Peptalk needed.. Antibiotic Injections D:

[silentstormcc]

Hello,

If you have seen my other posts of panic you will notice that my beardie was given to me in not the best health. We went to the vet a month ago about because she just.. didn't seem like a happy healthy dragon (This was about a week after she was given to me by friends). I went in because I was worried about a URI but we came out clear of a URI and was diagnosed with dehydration and being underweight. Now fast forward to now, about a month later and we had to go back last night because Luci was black bearding and wheezing and I started to notice a cough the day before last, so I made an appointment. Lets do bad news first, so my sweet beardie was diagnosed with a URI, she tried to hide it from the doctor by not breathing when she had the stethoscope to listen to her lungs.. but then she finally had to breath and the vet could hear the wheeze. AND on top of that, poor thing has a parasite so I went home with antibiotics and an oral medication. The oral medication.. yeah that is going to be unfortunate to pry her mouth open and get it in there.. BUT I am stressing out over the antibiotic injection in her little arms. They showed me how to do it.. but I am not really.. a needle person and I am really stressing out about it. Any tips or tricks on how to keep her calm and still while I attempt the injection?
She was not having it when the vet gave it to her last night, she black bearded until she went to bed.

GOOD NEWS, when we went in the first time she weighed 360 grams(I believe its grams) and now she weighs 388 grams! It is amazing what a proper diet can do for an underweight beardie! before she was only fed ice-burg lettuce, pellets, and worms. But now she is given collard greens with a mix/rotation of bell peppers, yellow squash, reptibytes?(I always forget what these are called), raspberries, and sometimes green beans, she is not the biggest fan of those though. (And worms of course)
AND she is no longer dehydrated, yay for somewhat healthy beardie.. aside from the whole sick thing.

BUT ANYWAYS, peptalk.. I am freaking out over here. :shock:

Also.. Here is some dragon tax.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....Luci looks very beautiful + healthy there, sorry to hear about her URI. Most vets do not prescribe injections for a URI, I wonder if they could give her oral meds. instead ? Baytril is the most common one, but there are others. You can actually inject the med. in to an insect and then feed her the insect since she now has a good appetite. If you absolutely must use the injections be careful that the site does not become very sore or infected.

Do you know how she got the URI ? Did she ppossibly aspirate water ? Does she spend a lot of time out of the tank where the temps. are low [ our home temps. are generally much too cool for a beardie ]

 

[silentstormcc]

Hi there....Luci looks very beautiful + healthy there, sorry to hear about her URI. Most vets do not prescribe injections for a URI, I wonder if they could give her oral meds. instead ? Baytril is the most common one, but there are others. You can actually inject the med. in to an insect and then feed her the insect since she now has a good appetite. If you absolutely must use the injections be careful that the site does not become very sore or infected.

Do you know how she got the URI ? Did she ppossibly aspirate water ? Does she spend a lot of time out of the tank where the temps. are low [ our home temps. are generally much too cool for a beardie ]

I asked them if there was any way to get out of injecting them directly into her poor little arms and they were insistent on the injection I just looked at the name of the medication they gave and they prescribed Fortaz. I will probably try to rotate arms with each injection, it is every 3 days so they should be okay by the time I get to the other arm.

I am not sure, she has been a sick beardie since I got her.. honestly her lighting and such was more than likely not done properly with the previous owners. There was no timer on the lighting/heating and she didnt have a UVB light..im not sure if they monitored the temps as crazy as I do lol. Now her temps on the warm side are normally at 100, sometimes when its cooler in the house its at 95 and the humidity is about 40-50. Her basking spot is a bit warmer than what the thermometer says.
When I take her out I normally dont keep her out if its too cool in my house, if it is cool and I absolutely must snuggle her I heat up a sock filled with rice and keep it near her, and she just lays on my chest anyways.. but even then I dont keep her out for too long. Im not sure what they did with her before I had her though, she seems to have come to me with it.

 

[AHBD]

Sorry, I know I didn't give you much of a pep talk....hopefully rotating the leg injections it will not be too hard on her. Just do it the way the vet showed you and it should be fine.

She does look healthy weight, so you've definitely improved her life and hopefully this will pass.

 

[silentstormcc]

Sorry, I know I didn't give you much of a pep talk....hopefully rotating the leg injections it will not be too hard on her. Just do it the way the vet showed you and it should be fine.

