Need Help ASAP Please

[DragonLady]

I have a female veiled chameleon that is almost 2 years old. She has always been in tip top shape, but this morning she showed signs of distress. I am 99% sure she has an URI. She always "talks" to me when I go in to her room, and this morning she really got my attention. I noticed she was making an irregular noise and upon further inspection she had mucus in her mouth. I took a q-tip and carefully disloged a fairly big hunk of yellowish mucus from her mouth. It's in the beginning stages as she isn't gaping all the time and there is no popping noise when she breaths and her color and grip are still good. My vet is not open, but I immediately called around and found a vet that, although does not treat reptiles, is willing to sell me some Baytril, but needs to know the millegram and dosage she needs. I have no idea. She weighs exactly 100 grams. Can someone please help me with millegrams and dosage? I have been frantically searching the net for info, but have come up with nothing. Thank you very much.

 

[laurie]

First find out if he has small animal or large animal baytril. It is about the concentration, if you use large animal baytril you will kill your chameleon. Find out the % of dilution and I will help you calculate the dosage.

 

[Silverdusk]

Please try to avoid Baytril, ask Chuck G. and a few of the other professional breeders out there. It can deaden the skin where injected and they'll never look the same again.

There is a drug on the market, that would most likely have to be ordered, by your vet that is a lot easier on your Cham's body. It's called Fortaz and has wonderful success with treating URI's. It is also prescribed by the animals weight like Baytril and most vets can make them for you in predrawn syringes that you kept frozen until needed.

...Dan

 

[bridgofaith]

Please try to avoid Baytril, ask Chuck G. and a few of the other professional breeders out there. It can deaden the skin where injected and they'll never look the same again.

There is a drug on the market, that would most likely have to be ordered, by your vet that is a lot easier on your Cham's body. It's called Fortaz and has wonderful success with treating URI's. It is also prescribed by the animals weight like Baytril and most vets can make them for you in predrawn syringes that you kept frozen until needed.

...Dan

Not all Baytril is injectable. Most is oral, which I am sure is what this vet is offering. Fortaz is an injectable and a good med, but unless the bacteria is susceptable, it isn't going to work either.

Since the infection is caught early, obviously go ahead with the vet. Get her into the sun as much as possible, increase her basking temps a little and I personally would add a warm mist humidifier to her enclosure 24/7. It helps her to breathe easier by loosening up the mucus and helping her expel it. Here is some recommended reading:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/theres-no-such-thing-uri-14277/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/back-vet-medication-questions-39302/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/concerns-my-female-panther-47322/ post #26

 

[Silverdusk]

Agreed Heather, I've just seen some terrible dead spots over the years from prescribed Baytril dosages and never with Fortaz. I was only trying to offer other suggestions for her so she knew there were other options available.

Chuck G. from Heroic Chams and Chris from Cleanline Chams are the ones who pointed me towards Fortaz and I swear by it now.

 

[bridgofaith]

No problem. I agree Fortaz is a great med. I have a bunch in the freezer at the moment. Unfortunately, it did nothing for my girl and her RI. But the bacterias she had were not suscepable to the Fortaz and they were to the Baytril.

 

[DragonLady]

Thank you so much. I have increased her basking temp and have put a warm mist humidifier on her. I am waiting for a second call back from this vet to find out the dilution and whether it is small animal. I did find something that recommended 5 mg every 12 hours orally - does this sound right?

 

[bridgofaith]

Thank you so much. I have increased her basking temp and have put a warm mist humidifier on her. I am waiting for a second call back from this vet to find out the dilution and whether it is small animal. I did find something that recommended 5 mg every 12 hours orally - does this sound right?

I do not know the dilution of my Baytril, I would have to ask Ivan about that. The dosage however is: 0.04cc orally, per 100gr of body weight once daily for 10 days.

EDIT: I just sent Ivan an email asking the dilution and dosage.

 

[DragonLady]

After all that, he only has pill form. I got back on the phone and finally found a Petsmart Clinic in a neighboring town that assured me the vet treats reptiles, has treated chams and does have the liquid small animal baytril. I am on my way to take her in now. Thank you very, very much for all of your help. She's my baby and I can't lose her.

 

[bridgofaith]

After all that, he only has pill form. I got back on the phone and finally found a Petsmart Clinic in a neighboring town that assured me the vet treats reptiles, has treated chams and does have the liquid small animal baytril. I am on my way to take her in now. Thank you very, very much for all of your help. She's my baby and I can't lose her.

That's good. Ivan said the pill isn't very water soluble and crushing the pill into water doesn't guarantee an effective dose.

As far as the concentration of the Baytril:

The baytril you have is the unaltered form sold directly to veterinarians for use in small animals like dogs and cats. The dose I gave you is indeed per 100 grams. By the way, if instead of dilution you mean what's the concentration of the Baytril I sold you, then it is 22.7 mg/ml, that's the stock concentration from the manufacturer.

Ivan

The dosage I stated earlier is correct.

 

[DragonLady]

I lost her

I lost her. I am so devastated. I haven't quit crying. I am still in shock at how fast she went downhill. By the time I found the reptile vet at Petsmart in the next town over, I went to get her and she was on the bottom of her cage, no grip and had a blackish tint. I refused to give up hope, but when I finally got there he told me that he could try to treat her, but it would only prolong her suffering. I knew it was just selfishness on my part to try to keep her longer, so I agreed to have her put down. I still can't believe it. She was fine last night - never quit eating, good color, no sunken eyes, good grip, etc. He is going to do an autopsy to pin point the cause of her illness as he couldn't find anything wrong from a physical exam - just to make sure it isn't sometype of bacterial infection that could spread to my other chams. She was my first, the one that got me hooked on chams and I am truly heartbroke over losing her. The only thing that makes it slightly easier to take is I have 41 eggs from her that she laid last March that should be hatching soon, so I will definitely keep one as her legacy.

RIP Ms. Smegel - you were momma's baby girl.

 

[bridgofaith]

I am so, so sorry to hear this. It is never easy but when they are special, it is extra difficult.

 

[jannb]

I am so very sorry for your loss.

 

[carol5208]

That is so sad to hear. It sounds like you were right on top of things and did everything humanly possible to help her, so I hope you won't be too hard on yourself. I am sure you gave her a wonderful life. Sorry for you loss.

 

[JaxyGirl]

I'm soooo sorry to hear what happened I know you did the best you could in this situation and you gave her a great life. Hopefully you'll be a grandma soon and have a lot of little ones running around real soon! Something really good to look forward to

 

[Debbie61]

So sorry for your loss DragonLady, sounds like you did all you could to help her.

 

[DragonLady]

Thank you all for your kind words and condolences. Have not been able to talk about it without crying during the weekend, but am doing better. A part of me knows I did everything I could do for her, but there will always be that part that keeps running through my head trying to figure out if there was something I missed. Thanks again. It truly helps to have this forum as not everyone understands the loss of a treasured chameleon is so hard.