Desperate!! Help Please!!!!

[tonid]

Hi, I have had a couple of posts on here about the same subject and got some great advice - thanks. The situation is now getting desperate and I just don't know what to do.

To recap my previous posts, my 8 month baby girl has been treated for an RI and finished her course of Baytril (antibiotic) last wednesday. Infection seems to have cleared up and her breathing seems normal. Whilst taking Baytril she ate very little indeed, and I was told that this was normal as the antibiotics affected her tummy. So now she has barely eaten in two weeks and over the last five days has only managed 4 wax worms! I have been told to give her probiotics, but the only ones I can find here in the UK need to be added to drinking water and she has never drunk from her water dish, infact I have never seen her drink at all, even in her bath. I usually put her salad in water so she gets hydrated this way - but obviously now she is not eating. I am going to make another appointment with the vet tomorrow, but until I can get an appointment, I just need to know what else I can do. I am just so worried that I am watching my beautiful baby starve to death! Until this problem she was such a great eatter. Any advice PLEASE!

 

[diamc]

Hi, sorry your beardie is having a tough time of it. What probiotic did you get? Do you have soy yogurt (non-dairy) in your area? The fruit flavored ones your beardie should lick off her nose.

The one that you mix with water could actually be mixed in with some squash & chicken baby food too, that should help her (and you) out.

 

[vickson420]

Hello
Sorry to hear about your little one's problem.You definately need to get some probiotics in her.There are several options, you can get acidophilliz and syring feed it to her,you can also feed her SOY yogurt(again will either require spoon feeding or syringe, also there is a product called benebac that all pet stores do have except generally they are found in the bird section so you might want to double check to see if you have that there as well. In the meantime since she has not eaten I do recommend you start feeding babyfood as well which is easy on her tummy.You could try 1 protien and 1 fruit or veggie mixed together with a little electrolyte,and probiotic as well as a pinch of calcium which you can then feed to her using a spoon or a needless syringe.I know it sounds difficult but with a little practice it can be done.Here is a video of one of my beardies (who is a difficult feeder) to show you a little better how to do it:

 

[vickson420]

LOL sorry Diane I guess you posted while I was attempting to find my video :wink:

 

[diamc]

That's ok Vicky, good idea to post the video.

 

[tonid]

Thank you, thank you, thank you Vicky and Diane. I am off out today to get soya yoghurt and baby food. We don't seem to have a product called Benebac here in England, but have found one called Avipro, which seems like the same thing, I will also get this today. A couple more questions...if giving soy yoghurt, do I also need to give probiotic? How many times a day should I give this? If feeding the baby food, should I still offer her her usual food? Million dollar question!!!...how long do you think before I see an improvement? (i know it is probably impossible to say, but wondering if I should leave taking her to vet for a few days if this is likely to help). The video was a great help thank you. I had to give her her antibiotics via syringe and she absolutely hated it, but she is just going to have to get used to it until she gets better! Thank you once again ladies xxx

 

[tonid]

Ok, here is what I have do so far. Bought Alpro Soya yoghurt (only had vanilla flavour, but I guess this is ok). Tried to syringe feed her, but am here on my own today and was pretty tricky as she just clamped her jaws shut tight! Put some on the end of her nose and she licked it off (repeated a couple of times, but not sure how much she had or should be taking). I have also bought some baby food and will let her settle for an hour or so after yoghurt trauma and try her on this. Couldn't find the probiotics that you suggested, but found something called Reptoboost which says it is an electrolyte, probiotic and energy drink. It is a powder that needs to be mixed with water, but I am guessing that it would be ok to mix with the baby food? I would just add that any weight loss appears to be minimal and although she is just sitting around alot, she seems quite alert and can walk and carry her body weight properly (a good sign I am hoping). Hope to hear from you soon x

 

[diamc]

Hi, since you are giving the Reptoboost, you don't need to give the soy yogurt because the Reptoboost has probiotics in it already. Here's the info I found about it:

Reptoboost made by Vetark, contains probiotic combination of bacteria, enzymes, electrolytes and vitamins. Is highly palatable, can be added to the drinking water making its use simple for all species of reptiles. It is also ideal for use by stomach tube in rehydrating reptiles which have become dehydrated. Contains - Lactobacillus with Streptococcus faecium which live for a short time in the gut, helping to stabilise the pH; yeasts to provide a source of amino acids and vitamins; lipase, amylase, protease and cellulase; electrolytes to aid in maintaining adequate levels in reptiles with diarrhea and maltodextrins for sustained energy. Very useful to mainatain the normal gut flora in reptiles being treated by the vet with antibiotics. For support of stressed reptiles use 4g (one scoop) per 100ml of drinking water.