She does look healthy weight, so you've definitely improved her life and hopefully this will pass.

Oh no worries! I hope so, if not I will be having a very strongly worded conversation with her doctor. lol. They seemed pretty confident while I was questioning them though, so hopefully she handles it well. This will be a stressful 30 days, she was okay this morning, nice and perky so there didnt appear to be any negative effects from the injection last night.

I am mainly worried about her bolting away and the needle doing things it shouldnt, but that is why I am doing the front leg and not the back leg where the super critical nerve is.

Thank you very much! Her color has brightened up a bit too since I've had her, shes on the road to be a happy dragon.

I bet she is just as anxious to have this pass as I am, that's for sure. Bearded dragon coughs are so sad.

 

[CooperDragon]

It doesn't get easier to give them injections but you will be less timid about it which makes things easier. Just try to find a spot under a scale and move quickly and decisively. She will likely flinch so be prepared for that. In my experience they forgive and forget quickly .

 

[silentstormcc]

It doesn't get easier to give them injections but you will be less timid about it which makes things easier. Just try to find a spot under a scale and move quickly and decisively. She will likely flinch so be prepared for that. In my experience they forgive and forget quickly .

Oh good, the last thing I need is for her to hold a grudge and give me angry beardie eyes.
I am excited to be less timid, its like a pit in my stomach right now. I tried finding videos to watch on injections.. but so far all I have found are beardies getting shots on their back so its not quite the same. I really should just not think about it till the day comes though so I don't over think it, which I tend to do often. lol

 

[Taterbug]

Do you have someone who can help you hold her?

The trick is to be firm and quick, the first shot is always the hardest. If you can hold the syringe so that as soon as you stick it in you can hit the plunger it will give less chance for her (or you) to flinch.

I haven't given shots to a lizard but did have to give Fortaz to a snake with a possible RI. Be thankful for arms!

Do switch between arms each shot.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Injections are no fun at all, I agree!
As suggested, be relatively quick, but without hurting him. Gently pull up the skin & then slightly angle the needle downward but not too far. You probably wont even go but halfway in with the length of the needle & inject it slowly. It stings just a little bit from my experience.
It sounds like she is doing better though, overall, since you got him. Sorry she has a respiratory infection but hopefully the meds will take care of that.
Be sure to keep her a little warmer at night, around 80 or so, to help boost the immune system.
I hope she starts feeling better soon.

Tracie

 

[silentstormcc]

Well Update!

Last night was my first attempt, she was NOT having it. She has already associated arm pinches with shots and when I go for her little arms she tucks them in to her side and will not release them. I had one shot to do it and the second I got it in she took off.
UGH little BRAT! I called the vet today and am waiting for a response to ask her if we could do the.. Baytril? or another oral antibiotic because this whole injection thing is not gonna happen with this dragon unless a professional does it.. and I only have so much money to have them do it lol. She is WAY too smart and quick.. tucking her arms.. I can't believe that -_- yes it was hilarious, but also not because its to make her feel better and I do not think she gets that.

Dragons. ahah

 

[Taterbug]

Well Update!

Last night was my first attempt, she was NOT having it. She has already associated arm pinches with shots and when I go for her little arms she tucks them in to her side and will not release them. I had one shot to do it and the second I got it in she took off.
UGH little BRAT! I called the vet today and am waiting for a response to ask her if we could do the.. Baytril? or another oral antibiotic because this whole injection thing is not gonna happen with this dragon unless a professional does it.. and I only have so much money to have them do it lol. She is WAY too smart and quick.. tucking her arms.. I can't believe that -_- yes it was hilarious, but also not because its to make her feel better and I do not think she gets that.

Dragons. ahah

If your vet is close enough you may be able to also ask if a tech could do it for you. My vet had offered this for the snake since it's very quick and doesn't require an exam or the vet herself.

 

[silentstormcc]

Well Update!

Last night was my first attempt, she was NOT having it. She has already associated arm pinches with shots and when I go for her little arms she tucks them in to her side and will not release them. I had one shot to do it and the second I got it in she took off.
UGH little BRAT! I called the vet today and am waiting for a response to ask her if we could do the.. Baytril? or another oral antibiotic because this whole injection thing is not gonna happen with this dragon unless a professional does it.. and I only have so much money to have them do it lol. She is WAY too smart and quick.. tucking her arms.. I can't believe that -_- yes it was hilarious, but also not because its to make her feel better and I do not think she gets that.

