Devlyn fell - shes actually okay - getting opinions on how long to be on Meloxicam

[DorgEndo]

First, from all initial evaluations and observations she is okay. I brought her outside before putting her harness on, she got spooked by a plane and ran off our deck, falling 8 feet landing on brick patio below, Saturday at 5pm. All my fault, put on harness first then go outside

Did not see her land, but it seems she landed like a pancake, the ideal way she could have landed. No black beard or stress lines. Immediately was walking like nothing. We got an x-ray within an hour of her fall. No damage on x-ray. No signs of trauma or any swelling (consciousness, breathing, walking, drinking, eating all normal). All in all its the best outcome considering how far she fell

I do have her on meloxicam because I imagine falling still hurts. Medication dosages are a nightmare to calculate but I think the vet gave her a good dose. Only got 3 days of medicine. How long would you think to have her safely on meloxicam for a No signs of trauma fall patient?

Dose received: 0.09mg to 0.12mg meloxicam once daily times 3 days (Saturday, Sunday, Monday)

Concentration	1.5mg/ml
Dosage	0.2mg/kg
Pt Weight	420 grams

Doing the math the medication dosage should be 0.06ml for a dose of 0.09mg. The syringes drawn up have 0.08ml which would be 0.12mg of medication. Given any air bubble and that the syringe will never depress 100% I'm happy with the 0.08ml drawn up

Medication gets so complicated...

She had blood draws in July so her kidneys have no signs of illness, or any other illness present. I don't know how long she can safely be meloxicam

Any wild guesses or stories to help me talk with my vet would be appreciated

Pic from today, acting like nothing abnormal happened!

 

[KarrieRee]

First, from all initial evaluations and observations she is okay. I brought her outside before putting her harness on, she got spooked by a plane and ran off our deck, falling 8 feet landing on brick patio below, Saturday at 5pm. All my fault, put on harness first then go outside

Did not see her land, but it seems she landed like a pancake, the ideal way she could have landed. No black beard or stress lines. Immediately was walking like nothing. We got an x-ray within an hour of her fall. No damage on x-ray. No signs of trauma or any swelling (consciousness, breathing, walking, drinking, eating all normal). All in all its the best outcome considering how far she fell

I do have her on meloxicam because I imagine falling still hurts. Medication dosages are a nightmare to calculate but I think the vet gave her a good dose. Only got 3 days of medicine. How long would you think to have her safely on meloxicam for a No signs of trauma fall patient?

Dose received: 0.09mg to 0.12mg meloxicam once daily times 3 days (Saturday, Sunday, Monday)

Concentration	1.5mg/ml
Dosage	0.2mg/kg
Pt Weight	420 grams

Doing the math the medication dosage should be 0.06ml for a dose of 0.09mg. The syringes drawn up have 0.08ml which would be 0.12mg of medication. Given any air bubble and that the syringe will never depress 100% I'm happy with the 0.08ml drawn up

Medication gets so complicated...

She had blood draws in July so her kidneys have no signs of illness, or any other illness present. I don't know how long she can safely be meloxicam

Any wild guesses or stories to help me talk with my vet would be appreciated

Pic from today, acting like nothing abnormal happened!

View attachment 83783

We need Tracie to help w/ this
@Drache613

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Wow, poor girl, I am glad to hear she didn't break anything
after that fall. Those planes can definitely scare them, it is
very common!
The meloxicam can be given for a couple of weeks, as long
as the dosing is correct. If she doesn't have a black beard or
becomes lethargic, it should be safe for a couple of weeks.
Be sure to keep her well hydrated too.
I am really happy that she is ok!

Tracie

 

[AHBD]

I was going to say about 7-10 days, the fact that she's acting normal and not limping, black bearding, lethargic, etc means so far so good.
Just a caution here to other owners, this 8 foot fall on to concrete could easily have ended in a traumatic injury , broken bones or even death. Pleeeeease be careful when in that type of situation and have your dragon safely secured . The same goes for shoulder surfing, many owners found out the hard way that beardies are unpredictable and even the chillest dragon may decide to take a flying leap and end up injured.

 

[KarrieRee]

I recommend always walking around w/ one hand over the dragons back -

 

[xp29]

I'm glad she is ok, that's a damned scary fall, bless her heart. I very much think you and her both dodged a bullet. We see stories here way to often of just falling off a bed or couch ending in tragedy. I think your girl must be Super Dragon
Mild mannered Devlyn by day ..... lol.

 

[DorgEndo]

I had her harness with me. But I walked out with her first. Big mistake! It's amazing she is acting fine, x-ray and physical exam showed no injuries. I'm adding some water to her syringe to keep her hydrated

Her new middle name is "put a harness on me because I will yeet myself off the edge to test my wings" so I never forget the harness again

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Unfortunately accidents happen so fast with them. Definitely put the harness on first! I am so glad she is doing fine though, but keep an eye on her for any changes in behavior.

Tracie

 

[DorgEndo]

Hello,

Unfortunately accidents happen so fast with them. Definitely put the harness on first! I am so glad she is doing fine though, but keep an eye on her for any changes in behavior.

Tracie

Vet agreed to more meloxicam. Same dose for 5-7 more days. Which will be 7-10 days if I do all 10 days. Thanks for giving me a reference point

Devlyn seems like Devlyn. Nothing going on. No life changing trauma for her human or anything. Hasn't pooped since the fall, she never was frequent to go so ill be giving some baths to encourage poo

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, no problem, as long as it is dosed properly then there
should be no side effects or very little.
I'm happy to hear Devlyn is doing well after her little accident,
thank goodness!

Tracie