Need help please respond quickly

[JonnyB22]

So my girlfriend took our little veiled to the vet today and he has a R.I. The doc prescribed some Baytril. He said squeeze some into his mouth or put some on a cricket and hand feed him. The only problem is we have only had our Cham for 3 days and we haven't seen him eat, nor will he eat out of our hand yet. Is there an easy way to get the Baytril in him without anymore stress? He has had a very stressful day going to the vet and I don't want our little Henry getting worse.

 

[GabeCastro]

Thats great you took him to the vet. You're already on a good start!

Since he's not eating, most likely it's because he's in a new environment. It'll normally take a chameleon a week or two to feel comfortable enough to be normal again.

But since he has a R.I. you're gunna have to stress him out a bit. But it has to be done. Force feeding is pretty tricky. If your cham gets mad and tries to snap at you when you open your cage to grab him, try and hold a cricket with the meds dropped on it so he can bite it. Usually they'll end up chomping it down and eating it.

Another thing you can do is hold him in one hand, use the other to get his mouth open and have your girlfriend toss a med coated cricket in his mouth (This is what I had to do). Getting their mouth open is the tricky part. Sometimes chams will open their mouths if you gently press the sides of their mouth. If that doesn't work, I used a credit card. Be sure you sand down the edges so it's not sharp. Use it to open their mouths and have your girlfriend stick the cricket in so he can bite down. Since you have to force feed a med, you might as well give him something to eat. Some other options for feeders to use are silkworms, hornworms, superworms, dubia roaches, butterworms, calcium worms, and the occasional waxworm.

You can also buy a small syringe and try to get it deep inside your chams mouth, but I'd only recommend it to experienced cham owners. I myself don't like doing this.

Regardless your cham will be stressed, but they'll get over it.

Like I said, it'll take a good solid week or 2 for your cham to get used to his new home. But you're def in a great start and your cham will be back to normal in no time.

Check out this thread for additional help//info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-best-force-feed-32372/

 

[JonnyB22]

Ok so after a day of trying I have failed all of these methods, Henry will puff up but he doesn't snap. I tried the credit card trick but he just refuses to open his mouth. I'm at a loss and I don't want Henry to get worse. What is a person to do when all else fails???

 

[carol5208]

Try showing him to himself in the mirror. You might get him to gape(open his mouth) that way. He may be too young for this though. What about showing him a camera. A lot of chameleons hate the camera. Mine does and opens his mouth every time I try to take a picture. you can also try gently tugging under the chin to get him to open his mouth

 

[JonnyB22]

I tried the mirror and nothing. He has kept his eyes closed since we have had him and the vet is saying it's from him trying to conserve energy.

 

[little leaf]

first, it is very good you took him to the vet it is very hard to get them to open their mouth sometimes, but you may need to be a little more aggressive at it , not rough, or causing him harm, but another way you may get him to open his mouth is to drip water on his nose, you do not want to use so much that he can not breath, but like drips how your dripper would do- alot of cham will start to drink - let the drops fall from about 4" above his nose - so he can "feel" the drop hitting his nose- otherwise, you are going to have to get it in by forcing his mouth open, you can also maybe call the vet back, and ask if he can offer some ideas - hang in there, it can be hard, but you can do this I think Youtube has a video of someone force feeding , and it shows how they get the mouth open

 

[Psychobunny]

Sorry to hear you are having problems already with your little cham.

It is very hard to get their mouth open if they are fighting you to keep it
closed.
Gently covering their nostrils with your finger will force the mouth open, but they will first thrash their head back and forth like a aligator trying to shake
your finger off.
You may need to hold him firmly in a towel to keep his head still and your
gf can pop the medicated crick in his mouth.
Avoiding stress cant be a concern when they need to have meds.
You get it in them any way you can.

 

[JonnyB22]

I will have to try these ideas when I get home from work tonight. Yesterday he was turning black from me trying to get his meds in him. It has been a stressful week for the little guy. Thank you everybody for the ideas, the forums have been a big help to us!

 

[sfmolina]

Another altogether different answer is call/go back to vet. They could prescribe an antibiotic that comes in another form. My Zuri had an unknown infection. Was prescribed a broad spectrum antibiotic given via subcutaneous injection.
Might he a little stressful for you at first, but I think it would he less stressful for your little cham.

 

[Nrupaw]

Had to give my cham Baytril last year. The Vet had mixed it with chicken flavored broth (I think) to mask the taste and had given me syringes to force feed him. I tried a lot of the ideas listed above - mirror, pulling chin, credit card, water on nose, etc. I think all that stressed me out more than him. Needless to say it didn't work much.

The vet then gave me a small bottle of regular baytril (20 ml I believe) and a few hypodermic needles. I ordered a cup of silkworms and inject them with baytril (as per prescribed dosage by vet) and leave the silkworm in the cage and the Cham would go for them after a while.

Took my used needles back to the vet to dispose off

No stress for him or me!

check if your Vet can help you with something like that.

 

[JonnyB22]

Well after an hour and a half fight, I finally got a few drops of baytril down Henry. I guess I was just being to gentle with the little guy. I don't think he likes the taste of it he keeps standing on his hind legs waving back and forth, it scares me its almost like he is choking

 

[kinyonga]

Are you not giving him a measured dose of the baytril??
Watch he doesn't aspirate it.

 

[JonnyB22]

Yes I put 3 drops in but I put one drop at a time with about 5 minutes in between. The little guy only weighs 5 grams