Dragons. ahah

If your vet is close enough you may be able to also ask if a tech could do it for you. My vet had offered this for the snake since it's very quick and doesn't require an exam or the vet herself.

They are, but it would be about 200$ total for them to do all of the injections, the vet just prescribed an oral medication so we will see if this cures her, if not and we have to take another approach then I will have to just fork up the cash to have the techs do it. BUT it should work orally, I don't see why not!

But if I must, ill pay them because its less stress on me and Luci, so everyone is happy!

 

[Taterbug]

Ouch that's a steep fee for some shots. Hope the oral meds do the trick.

 

[silentstormcc]

Ouch that's a steep fee for some shots. Hope the oral meds do the trick.

Same! she was okay with the ones for her parasite, so fingers crossed.
I could also just put the medicine on her favorite treats and trick her like a pup.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hi there....Luci looks very beautiful + healthy there, sorry to hear about her URI. Most vets do not prescribe injections for a URI, I wonder if they could give her oral meds. instead ? Baytril is the most common one, but there are others. You can actually inject the med. in to an insect and then feed her the insect since she now has a good appetite. If you absolutely must use the injections be careful that the site does not become very sore or infected.

Do you know how she got the URI ? Did she ppossibly aspirate water ? Does she spend a lot of time out of the tank where the temps. are low [ our home temps. are generally much too cool for a beardie ]

I asked them if there was any way to get out of injecting them directly into her poor little arms and they were insistent on the injection I just looked at the name of the medication they gave and they prescribed Fortaz. I will probably try to rotate arms with each injection, it is every 3 days so they should be okay by the time I get to the other arm. <<<< somewhere in the upper half of her body on the back (near the shoulders , needle goes in-between a couple of scales and goes just under the skin, , is what I was asked to do for Lucky (who was a little juvenile water skink about 6g at the time) and for Wriggles (an adult water skink about 30g at the time , both rescued by me and injuried (Lucky by a cat, Wriggles was whippersnippered across the back).
(Two person job injecting IM drugs even into a 6g skink,one person immobilises the lizard as gently as possible, the other does the "dirty work", and my advise is don't let the lizard see the needle coming as they learn very quickly that it hurts and WILL SQUIRM LOTS in anticipation.)
I am unsure if this correct but below the middle of the body the drugs are ineffected as they are removed by the kidneys.


I am not sure, she has been a sick beardie since I got her.. honestly her lighting and such was more than likely not done properly with the previous owners. There was no timer on the lighting/heating and she didnt have a UVB light..im not sure if they monitored the temps as crazy as I do lol. Now her temps on the warm side are normally at 100, sometimes when its cooler in the house its at 95 and the humidity is about 40-50. Her basking spot is a bit warmer than what the thermometer says.
When I take her out I normally dont keep her out if its too cool in my house, if it is cool and I absolutely must snuggle her I heat up a sock filled with rice and keep it near her, and she just lays on my chest anyways.. but even then I dont keep her out for too long. Im not sure what they did with her before I had her though, she seems to have come to me with it.

I was apologising profusely to both Lucky and Wriggles after I did the nasty injections and gave long snuggles and a couple food treats as soon they settled down. (I know - I'm old softy.)

When I was giving Lucky his oral antibiotics he absolutely hated the taste of the stuff, I was using a syringe with the flexy plastic part of a IV catheter needle (vet removed needle for us, just the plastic tube inside the needle) to insert past his lips in the corner of him mouth and he'd squirm and position his head so it was impossible to get to his mouth - little devil !!!, and when I final got the nasty liquid into his mouth he'd be a crazy little skink under my two cupped hands on my tummy for about 10second and then he'd be good as gold with a nice mealworm as a treat. The oral antibiotic must have really tasted nasty (to him) . Again a two person job for us. Of cause the vet nurse made it look easy in the vet surgery when she shown us how to do it .... LOL , of cause it was all new to Lucky too then and he didn't know what to expect , he did with us , with the very first dose we gave him at home .... lizards learn FAST !!!