Recurring respiratory infection

[nena]

Dear All!!

I haven't posted here in a very very long time! Either way my baby Charlie is 5 years old now and like a month and a half ago he started breathing weird and seem to struggle to breathe. I took him to the vet, a reptile specialized one that we love! And he diagnosed an RI and sent us home with Batryl with a dosage of 0.5ml every day for seven days. He got better and everything was great but now he seems to have picked up an RI again. Though we love our vet and he is dreamy he charges $95 a visit plus extra for medicine, shots, etc... And I don't want to spend the money if he is just going to give us more Batryl... I still have Batryl left from a month and a half ago, can I just give him another round of 7 days of Batryl? He's having the same symptoms: decreased appetite, gaping, struggling to breathe, beard puffing (like frogs usually do). Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Esther19]

My vet gives my girl Ceftazidime for RI's. I also have a nebulizer for her which seems to help, too, also using the Ceftaz in the nebulizer. Try to keep your dragon's home at 80F overnight.

 

[Taterbug]

If the first round didn't work, I'd consider getting a culture done before another round of antibiotics. The vet should be able to swab the oral area and throat to get a sample to send out. The bacteria may be resistant, or not cleared completely or it be something else entirely. Vets often just give the antibiotics first since it clears up most cases so they don't need to wait for culture results. How long has be been off the baytril?

Check with your vet too if follow up visits are the same price as exams - mine turned out not to be, by about half. Plus they will already have the history on his records and may even be able to call and speak to the vet about the case and what the options are - your vet may be willing to work with you.

How is your setup? It's important to make sure you rule out any husbandry causes. I have a snake with allergies - I have to avoid certain bedding with him or he gets RI like infections. Poor guy got antibiotic shots, then a culture (negative) and would have ended up getting bloodwork next - turns out I had changed the brand/type of his bedding. Switched it back, he got better.