respiratory infections

[Fate X]

how did you give medicine to chameleons ?because if you use a dropper how do you know its not going in their windpipe and choke them to death is what im asking here. like if you want to give a female one drop of medecine a week while shes knocked up how do you treat her with a dropper so as her don't choke to death?

 

[MWheelock]

I wouldn't worry too much about whether you are getting the baytril in the "windpipe".

If you are able to open the chameleons mouth (mild pressure to the commisures of the mouth(most outer lips)) you will notice a little tubular projection from the bottom of the mouth. It's not as pronounced as a snake, but is easily observed. Try to put the syringe of medicine behind this in your golden...okay, you freak out and squeeze the syringe early and it gets into the windpipe no biggie...This is a pretty badass antibiotic (fluoroquinalone). If diluted is usually with sterile saline. So aspirations pnuemonia will be killed before it even begins. My guess is that the dilution that your vet gave you is like .1 or .2 mls. If so, draw up water and put this amount in your hand...it is not enough to cause any choking.

I'd be more worried about stressing out the cham by giving meds, so don't screw around when you are administering it. Get the cham, give the meds, put him/her back in the cage. By hestitating and not doing it decidedly the first time, you will stress out the cham more.

As far as injections of Baytril (Heika), if you can give it orally to a cham, I prefer this better. Baytril injections in chams have a few issues. 1) Injection sites may have abscessation which may lead to debridement of the abscesses. 2) There is still debate of whether we need to worry about the portohepatic system filtering out the drug if given incorrectly.(***snakes may be different since their metabolism is slower as well as their digestion of oral medicine.) 3) Injections or oral, just handling the cham stresses it out.

If you have more questions about this subject, don't hesitate to ask.
Matthew

 

[mike brandt]

my panther seems to be making a good recovery, and giving the shots isnt as bad as i thought. with 2 people, (1 to hold him, and myself to give the shot) it can be done really fast and with minimal stress to the lizard.

also thanks to everyone for the info on the baytril.

 

[Will Hayward]

We are all happy to hear the good news. Good luck finishing the treatment.

 

[Heika]

Matthew, that was a really great post. Thanks for taking the time, it is very helpful!

Heika

 

[mike brandt]

my cham is through with his antibiotics, and it looks like he is doing great. all symptoms are gone and he's eating well. i guess the moral of the story is pay attention to your animal b/c you will see signs if things are not right. I believe my recent busy schedule is the culprit here, I think I learned a valuable lesson that my cham and I will both benefit from in the future.

 

[Lymorg and Friend]

adminstering orally...

as far as drowning your cham from meds or force fed water/ food... i was told do not put your little guy right back in his cage but hold him up for about 30 seconds or so to make sure they swallow adn do not spit up their meds or choke on them. lymorg would relax after you were done giving him his meds so the holding him while he swallowed was never a problem, but to get his mouth open, the vet told me that a rubber spatulla was one of the best reptile tools i could own because it can convince them to open their mouths without damaging them... just a thought.