 4 minutes away from our house!! (BONUS!!) We had an appointment this afternoon at 2:50pm

Sure enough, RI it is! He said she looks really great (minus the RI), and my little girl weighs in at 29 grams. I always wondered exactly how much she weighed because I can barely feel her when I'm holding her. The vet said her RI is in the earlier stages (no bubbly mouth or labored breathing) which I'm thankful for because I'd hate to see her suffer.

Anywho, obviously Baytril was prescribed. Twice a day orally every 12 hours. She put up quite a fight when he tried to look in her mouth, and he was able to get her first dose in fairly quickly, but there was still a bit of a struggle. He's obviously done this a million times, and I'm concerned about whether I am going to be able to administer the meds a)by myself b) safely without hurting her because shes such a small chameleon.

The purpose of this post is does anyone know of any tips or tricks in order to get this medication safely into her mouth? I already know about wedging the mouth open and squirting it in, but I'm looking for ANYTHING to make this easier on me and less stressful on her. Any help is appreciated! :)
 
Make sure she stays really hydrated while on Baytrill. It can be really tough on the kidneys.

Carl
 
how can i keep her hydrated? She's not currently interested in large amounts of water. Shes not drinking much at all, and hasn't been for about a week or 2
 
Keeping the humidity up will help. Putting her in the shower on a plant with the spray bouncing off the wall will help too.

Carl
 
peace of mind

Obviously you want her to drink. However, chams can absorb moisture thru their skin. Make dripping water a priority while sick. Chams cannot resist water drops. Find leaves that will permit slow rolling droplets to the end of the leaf,and you'll have a winner.
 
When I had to give Baytril for my girl, I gave it with a treat: first the treat and while she was chewing, I put the syringe in her mouth. Just do it quickly! :)
 
Thanks for all the tips guys! I am going to try all these options! I'll let you know which ones worked and which ones didn't for me:)
 
Christine one very important thing to remember is do not share anything between your animals. The last thing you want to do is spread it to everyone you have. After doing anything associated with the sick girl make sure you wash with a anti bacterial soap.

Carl
 
christineacero said:
how can i keep her hydrated? She's not currently interested in large amounts of water. Shes not drinking much at all, and hasn't been for about a week or 2
Click to expand...

Baytril can make your cham loose interest in drinking and food.
I have had to force feed/water chams on Baytril with a syringe.
I make a sort of, bug juice with blended up crickets and water, then put it through a strainer.
 
Junglefries....I would like to see any articles you have about chameleon's being able to absorb water through heir skins. I thought their skin repelled water.
 
CarlC said:
Christine one very important thing to remember is do not share anything between your animals. The last thing you want to do is spread it to everyone you have. After doing anything associated with the sick girl make sure you wash with a anti bacterial soap.

Carl
Click to expand...

Is this contagious?! :eek:
 
Not completely on topic, but I find it interesting that there seem to be a lot of young chameleons getting RI recently. I also have one undergoing treatment right now and I have seen several other posts about chams with RI. Could it have anything to do with the changing of seasons? Just a thought.

My little girl, has not eaten in over a week. She started treatment last Saturday, so I am hoping that she begins eating again soon. She is still alert and active, so I still have high hopes that she will recover nicely.

I hope your little one gets better soon.
 
She seems to be more alert today then she has been for the past few days, although she is refusing water and I'm not sure if shes eaten yet (they won't cup feed so I have to free range the crickets unfortunately). My husband and I were able to get her dose of Baytril in this morning without too much of a struggle, but I am terribly nervous of hurting her lips when trying to force her mouth open!

I'd like to put her in the shower tonight but I'm not really sure how to properly do this. Any suggestions??
 
I have not done the shower thing yet, but my understanding is that you want the water to be luke warm, not hot. Put a plant in the shower with her on it and aim the shower head at the wall so small drops of water bounce onto the plant and cham. You don't want to turn the shower directly on the cham or plant. You are just looking for the small splashback. Leave her in there for 20 minutes, or more if needed. The warm water droplets should entice her drink if left in there long enough.
 
okay i think i'm going to try that. I have no plant to put her on though because they're all in her enclosure. I might have to go out and buy one
 
It doesn't have to be a plant, I have a fake tree I would use, but you could use a plastic chair, or anything that she can hold into, keeps he elevated off the floor, and will not be damaged by the water.
 
so BIGGEST FAIL OF LIFE!! I did the shower thing for Zuri and all I did was scare the sh*t out of the poor thing! She absolutely hated it, and all it did was made her wheeze like crazy. I feel so bad. Anyone else have any ideas on how to keep her hydrated?? :(
 
no he didn't take a culture. He wasn't super thorough...but hes dealt with chams before and suggested she be put on Baytril. For future reference, how long should it take to see some improvement? More for me to know whether or not this medication is effective or if I have to bring her back.
 
The drug is absorbed pretty quick with a high metabolism which chameleons only have during the day. I've seen improvement after a couple of days.

Baytrill is a broad spectrum drug which kills both gram negative and gram positive bacteria. This can lead to the destruction of benefical bacteria in the digestive tract. You might start seeing undigested food in the fecal. If this happens and you are able to hand feed dip the food item into yogurt and offer a probiotic supplement to help rebuild the beneficial bacteria.

Carl
 
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