antibiotics? need answer soon! urgent

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dezismom

Juvie Member
I am picking up a rescue tomorro, have not yet seen him, but was told he has had a foot bitten off yesterday, while in cage with another dragon! even though he had been bullied by his cage mate, and had already lost a few toes from same! I am, of course, frustrated to hear this preventable thing. I pray he will still be alive tomorrow at 2:00, when we arranged to meet and I will pick him up. My other conern...I do have a exotics vet, but he has admitted to little experience with beardies. What is the safest antibiotic for beardies? I am sure the vet will give me the one I request, because he knows I have had experience with beardies. I personally prefer to not use antibiotics when possible, due to their disruption of the intestinal flora, bad side effects in general, etc. Until I actually examine him, I do not know the true extent of his injuries...or condition. I want to be prepared to act quickly, as needed. Please advise.

thank you, ---D's mom

P.S
I have been away for a long time. My beloved has passed. I could not face even my dear forum friends, with such horrific grief. I hope to be strong enough to tell whole story, some day. I cannot even say it without crying. He was more than a companion, more even than my support animal. Maybe, having this new fellow to rehab will help me, as well as him. maybe...
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there ! So sorry about the loss of Dezi, such grief is sad to read here and my heart goes out to you ! About the incoming dragon, I can say that some never develop infection and actually heal without. I'm not saying that the baby won't need them but they can at times heal with or without them. I've seen groups of babies at times at pet stores where a foot was missing and the babies were still active. Keeping the wound clean + dry is imperative of course and the vet may decide to bandage it. Raw honey is always good for any wound so consider that. Tracie will probably be on later to add her thoughts. Please do post pics ASAP. By the way, here's a link to first aid for reptiles :

http://www.anapsid.org/emergency/firstaid.html
 

dezismom

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Thank you, AHBD, I will hope for the best. This fellow is no baby, but an adult male. I dont have details yet. He has been through several bad homes, from what I do know. So sad. Thank you for your deep and sincere expression of sorrow for my loss, I know you have had personal experience. D. was very, very special
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I know that D was very special without a doubt. I remember reading his thread at times and he was your boy.

Hopefully this new dragon's wound will successfully heal, many do . I can imagine how stressed you are without even being able to see pics of him. I'm sure he'll be in good hands with you !
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I've found that rescuing dragons in need can be difficult, but is very rewarding and helps emotionally with loss. It's tough to say if antibiotics will be needed, and if so, which ones. It's best to grow a culture to target the proper antibiotic against the source of each infection. As mentioned, it's probably best to get them into a good environment regarding lighting/heat/space/sanitization, treat wounds topically, and work on building a healthy diet. They can bounce back from a lot when given proper care. Not to say vet care isn't needed, but it may not be as urgently needed in a lot of cases.
 

dezismom

Juvie Member
Original Poster
thank you everyone, for your help and caring expressions over my terrible loss. Rescue was worse than I could imagine...one back foot torn off comletely, infected. tail bitten in half, infected...almost all toes and fingers missing at least half. Just gruesome. horrifying.He is supposed to be aroind five years old.

took him to the vet immediatly. He did not advise removing black infected tail, but to give antibiotic a chance...keep wounds clean and dry--no soaking, no ointments until all had a chance to heal over a bit. I placed him in a large plastic bin near my bed, with white paper towels, to keep very clean, a warm light, electric heat pad under half of bin, and a small bright uvb lamp onerhead..it is not adequate uvb for long term, but will keep him stimulated, for now.

He had endured weeks in a cage in fear for his life, not allowed by his cage mate to access water or food dishes easily. But he is determined to survive. She (cagemate) was not being a bad dragon--she had laid eggs, which were kept in the cage, and she was being a good, protective mama. I am sure they both were stessed over the situation neither could control. Why this was allowed to comtinue, I cannot imagine! Even if there was a financial difficulty,a simple plastic bin from dollar store, or even a cardboard box would have been more humane!

But, I am not the queen of the world, ( dang it!) and cannot control others. Also, I have no idea what personal stress this young simgle mom was having. She admitted to many difficulties this year, including a friend with cancer, two children with difficult diagnoses, and a hard breakup, move, job change. So I prefer not to engage in any judgements and offer my prayers and compassion for her family. She was very brave, to give up this beardie, knowing she might be very much judged and dissapproved of. I have offered visiting rights. She and one teen son have visited. The son has a strong relationship with this beardie, who seems quite bonded to him. I think it is good for both boy and lizard to encourage contact. Beardie was in his lap, smiling, relaxed and all attention to each other. Adorable to watch such a tender, intimate interaction.

SO....vet prescribed baytril, which I have used successfully with mammals and birds, but not tried on reptiles. Also, this was the injectible-- I can give IM injections,but vet said give by mouth, twice daily, and did not provide needles. II followed directions. When he came to me, he had a good appetite, Now he stopped eating, drinking, and was constantly black bearding, suggesting to me a tummy problem. It smelled like nail polish remover, so I was not surprised that it hurt his tummy. He developed atomic dragon farts, nasty ppoo, confirming my suspicion of a bad intestinal reaction....After four doses, with quite a fight, I stopped . I felt is was doing as much harm as good. I got a dab of Benebac live bacteria in him, and left him alone. God gave animals incredible immune systems, given time and good care, so I saw myself as support. Gave him a clean, warm, low stress environment, offerd food and water but not by force, and waited. The Baytril did help...the black tail end dried up and fell off. I pressed quick stop on it and left it alone. The leg with foot missing has no more redness, less swelling, nice scab. Yesterday, he ate 20 super worms! yay! This is a long term process. I think he is ready for a nice big vivarium. I will set this up in my bedroom, so I can keep an comstant eye on him. He mostly sleeps, now, but that is expected, given the energy required for healing, and his relief to get some peaceful rest. He seems relaxed, but a frowny face and not anxious to be handled. I pet him alot, to establis trust and to comfort him. He likes that.

