respiratory infection - how to force feed?

[keokeo]

i've only had my little lola less than two weeks and today found out she has a respiratory infection. i'm afraid i did not recognize early enough.

she's only 2.5 months old, and six grams. i received baytril and antibiotic eyedrops from the vet (as the symptom i noticed was that she kept one eye closed since yesterday).

she's so tiny, it is very difficult to get the medicine in her. she hasn't eaten anything today or yesterday, and i believe she is growing weaker. she had a decent appetite when i received her.

does anyone have any suggestions of how to make her eat? i feel like i'm hurting her when i try to open her mouth to put in the baytril.

i did a search and read the links and posts on RIs here and have upped my temp and am giving her warm showers.

i feel very upset that things have gone downhill so quickly for my new yet already beloved pet. the vet said my setup is good and that this likely started at the breeder.

any advice for keeping her strong while hopefully the medicine kicks in is very appreciated. thank you for reading.

sincerely,
kristin

 

[camimom]

if you have someone who can help you.

get them to hold her, and then get a credit card, stick the corner of the card between her lips and gently twist, it should make her open her mouth so you can put her medication/food in.

 

[keokeo]

thank you camimom, i will try that.

should i try to put a live cricket in, or kill one and put it in dead, or baby food? (if the latter, what kind of babyfood would be best for her?)

 

[camimom]

I would do a freshly dead cricket so it can't get away.

 

[keokeo]

i was able to force feed her two crickets last evening with camimom's strategy, so i felt hopeful. however this morning i woke and she was dead. today is the two week anniversary since i got her. i feel awful i did not know she was suffering earlier. thank you camimom for your advice you gave me, i appreciate the support very much.

 

[camimom]

Oh no! Im so sorry.

Sometimes when they are young, they just cant fight the illness.


I hope you wont let this turn you off from cham keeping.. It is a wonderful experience.

I want to reassure you, that it wasnt anything you did...

 

[keokeo]

thank you camimom!

 

[Elizadolots]

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.

 

[martinm]

thank you camimom, i will try that.

should i try to put a live cricket in, or kill one and put it in dead, or baby food? (if the latter, what kind of babyfood would be best for her?)

or get the cricket nd cut the back legs off nd put it in a deli cup

 

[camimom]

or get the cricket nd cut the back legs off nd put it in a deli cup

point is sort of moot now.
not to mention, the point was to force feed her.

 

[martinm]

point is sort of moot now.
not to mention, the point was to force feed her.

thats what i do when he gets tired of crickets nd i dont got food i cut there back legs for they wont jump nd just walk aroind the deli cip

 

[camimom]

thats what i do when he gets tired of crickets nd i dont got food i cut there back legs for they wont jump nd just walk aroind the deli cip

the cham wasnt eating in the first place. them having or not having the ability to jump wont change that, them sitting in a cup does no good when the cham wont shoot for the bugs.

the point was to make the cham eat, which it wasnt doing.

 

[squeekz1992]

I'm so sorry you lost your baby I know its tough, they get into your hearts almost instantly. Don't let this turn you off of chams, they really are great, I've only had one so far, but he died on Saturday.
I really hope you are able to get another one whenever the time is right. They make great friends.

 

[RicoRoxy]

Sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry for your loss, I had the same thing last month.. Hopefully you never face this agan, I jsut wanted to share with the forum, the vet was able to give me a powder food, I mixed with water and used a baby dropper to get it into Rico.

I lost him anyway but I do think it was helping him keep up his strength to fight.

 

[keokeo]

thank you elizadots, squeekz, ricoroxy and camimom again. i'm going through grief stages - now i'm really angry at the breeder! but, i guess i can't know for sure when the illness started. she was shipped to me overnight from florida to west texas so perhaps the stress of shipping was a factor in her quick decline.

i have contacted the breeder to see if i can get a refund because i spent the equivalent of her initial cost on the vet bill and of course the non-monetized stress of her death, but i'm not too hopeful because there was only a 7 day health guarantee and this was 13 days. poopy.

for what it's worth, i enjoyed the short time with her and i'm glad she isn't suffering anymore. i feel like i do want to get another chameleon but i'm a bit traumatized by this experience, so i need to think about it more. i know it's always a risk when they're babies and of course inevitable that you will lose them eventually but this was just way too soon!

thanks again for the sympathy.

 

[AlecWade]

I'm sorry to hear about your young chameleon. They are wonderful animals and it hurts whenever one is lost, no matter how small!

You were quite a responsible owner taking such a young cham to the vet and attempting to do everything you could, seeking help here, ect... I hope someday you will decide to own another chameleon and that we'll see you here! They are very sensitive and amazing creatures. R.I.P. to your lil one I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[justjumpit621]

Sorry you lost her maybe next time try with an older one? I find they are a little less fragile, I am afraid to ever get a baby because I am afraid I would kill it also it could have been the baytril that did her in, it is bad if overdosed and reptiles have such slow immune systems you only need to give a little every few days. A baby that small would have to have an almost immeasurable amount.

 

[keokeo]

i am happy to say i did get a new little girl veiled. she is a juvenile, so bigger and more sturdy. i felt really sad after losing the other baby. the breeder did reimburse my payment but that in no way made up for the trauma of what happened.

i was scared to try again for a while - but now i feel so glad that i did! my new cham is called trini and i love her already.

thank you again for the support this forum and the posters gave me when i was going through the bad time. i hope to contribute to help others in the future and give back the support.