Update on Opti

[jheitz]

I was finally able to find a vet for my guy Opti. The vet believes he has a massive irritation in both eyes, and seemed hesitant to even say the word infection. The vet even refused to run a fecal sample despite having a fresh collection available....he pooped on my wife during the car ride there, but that's for a different thread. We left the vet with a prescription for Baytril and eye drops and a $160 dollar vet bill. Despite how hard I pushed for it, the vet refused to irrigate his eyes stating her lack of confidence in the procedure. Then she left me with the parting shot... " Many reptiles can go Helen Keller and still live normal lives when the owner is able to assist feed and water them."
My jaw literally hit the floor. This vet was suppose to be a reptile/exotic expert. I can understand opting out on a procedure due to lack of confidence. I myself am in the medical profession and we always strive to do no harm, but to not even run a 10 minute fecal sample? We are keeping our fingers crossed. I plan on contacting a another clinic when they return to the office on the 25th, until then all I can do is continue with the meds and assisted feeding/watering.

 

[jannb]

I would find a different vet, now.

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

I would find a different vet, now.

I agree

 

[jake01]

Wowza, can't believe a vet said this.

 

[jheitz]

I did. This vet was the back up. The original vet I wanted to go to is currently out of the office until the 25th. They deal with multiple exotics as well as the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. This person was the only "qualified" herp vet close by.... an hour and 47 minutes away to be exact. What really stings is that this person can highly recommended by the Pacific Northwest Herpitalogical Society. I can't help but hate myself right now.

 

[Syn]

I would have refused the Baytril etc. and just left. That's ridiculous. I hope you find a better vet.

 

[chameleonman57]

That vet should go to h@#! for saying that. Sorry about the French everyone.

 

[jheitz]

Believe me Synn, I wanted to shove the bottle down her throat so she could experience everything Opti is, but at this point I'll take all I can get. From my research, Baytril is a flouroquinelone, like Septra for us humans. It's used primarily for the treatment of skin infections in dogs and cats ( brief pause to scratch head ) so how does this help with an obvious eye infection in a chameleon? It needs to hurry up and be the 25th so I can get him into the real vet clinic.

 

[rmhawk]

Will you PM me the name of the vet, and/or name of the vet place? I live in seattle and i want to cross this place off the list of "exotic" vets

 

[Syn]

Believe me Synn, I wanted to shove the bottle down her throat so she could experience everything Opti is, but at this point I'll take all I can get. From my research, Baytril is a flouroquinelone, like Septra for us humans.

I was prescribed the same thing when I went to Banfield, the petsmart vet. They too were an "exotic" vet. The eye infection did clear up, but whether it was from the baytril or from me giving the chameleon saline spray every day... that I do not know.

 

[jheitz]

It's probable, but I would lean towards a combination of both, the antibiotic and the supportive care. Flouroquinelones are strong antibiotics, but without constant supportive care, they tend to not kill off all the bacteria, leading to stronger recuring infections. We see this alot with UTI and Staph infections in many of our patients. What I found really interesting is that it's also used to treat psudo-pneumonias as well, leading me to believe it has a more broad spectrum affect like vancomycin or gatifoxin. He got his first dose when we got home. We will see how it goes in the next two weeks. He also got antibiotic eye drops, but they do little to help when his eyes are completely closed. Top it off with a sick baby, this has been one heck of a day....

Correction: I meant URI, not UTI....That's a Cipro job!!

 

[Carlton]

/

I can only guess what the vet might be thinking here...the Baytril to attack any systemic involvement that might have brought on or spread from the eye symptoms. What are the eye drops? You can gently tease the eyelids open with some sterile saline (sterile contact lens rinse solution) and a very wet Q tip. Flush the lids with saline (it won't sting like water would) to soften any discharge, and dab at the lids with the Q tip. Hopefully you can get the drops in and it will probably help him feel better too. Mist, mist, mist with warm water to keep him hydrated while on the Baytril and so he can start cleaning his eyes too.

Chams can learn to hunt if they've lost vision in ONE eye, but frankly, a blind cham would have no life. Everything they do is visual. Anyone who knows anything about chams would realize this.

 

[Syn]

I would be careful using q-tips, I've had some cheap q-tips in the past and the little cotton string-things have come lose and gotten into the eye of one of my chameleons.

I injected my dubia with Baytril when I used it.

Make sure the saline has NOTHING but saline in it. No additives.

 

[laurie]

I did. This vet was the back up. The original vet I wanted to go to is currently out of the office until the 25th. They deal with multiple exotics as well as the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. This person was the only "qualified" herp vet close by.... an hour and 47 minutes away to be exact. What really stings is that this person can highly recommended by the Pacific Northwest Herpitalogical Society. I can't help but hate myself right now.

Don't even think about blaming yourself. You did everything correctly for Opti. The fact that the vet was less than worth any of the money you had to pay is not anything you could have know in advance. If you are going to give Opti the baytril just remember too much water is not enough when they are on baytril. Good luck, Opti will pull out of this.

 

[Syn]

Don't even think about blaming yourself. You did everything correctly for Opti. The fact that the vet was less than worth any of the money you had to pay is not anything you could have know in advance. If you are going to give Opti the baytril just remember too much water is not enough when they are on baytril. Good luck, Opti will pull out of this.

I agree 100% with Laurie, but yes, keep a dripper going 24/7 if possible. Baytril can be hard on a chameleon's system.