Baytril injection - black streaking
- Thread starter Mtnlaurel
- Start date
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
Its a bruise. And I never do injections. I always tell my Vet to give me doses I can give orally. Injecting chameleons creates new health problems in some animals. Get a new vet for one thing since every Herp Vet I know currently tends to already know this. The wrong vet will kill your chameleon as fast as any illness
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
I've used Baytril injections before. Baytril is quite caustic and it is painful. My vet is board certified in zoo medicine and he finds that Baytril injections can be more effective than Baytril given orally. Anytime I've given Baytril injections, the vet has prescribed a series of five injections given every 48 hours.
Yes, their skin marks up black around the injection site, and sometimes it can be quite a big mark.
Don't worry, the mark will fade.
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
In my Vet's case Baytril is an option but not the first choice. I've worked with the stuff for over two plus decades and have seen quite a bit of results myself in dozens of different type of reptiles, some good and some not so good.
I love how you added that line that your vet is a board certified vet to support your point of view in this. Personally I've dealt with a number of "board certified" people and there have been as many good ones as idiots. The phrase doesn't mean as much as it once did. I doubt your vet has rescued or rehabbed the number of Chams I have. But lets not split hairs shall we? The majority of chams I've seen where injections are used don't fare well. Now admittedly there are many possibilities for that- not the least of which could be the animal was just too far gone in the first place. That aside, the average person is not going to always be able to inject properly, they make mistakes too. Also the chams do not tolerate the extra stress as compared to say an iguana, something a lot of "board certified" vets don't understand.I met one vet once who told me it was safer for him to inject than to get the animal's mouth open to give it oral meds, so forgive me if I can care less about your vet giving you reason to feel injections are more effective.
When I try to provide to information or even the more rare venue and teach, I firmly have seen that simpler is better for people asking for info on the site. Oral meds for a chameleon will work better for the majority of folks and when it comes to Baytril and as long as the stuff gets inside the animal it will do its job.
Less stress in a cham = better chance of recovery. Giving a cham something orally or via injection is of course stressful, but orally is going to be easier.
To the OP, gratz on your animal improving. Have you determined the cause yet? If not you are potentially going to have a relapse when the meds are done.
I would say either method of administering meds can be equally stressful. Some will not handle either very well.
I've used baytril both ways and had good success with both. I get everything ready to go and that way either way takes about the same time to do so the stress is likely similar. However, my zoo certified vet usually gave me oral doses for my chameleons.
Maybe one thing for consideration is what you're trying to treat...will it work quicker by injection or by oral administration? Does it get there quicker through the stomach or the blood?
Oral...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/03JanStrandBaytril.html
Maybe one thing for consideration is what you're trying to treat...will it work quicker by injection or by oral administration? Does it get there quicker through the stomach or the blood?
Oral...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/03JanStrandBaytril.html
Mtnlaurel
Member
Baytril was not his first choice, it's actually the second antibiotic we tried since the ceftazidime was ineffective. His condition was declining rapidly, and I've acted as best I can in the situation. He is improving although he seems like he's in a bad mood, I can't blame the guy.
I think there are a number of things that contributed to this. I have had construction going on in my home, necessitating moving him to my sister's house for a while where he was not receiving the same degree of attentive care. The fumes from floor finishing would have certainly killed him. Also, I have air conditioning for the first time in 2 years. That's a pretty big household
temperature change to mitigate in a screened cage, and I suspect he was too cool. The AC is now off.
Oldchamkeeper you mentioned that you have had secondary problems associated with injections and that concerns me. I feel certain that no treatment at this point would kill him, swapping treatments around yet again may also be unwise. I'm unsure but since I am seeing daily improvement for now I am staying the course.
I'm hazarding a guess that you may be hinting at kidney damage. What other risks are associated with injections?
Now I'm gonna go read kinyongas article...
I think there are a number of things that contributed to this. I have had construction going on in my home, necessitating moving him to my sister's house for a while where he was not receiving the same degree of attentive care. The fumes from floor finishing would have certainly killed him. Also, I have air conditioning for the first time in 2 years. That's a pretty big household
temperature change to mitigate in a screened cage, and I suspect he was too cool. The AC is now off.
Oldchamkeeper you mentioned that you have had secondary problems associated with injections and that concerns me. I feel certain that no treatment at this point would kill him, swapping treatments around yet again may also be unwise. I'm unsure but since I am seeing daily improvement for now I am staying the course.
I'm hazarding a guess that you may be hinting at kidney damage. What other risks are associated with injections?
Now I'm gonna go read kinyongas article...
