URI IS BACK / NEBULIZER

Here I am once again about Drake
Drake is a 15 year old dragon. A few months back we took him to the vet for a URI. He was gulping, hissing (kinda. maybe like a sneeze), wouldn't eat his food, and had strings in his mouth.
The vet confirmed that it was a URI and put him on 8 to 10 weeks of antibiotic shots. He was also, I believe they called it, hypo anorexic and mildly dehydrated. They gave him fluids and told me to syringe feed him baby food till he started eating on his own. He was doing well on those but he still wouldn't eat normal food. I called back a couple times but still no advice about his food problem.

Life has a lot of ups and downs and we ran into some serious money problems. After the first round of shots we were supposed to go back for more if he still wasn't 100%. Sadly we weren't able to do that. I tried very hard to get the money but it just wasn't possible, and still isn't. I put him on reptaid in hopes that it would clear up what was left but it didn't. I saw improvement in his energy a bit but nothing more. After a while the strings came back and he is gulping badly again. He STILL won't eat on his own so I continue to syringe feed. I soak him twice a week and put probiotics in his baby food. Its like he has hardly any energy. (burmation may play a part in his energy drop but im still nervous about it. He didn't have much energy before burmation time either so..)
I sold what I could and got a nebulizer and some med called Enrofloxacin from beardeddragon.co almost a week ago. It says its a generic baytril. I got a plastic box to sit him under and cut a hole in one side for the mouth piece of the nebulizer to go in because I saw people online do that. I've not given Drake any reptaid in about 5 days so It could get out of his system before I start new med.
Please If anyone has been through something similar or knows how to best use a nebulizer on a dragon I beg you to tell me. I know nothing about nebulizers and would never forgive myself if I did something to hurt him. I know to let him bask for a while first, give it on an empty stomach, to make sure he is well hydrated, and to keep giving him probiotics but other than that i'm totally new to this. I hope it dosen't matter what kind of nebulizer it is..Thank you guys!

I can't advise you on the nebulizer part except make sure everything you use, including the box, is sanitized before each treatment. I would also get him some serrapeptase from beardeddragon.co it will help thin the mucous and there are other benefits probably get some bee pollen too. I read somewhere on here that you should let them lay on a decline, with their head slightly downward to let any drainage out. Hopefully someone will answer you soon so you can get him started on treatment

Yeah this sounds like something you need Drache, AHBD, Cooper or king for.

SpacialCoogs":2t1w2ec4 said:

Yeah this sounds like something you need Drache, AHBD, Cooper or king for.

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Thanks, I messaged all of them! (hope I got the right people)

kyleena29":2n95jm6e said:

I can't advise you on the nebulizer part except make sure everything you use, including the box, is sanitized before each treatment. I would also get him some serrapeptase from beardeddragon.co it will help thin the mucous and there are other benefits probably get some bee pollen too. I read somewhere on here that you should let them lay on a decline, with their head slightly downward to let any drainage out. Hopefully someone will answer you soon so you can get him started on treatment

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Ok I will try to get those! Do you know if he can take the serrapeptase at the same time as the Enrofloxacin?

I read on the bottle 2 hrs before antibiotics (it aids antibiotics as well) it seems to have some kind of calcium base so I'm trying to find out if you just skip a daily dusting. So just be sure of that part. I will let you know when I find out.

Hi Aqua, sorry to hear about Drake's condition. You've done a great job caring for him if he's lived for 15 years, that is the very upper end of beardie lifespan. I don't have much helpful advice for a very old beardie with a recurring R.I or nebulizer treatment....Tracie [ Drache613 ] does know more about that than anyone here. I wish the best for your special guy !

Hello,

I am sorry about Drake not getting better, again. Persistent respiratory infections are extremely stubborn.
I am glad you were able to get a nebulizer. Can you post a picture of how you have the box set up with the nebulizer tube going in to it? That sounds fine, as long as it is pretty air tight to allow the mist to penetrate his lungs properly.
As far as the doses, etc, I noticed the label said 10% but the strength said 10mg/ml. That is a bit confusing because usually a 10% solution is equivalent to a 100mg/ml. Anyway, we will go by that label, so go ahead & place 1ml of Baytril into the medication cup in with 10 mls of saline solution or distilled water. I would let the mist go for a 10-15 minute treatment or until the liquid is all gone.
You can do 2 treatments, daily to see how that goes for him.
As far as using an all natural supplement like serrapeptase it wont interfere with a medication, no.
Are you keeping him around 80 overnight to help with immune system boosting also?
At 15, you have done a phenomenal job with him!

