Pseudomonas VS. Amikacin

[LBonawitz]

Pokey is on his 3rd round of Amikacin to fight off this pseudomonas and to me it seems like its not working. Is there anything else i can do to help Pokey with this battle.

The vet says the bacterica is sensitive to the Amikacin but it hasnt cleared up yet and there are reoccuring problems (abcess')

I built him a new cage, new plants, new everything just to be sure he isnt "sitting" in the bacterica. I clean his cage daily, wiping down leaves and branches. Whatelse can I do?

 

[kinyonga]

Pokey had a temporal gland infection, didn't he?? I can't remember how it was treated....but your vet is quite likely right about the bacteria likely still hanging around. Pseudomonas is hard to get rid of.

I've never been a fan of amikacin...lost several lizards (chameleons and others) to it....don't know why. Amikacin is hard on kidneys and also affects the ears/hearing.

Here's an article about amikacin...you have to scan down to find it...also there is some information about toxicity....
http://books.google.ca/books?id=lxm...onepage&q=amikacin AND "high calcium"&f=false

As far as everything else you are doing...can't add anything to it. Just make sure he drinks well.

 

[LBonawitz]

actually, what we had thought was a temporal gland infection was just an abscess, and with .02cc of amikacin every 3rd day it cleared up in a couple weeks. but not all of the bacteria has been killed off and keeps returning.


I watch his urate closely for any off white coloring and soak or force hydrate if needed.

 

[kinyonga]

Was the abcess cleaned/scraped out?

 

[Seeco]

A day in the sun has magically healed many of my chameleons.

 

[LBonawitz]

Was the abcess cleaned/scraped out?

no it never "came to a head," i guess you could call it. I just kept the area very clean and greenish colored scabs would form that i would pull off and clean really well again. all ive gotten from the vet is pre-measured syringes of amikacin she says to give every 3rd day. other than that, i'm on my own. this time the tech told me if it raises to a white spot, almost like a pimple bring him in and they can lance it to drain it.



If its still sunny around here this weekend (i'll keep my fingers crossed) i'll take him outside. but mon-friday i leave before the sun rises and get home after it sets i'll cheer him on to hang in there

 

[kinyonga]

Usually if an abcess/infected area in a chameleon is not scraped out and flushed the problem will return. BTW...the pus in chameleon abcesses is the consistency of thick cottage cheese.

 

[Chuck G]

Talk to your vet about Fortaz and Baytril.

 

[LBonawitz]

Talk to your vet about Fortaz and Baytril.

I asked about Baytril the first time 'round. she said it wasn't as effective as amikacin against pseudomonas

 

[kinyonga]

I don't know if the bacteria have changed recently enough that baytril/enrofloxacin doesn't work...or maybe it doesn't work as well against pseudomonas...but.....
"It has activity against some Gram-positive aerobes and a wide range of Gram-negative bacilli and cocci, which include klebsiella, pseudomonas, salmonella, and other organisms such as mycoplasma, staphylococci and chlamydia."...
http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.php

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171407.htm

 

[Chuck G]

I asked about Baytril the first time 'round. she said it wasn't as effective as amikacin against pseudomonas

This is the combo I have used that has worked well in the past.
This was advised by my vet,Scott Stahl,an excellent herp vet.
I have used amikacin with Dmso for some mouth issues with good results.

 

[james L]

Has anyone tried reptaid on pseudomonos? I just stated using it myself on some senegals that appear to have pseudo.and a bunch of other bad stuff, but im only a day into it so no results yet.

 

[Todnedo]

Has anyone tried reptaid on pseudomonos? I just stated using it myself on some senegals that appear to have pseudo.and a bunch of other bad stuff, but im only a day into it so no results yet.

Pseudomonas is not something you want to toy around with. It will kill if left untreated.
Pseudomonas is hard to kill with strong antibiotics so reptaid is not a wise choice.

 

[james L]

Well being that they are wc, I wanted to try a less stressful method of treatment. These are small chameleons around 10-15 gram. Also they are dirt cheap so it isnt a big deal if it didnt work. Just wanted to know if anyones ever tried.

 

[LBonawitz]

Talk to your vet about Fortaz and Baytril.

okay. thats great information chuck. thank you. If this combo worked for you I will bring it up again with his vet

 

[Todnedo]

Well being that they are wc, I wanted to try a less stressful method of treatment. These are small chameleons around 10-15 gram. Also they are dirt cheap so it isnt a big deal if it didnt work. Just wanted to know if anyones ever tried.

Regardless of what you paid you should give them the care and treatment they deserve.

 

[james L]

OK?? They are getting great treatmeant that wasnt my point. The reason I purchased them was to try and start a captive popoulation. I have lots of meds and a great vet and when the time comes they will see him. Thanks for answering my question...

 

[Todnedo]

OK?? They are getting great treatmeant that wasnt my point. The reason I purchased them was to try and start a captive popoulation. I have lots of meds and a great vet and when the time comes they will see him. Thanks for answering my question...

I wasn't tring to bash your care but the statement "they are dirt cheap so it isnt a big deal if it didnt work" Makes one think it's no big deal if they die.

New imports need to be vet checked because you never know what they may be carrying and there is no way to treat them if you don't know what they have.
I wish you luck with breeding them as I am sick of seeing near death senagals for $100 at most petstores.