Oxytocin Not Working Please Read

[Seeco]

Hi I have a young adult female chameleon that is not laying eggs. Eggs have been visible for at least 3 months (she's looked ready to pop for 1 or 2 months) She has never mated. This is her first time having eggs. She is still not fully grown. Eggs appeared shelled and normal shaped via x-ray at vet. Eggs seemed huge to me.

She got a calcium shot on Monday followed by 4 shots of oxytocin with 90 minutes between shots. Same thing today but just 2 shots of Oxy so far (Wednesday). No observed attempts to lay. No leg or tail lifting. Deluxe laying chamber that is very comfortable and never rejected by my females before.

What should I do? This is too much handling and injecting. Have you ever had this happen?

Oxytocin is .05 ml shots. Dilluted 1:10 to 2 IU/ml

 

[Miss Lily]

I'm not sure of the frequency that Oxytocin should be given, but that sounds like quite a lot to me. I do know that if it is going to work it usually does so very quickly (within an hour or so iirc). That's what my vet told me when my female had a shot.

 

[jannb]

Oxytocin does not always work and sometimes surgery is required and it can be risky.

 

[chams1]

Yeah, I was going to say (and I know it's not what you want to hear) that she may be in need of some surgery to get the eggs out.

 

[Seeco]

Surgery seems too risky. Any alternatives? Should I just stop with the oxytocin? Does anyone know of any alternative injection sites / methods beside along the back behind the shoulders?

 

[chamelisa]

Hi I have a young adult female chameleon that is not laying eggs. Eggs have been visible for at least 3 months (she's looked ready to pop for 1 or 2 months) She has never mated. This is her first time having eggs. She is still not fully grown. Eggs appeared shelled and normal shaped via x-ray at vet. Eggs seemed huge to me.

She got a calcium shot on Monday followed by 4 shots of oxytocin with 90 minutes between shots. Same thing today but just 2 shots of Oxy so far (Wednesday). No observed attempts to lay. No leg or tail lifting. Deluxe laying chamber that is very comfortable and never rejected by my females before.

What should I do? This is too much handling and injecting. Have you ever had this happen?

Oxytocin is .05 ml shots. Dilluted 1:10 to 2 IU/ml

You have to also be giving her neocalglucon too. Ask your vet about it.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Surgery seems too risky. Any alternatives? Should I just stop with the oxytocin? Does anyone know of any alternative injection sites / methods beside along the back behind the shoulders?

I can tell you Oxytocin is not going to work for you. If it was going to work it would have long ago. If she has eggs and is this far past laying I am willing to bet some of the eggs are fused.

Now is the time if you are going to take her to the vet. You do not want her to start producing another clutch behind the other that will be the end. She may have the ability to fight to stay alive now. Once she starts showing signs it will be too late

 

[ladysilkworm]

umm.. when I saw the word oxytocin, it struck me odd!

umm.. yeah, when oxytocin fails, you get surgery.. hmm. c-section.

Wow, I never thought the reptile world can be this complicated! oxytocin for the chams... and meconium from the silk moths.

Yeah, just the other day I visited a local customer's place and he was telling me about vet bills! WOW!

 

[jannb]

I can tell you Oxytocin is not going to work for you. If it was going to work it would have long ago. If she has eggs and is this far past laying I am willing to bet some of the eggs are fused.

Now is the time if you are going to take her to the vet. You do not want her to start producing another clutch behind the other that will be the end. She may have the ability to fight to stay alive now. Once she starts showing signs it will be too late

I agree with Ryan. I wouldn't wait.

 

[Seeco]

Yeah, been to the vet on monday and today -- he did the calcium and I did the oxy's at home. Same thing today. I've stopped the oxy now and maybe, hopefully, I was just jumping the gun and she still needs more time to lay naturally. I'm not gonna do surgery.

Thanks for your advice everyone. If anything good happens I'll let you know.

 

[Elizadolots]

Have you tried starting a hole for her and putting her in it? I figure you probably have, but there's that whole "lesson" about "what you do when you assume"....

 

[Kent67]

Just curious, who's your vet?

 

[bradley]

my female was pregnant for 8 weeks and when she layed she layed six. She had 3 shots of oxytocin and the 3rd shot made her lay 7 eggs. She then wouldnt lay anymore so she had surgery. The oxytocin wasnt going to work for my girl whatever happened.Because she was pregnant for so long with infertiles they started to mold inside her and go mushy so the eggs she did push out were the only good formed eggs. This may have happened to yur cham a she has benn pregnant for so long

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I'm not gonna do surgery.

Thanks for your advice everyone. If anything good happens I'll let you know.

Death Sentence

If she has eggs in her the oxy would have worked in one shot if it could have. I wish you the best. I do not see this ending well at all. It may be a long goodbye so keep her comfortable. I had one last 3 months and produced a second clutch behind it. She died in surgery because it was too late I waited too long. Still bothers me I didn't do it sooner. I really hope I am wrong and she lays for you.

 

[chams1]

Death Sentence

If she has eggs in her the oxy would have worked in one shot if it could have. I wish you the best. I do not see this ending well at all. It may be a long goodbye so keep her comfortable. I had one last 3 months and produced a second clutch behind it. She died in surgery because it was too late I wated too long. Still bothers me I didn't do it sooner. I really hope I am wrong and she lays for you.

I totally agree with Ryan. I wish you (and her) the best, but I see surgery as the only viable way to get those eggs out of her. I know that surgery is risky, but they are certainly better odds than not doing it.

 

[chamelisa]

In my opinion, photos would help show the condition of the female. I don't want to start panic because in these situations without photos and with just descriptions, it's really hard to know what advice to give. He's been going to the vet and the vet knew enough to provide injectable calcium along with the oxytocin shots. I suppose the next step is to consult the vet regarding surgery.

Reviewing what has been said, I see the injections were given in a different place than where my vet recommends. He had me inject my female in the leg muscle. I don't use oxytocin very often. Last time was several years ago. But I do remember a vet telling me to inject in the same place Seeco was instructed to give the injections.

The words alone are enough to worry us. And I'm not sure I feel very good about a decision not to perform surgery. As Ryan has stated, it will be a slow process, her demise. And it will be very sad. Goes against my way of thinking but that's just my opinion.

 

[Seeco]

Yeah, this is really something I have not accounted for. My vet and I discussed surgery but not in a way like "Yeah no problem I'll just go in there and pop 'em out". What really upsets me is that she's my only "keeper" from her bloodline (aside from one runty one) so if she dies the line is a total dead end...

 

[tkilgour]

Death Sentence

If she has eggs in her the oxy would have worked in one shot if it could have. I wish you the best. I do not see this ending well at all. It may be a long goodbye so keep her comfortable. I had one last 3 months and produced a second clutch behind it. She died in surgery because it was too late I waited too long. Still bothers me I didn't do it sooner. I really hope I am wrong and she lays for you.

I totally agree with ryan. He is right on the money with this...If oxytocin was going to work it already would have done so. One of my females had to have the Oxytocin/Calcium injections and she laid 23 fertile eggs in less than an hour later. She dropped them while sleeping on a perch.

Best of luck Seeco, I hope this works out for you and your chameleon. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Seeco]

She laid! Check it out here:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/she-laid-week-after-oxytocin-45018/

 

[jannb]

I am so very happy for you and your girl.