Yes, you can mix that with the baby food. What baby food did you pick up? Proper hydration is extremely important especially since the antibiotics are very drying so be sure to bathe frequently and offer oral fluids.

That's good that she is walking around, that is a good sign. How did things go today?

 

[vickson420]

Hello
Sorry I didnt respond sooner.The reptoboost is fine and yes you can mix that into the babyfood,the avipro would have been ok.The yogurt itself is also a natural probiotic so if you find she doesnt take kindly to the reptoboost then you can go ahead and stick with just that.The way you put it on her nose is the best method as they cannot help but lick it.The vanilla flavor is fine but you may find she would be more likely to eat a fruit flavored one(mine like blueberry best).As for how long,sadly that is an almost impossible question to answer since the reaction to meds is very different with each individual animal.I would als like to add that it is still a good idea to check in with the vet anyway as they can do some follow up tests to ensure all parasites are gone and if need be even put them on a specialty food diet such as oxbow to help keep their dietery needs in check.If I had to take a guess I would hope to see gradual improvement within a few days.Also remeber hydration is very important when dealing with an ill reptile so take care to keep up on baths to ensure this as well.It is a good sign that she is otherwise alert and happy,hopefully once her gut flora gets in check then she will begin eating on eher own again.Please keep us posted.

 

[vickson420]

We did it again :roll: :wink:

 

[diamc]

We did it again :roll: :wink:

Yes, we sure did Vicky. :wink:

 

[tonid]

Hi Ladies, nice to here from you again. Here's what I have done so far...I did call my vet, but he insists that the Baytril wouldn't be the cause of her not eating, and that it doesn't interfer with the gut flora, but I took the decision to listen to you ladies anyway He says to just give her a few feeds a day of baby food, to see how she goes for a couple of days, then take her in to see him. Anyway, heres what I did, tried her twice yesterday on the yoghurt, don't think I got much down her...she is so clever, rather than licking the yoghurt off her nose, she wiped it off her nose on her towel! Anyway, got some down her with a syringe. Also gave her one feed with the chicken and squash baby food, mixed in a little Reptoboost and calcium powder (didn't know how much to put in as the instructions were for making it up in the drinking water, so just added a pinch ?)...managed to get about 0.5 mils into her . When I say that she is happy, that is not strictly true, she is giving no outwards signs of being sick, and is sleeping more than usual, it just doesn't look as if she has lost much weight (she is a fatty anyway), and she is still able to walk and carry her weight, so doesn't seem to have lost her strength through not eating...am I just being optomistic and taking this as a good sign? I will bath her today as she hasn't had a poop in a couple of days, but as she hasn't eaten a thing, i wasn't too worried about that. I am still offering her normal food ie. butterworms, but she just backs away from this Will report back later. It is so nice to know that I have some support out there at this very worrying and stressful time...thank you x

 

[tonid]

Hi, today not a good day, she is just looking so depressed today. Have tried feeding her the baby food via syringe, putting some on the end of her nose and putting the syringe in the side of her mouth, but she just clamps her jaws shut! I don't want to force her jaws open and distress her more - do you think this is necessary? I mixed some Reptoboost and calcium in with this. I was aiming to get at least 0.5ml in at a feeding, but most of this just ended up around her mouth. She hasn't taken any food willingly Bathed her also today, but she never drinks from the bath and no poop. Guess I will try again tomorrow

 

[tonid]

Sorry, me again One more thing I wanted to ask. What about this Critical Care Formula, is it worth me getting this?

 

[fresnowitte]

You really need to get some probiotics down her what ever tricking it may take. Mix it with babyfood water and syringe feed whatever. You might even try some fruit babyfood to mix it with since she's not poop that way if she's got any in her it will help get it moving.

I get so angry when vets say probiotics aren't necessary with the antibiotics. You will be amazed at the change if you could just get some of the soy yogurt down her. Did you try the heat on her belly?

Oh I almost forgot if you can't get the soy yogurt down her then Critical Care won't help how will you get that down her?