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Can't really add much , but have you considered obtaining some F10 and nebulising it along with bumping up tank temperatures by about 2-3degCelsius and the oral antibiotic campaign

see

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/105167-using-f10-nebuliser-r-i.html
and

http://thereptilereport.com/nebulizing-f10-disinfectant/
and

http://www.meadowsah.com/home/assets/docs/f10-articles/The%20Facts-Issue%206.pdf

FOGGING

F10sc diluted at 1:250 with saline can also be used for fogging entire
rooms as part of routine biosecurity measures. In the author's institution
it is used for hospital wards, brooder room incubation and chick rearing
facilities and quarantine units, particularly where groups of birds are
housed together. Fogging with F10 may be done in the presence of the
animals, since it is safe and non-irritant if inhaled either by them or by
hospital staff.

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F10 is a very powerful antiseptic used in vetinary surgeries and used also by many amateur reptile keepers and breeders.
how to :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrnx4PZn7cw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcqyR2nPtAI


something not mentioned but worth doing as well as the oral batryl is that it's a good idea to use F10 in a 1:200 dilution to sterilise everything in your beardie's enclosure that he has contact with to stop the bacteria lingering on these surfaces from reinfecting him. Essentially need an F10 spray bottle , some F10sc , 3-5 ml per litre of tap water, spray all surfaces and drain and then airdry them for about 30mins and you are done (I'd do this each day you do the F10 Nebulisation thing while beardie in the nebulisation tub).

Hello,

How are things going with him today? I hope that the nebulizer helps out for him.
Please let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Drache613":uzn5br5h said:

Hello,

How are things going with him today? I hope that the nebulizer helps out for him.
Please let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

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Hi
Thank you so much for all the great advice! Im sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I don't have the nebulizer set up yet. My mom is coming over in the morning to help me with the set up and the first treatment. I will be sure to post a pic as soon as it is set up and while he is taking it.

Today we bought the distilled water and found a smaller tub than the one we had and sterilized it. He had his probiotics and a long soak. Soon as possible we are going to order the serrapeptase. I hope its safe to give him the treatment without it while we are waiting for it to arrive? Also it was mentioned that I should up his temps at night. He has a 100 watt heat emitter but he moves away from it at night and goes into his hide spot where it is much cooler. Should I block him from his hide spot at night?

I feel much better knowing you are here to help me! I truly cant thank you enough! I will follow your directions exactly and pray all goes well!

Yes it's fine. Think of serrapeptase as an added bonus to his health (don't forget bee pollen). You can start treatment and when it comes in use it 2hrs before a treatment. You can give it 3x a day also so I don't know how many treatments daily you are doing. You can probably back off the calcium once you start using it cause it has calcium in it. Serrapeptase comes from silk worms so if you fed him those you wouldn't need to buy the supplement.

First treatment is DONE! I think it went well and I have a couple of pics. Let me know if anything looks wrong and I will fix it! He wasn't facing down the whole time because he seemed a little freaked out and was moving.

Hello,

Actually, that looks perfectly fine. It is sealed well enough to where he will definitely benefit from it. That's ok, during a nebulization treatment he doesn't have to be facing downward.
He does not look impressed does he? Eventually he will get used to it though & calm down.
I hope that this helps him out.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Drache613":zo1q7hlw said:

Hello,

Actually, that looks perfectly fine. It is sealed well enough to where he will definitely benefit from it. That's ok, during a nebulization treatment he doesn't have to be facing downward.
He does not look impressed does he? Eventually he will get used to it though & calm down.
I hope that this helps him out.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

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Great! I'm glad we got it right the first time lol couldn't have done it without you! ?
He is sleepy and grumpy but I managed to get him to eat a couple of his real veggies. I had to put them in his mouth but he didn't spit them out this time! I have to believe he is gonna make it through this!
About the probiotics, the pack says 2-3 times a week but should he have them more than that while he is taking this med? Also the bayrtil says use for 10 days. If it isn't gone can I continue it after a break or..? Sorry I ask a lot of questions.