His name is Odin, as in the Norse god..I may change that, eventually., to Logan, my fave Xman- Wolverine,who has super powers of healing and strength. I have not handled him much, giving him time to adjust to so much change, but he seems very relaxed when I have held him. Whether this is due to illness and exhaustion, I cannot say. When he feels better, his personality will show, and I will know more. Either way, he will be loved, and cared for. He deserves so much more than he has had in his life so far! Bless his heart.

I will eventaully introduce him officially as Logan, the super dragon. He is a very pale reddish fellow, with pretty lemon yellow around his face and eyes. His remaining toe nails are clear white. I tead once that was an indication of a recessive low melatonin skin color? Is this correct? I look forward to seeing what appears after a few good sheds. He was kept in a white sand, and that may be affecting his current coloring.

About Dezilou...I may someday be able to share our last days, with a big Colorado vet hospital that diagnosed him as having true, genetic giantism!, All his growth plates were wide open, at five years old, and should have closed at one year according to the head reptile expert vet.( Dezi was well over two feet long, and still growing as fast as any six month old--huge body, head baseball sized.) The vet had never seen giantism in a reptile. Unfortunately,, this led to heart and liver damage. Enough said. I am devastated. I feel destroyed. I wish there was a support group for such grief, but do not want to go to one for human loved ones, so not to seem to minimize or disrepect others, who may not understand a loss of a lizard could equal any other human loss.

C. King
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Wow it does sound like he was in rough shape coming to you. I'm glad he found you when he did. It sounds like his tail will be OK and he is healing up well so far. Baytril can be tough on them, but it is often prescribed for dragons as a general antibiotic. Plenty of hydration can also help along with the probiotics. I hope that he continues to thrive under your care. Please keep us posted on his progress =)
 

dezismom

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Thank you, Cooperdragon!

I will keep you all posted, and get some photos. He is such a brave fellow, and so deturmined to survive. He has been an inspiration to me. What a tough little guy....I do not care if he is perfect, has disabilities, or deformaties, all beardies are perfect and beautiful, to me. His physical changes will only show his strength. If he enjoys travel, he can become an ambassador of sorts, in educating others about proper care and the cost and need for a safe environment. His lost limbs and scars will provide a stark example of just how wrong things can get, without constant supervision and fast action...and not to have Beardies in with cage mates, in most cases.

Logan is one special guy. I hope he can bond with me, and get as many hugs and snuggles as he wants. Did I mention, he ate again today? I am sooo proud of him! He wants super worms for now, but I will be introducing fresh salads and other healthy goodies.

His previous diet was a dried mix, moistened. No salad. Fed only once every few days. We can do much better than that! But will introduce new things slowly, to not upset his tummy. He certainly likes super worms...was so excited, and began to snatch them from my fingers before they hit the cage bottom. So cute! I am hand feedimg for now, to help us bond. He took to that in a hurry, after one taste of a worm. Clever boy! Now has a big smile of approval, with nice round eyes. So much better than the sad, squinty eyes and frowny face, when he arrived
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I've been wondering how things were going, sounds like a bit of a rollercoaster ride at first with the antibiotics causing such sickness and poor Logan's reaction. I hope that he really does heal up completely and that the tail is not still infected under the scales. That can creep up without turning black so keep an eye on it. It's great that he started eating again but DO go easy on the superworms. It takes a lot to digest them so I would not feed more than 8-10 at a time twice a week , or one day a week with another meal of different insects but keep greens available all the time. Looking forward to pics, I'd like to see the tail because that can still be a trouble spot. But so far you're doing great !

And I understand the grief that comes with the loss of a pet, at times I felt numb + very weak, devastated and could not think about them. I tried to put it out of my mind because of tremendous pain. It's good to keep busy and to have other creatures to care for.
 

dezismom

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Thanks, AHBD, and I will cur back on the supers...I guess I am used to Dezis appetite, that cost us +$100 a week, but he was not a normal case...so I have alot to learn about normal dragons.

The food news is, Logan is still eating, and is starting to decelope a personality! He is making direct eye xontact, and evev giving me a goofy little grin, when he approves of my behavioe, like feeding him on demand. He is starting to discover that I speak dragon, and is very proud of it.

The bad news is, the arm stump is staring to go black. I will get him back to the vet, over a hundred miles, round trip, and see if he will trust me to give injections. The Baytril was effective, but really needs to be injected, in this case. I am trying to do as the vet said--no soaks, no antibiotic ointment--but that is not at all how I normally treat wounds. I soak in diluted povodone iodine and gently debride heavy scabs, to let infection drain. Then a dab of antibiotic ointment....been doing it that way for thirty years of rehab work. It is hard to do it so differently now....

Well, old dogs can learn new tricks, etc., etc...and the Baytril was effective the first time around.

Seeing Logan smile makes it all worthwhile!
I will try to get pictures posted for you all.
 
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