Omar's burns

[ridgebax1]

So we went to the vet and he says the infection on Omar's back is superficial so he added topical gentamicin treatment to be applied twice a day. The problem is I work 11am to 11pm and 1pm to 1am; So putting the medicine on before I go to work is no problem but he will be asleep when I get home. Will it be detrimental for me to wake him up to put the medicine on his back? He sleeps in the upper left hand corner of his cage so I cannot really just reach in and put the medicine on. I would have to take him out to do it. Should I have my son put him in his travel box at night then I can reach in and apply the medication, then just leave the lid off so he can climb up to the top of his cage when the lights come on. I am not sure he would be willing to apply the medicine while I am at work or not. He may and then there is no problem but I am looking for alternatives in case he won't.

 

[ridgebax1]

Anybody have any thoughts?

 

[jannb]

I've put meds on my guys plenty of times when they are sleeping but I don't have to wake them. They normally sleep where I can get to them easy with no need to wake them. Also Silver Sulfadiazine Cream is excellent for burns.

 

[laurie]

I would give the vet a call and explain you are not home at times the cham is awake, to be able to medicate him twice a day, and ask what the vet recommends you do.

If I had your choices, I would hope my son would do it, but if not I would do it once a day. I really hate waking up my chams, unless the vet gives you no choice.

 

[fluxlizard]

I wouldn't worry about it too much and go ahead and apply the medication in the night.

I purposefully treat my lizards at night very often, because I feel like I can see a difference in the stress levels during the day. If your chameleon is bothered during the day, it will carry that stress around much of the day sometimes. If it is bothered in the night, it will fall asleep and sleep off the stress, with a stress free day following.

 

[junglefries]

Chams sleep like humans. Some are easily startled and some just sleep thru anything. Hopefully, yours is the latter. I would just place your free hand under him at nite when applying the meds. If he gets scared and falls or jumps, you can catch him. Otherwise, he needs the meds, so unfortunately you just have to do it. No one enjoys medicating their kids. Fact of life.