vet visit & cipro?

[chastityx]

they sent off a fecal sample but gave him a shot of ciprofloxacin, they also sent us home with some in liquid form. they didn't say what they think he has but the vet started him on antibiotics to see if he feels any better before they get the test results back. the vet says he doesn't look good and he only weighs 8 grams at 2 months old . he's gone downhill since we bought him and has gone from barely eating to not eating at all. after he got the shot i thought he was going to die honestly, he pancaked out and closed his eyes and just slept the whole way home breathing heavy. now that he's warmed up he's moving around some but still not hungry although he licked a piece of cilantro. i guess i'm just asking for advice on how to deal with this. we ended up with a 120$ vet visit and i cried the whole time because i thought he was dying. hopefully he'll kick back in.

 

[AHBD]

Aw, I'm so sorry for your poor little guy ! [ And you ! ] While he is on the meds., be sure to offer a bit if probiotics to balance the bacteria in his gut. This can be soy yogurt, Benebac or Acidophiliz+, the latter 2 may be found in pet stores. When your baby stopped eating, what size crickets were you offering ? It's extrememy important that the crix be no longer than the space between his eyes. If he isn't eating, you might try chicken and squash baby food...this can boost their appetite, and if you want to try the Repta boost, you might as well give it a go. Offer these things plus a little extra water vis syringe. Keep offering tiny crickets every once in a while to see if he'll eat. You can try smashing a cricket so the guts come out the end and lightly rubbing it on his nose. For some reason, this will often work. I hope your baby gets better ASAP !

 

[chastityx]

we've offered him pinheads and some medium ones, he seems to prefer the medium ones because they're easier for him to see and chase i think. he usually ignores the small ones. we bought some pedialyte and chicken baby food as well as several different types of veggies today. he stopped eating about 3 days ago so we figured it was time to go to the vet. he seems to be feeling better but he just looks tired, he still looks at me when i talk to him. probably wore out from the stress today. should i bathe him in a pedialyte/water bath tonight or wait? i don't want to bother him much more but the vet said i should try and force feed him if he doesn't eat soon because at 8 grams he is very tiny for his age. i guess i learned my lesson about buying pets from a petstore v.v

 

[AHBD]

You can just offer the baby food right now, it contains water so he will have some hydration if you get some in to him. If you want, you can add a bit of water mixed in. If he won't take any, you can try a short, warm shallow bath tomorrow. So when you say he liked medium crickets, can you be specific as to how long they were. Some pet stores sell ? medium " crix that are too large for babies. A good size cricket for a baby is 1/4 inch. I'm just trying to rule out impaction, because if he ate a few crix that were too big, it may have impacted him. Has he been pooing ? Sorry I forgot if you mentioned it.

 

[chastityx]

You can just offer the baby food right now, it contains water so he will have some hydration if you get some in to him. If you want, you can add a bit of water mixed in. If he won't take any, you can try a short, warm shallow bath tomorrow. So when you say he liked medium crickets, can you be specific as to how long they were. Some pet stores sell ? medium " crix that are too large for babies. A good size cricket for a baby is 1/4 inch. I'm just trying to rule out impaction, because if he ate a few crix that were too big, it may have impacted him. Has he been pooing ? Sorry I forgot if you mentioned it.

well i just got him to eat a cricket by mashing the guts out of it and ripping its head and legs off but he ran away from the second one, one is better than none i guess. i'll try the baby food tonight. and i'm not sure exactly how long, usually when we buy the smalls some are a bit bigger so i call them medium if that makes any sense. he was passing stools but now he just passes urates since he stopped eating. he has never eaten good since we got him a month ago. he only ate like 5 or 6 a day since we bought him and now he's down to none so i'm guessing he's just been sick and i don't think it's impaction.

 

[AHBD]

Well, even one cricket is a start....keep trying that, as well as the baby food, and hopefully he will start improving for you. Some babies love Phoenix worms, so if you haven't tried those, you might get some + give a try.

 

[chastityx]

Well, even one cricket is a start....keep trying that, as well as the baby food, and hopefully he will start improving for you. Some babies love Phoenix worms, so if you haven't tried those, you might get some + give a try.

will do. i'll look into phoenix worms, i haven't used them yet but i can try!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How much Cipro was given & is that the only medication given right now?
When do they expect to get the fecal results back for him?
He could have worms or parasites that are making him ill also, but the fecal results should reveal that.
Definitely try the baby food to help with getting nutrition into him. You can get some bee pollen to help boost the immune system as well.
Keep his tank around 80 over night to help as well, since he is not feeling very good.
Are you using a UVB light as well?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[chastityx]

Hello,

How much Cipro was given & is that the only medication given right now?
When do they expect to get the fecal results back for him?
He could have worms or parasites that are making him ill also, but the fecal results should reveal that.
Definitely try the baby food to help with getting nutrition into him. You can get some bee pollen to help boost the immune system as well.
Keep his tank around 80 over night to help as well, since he is not feeling very good.
Are you using a UVB light as well?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

i have no idea how much was given in the shot, they took a while in the back getting everything ready we were sitting there in the waiting room for atleast a half hour while they were getting his meds ready. That is the only medication they have him on. I haven't given him any from the bottle because they told me to do it every other day for 3-4 treatments. they said he didn't need one today since he just got the shot of it yesterday.
it says Ciprofloxacin 1.56 mg/ml susp (3ml)
and to give him 0.06ml once every other day for 3-4 treatments.
i was considering giving him less for the first treatment to ease him into it because i wasn't sure if that was too much since he's only 8grams. our vet sees reptiles but he didn't know much about bearded dragons "sickness" wise it seems, especially with one so small. he was really worried about him and took the time to look up some information. i also ordered some acidophilus+ yesterday for his belly since i read up a lot about medicines and treatments. he seems to be doing pretty good and is fairly active but still doesn't want to hunt food. & he does have a uvb light on his tank and we put him in the spare bedroom to keep him out away from traffic and in a warmer calm area.

 

[chastityx]

i fed him a mixture of chicken baby food, pedialyte, a little bit of vitamin and calcium powder, and a mashed up cricket from a syringe today. he only ate a little bit of it then he looked exhausted so i figured i'd try again tonight. i also gave him a bath in a mixture of warm pedialyte and water in the sink just now because he looked a little dehydrated, i'm assuming from the meds. i took a few pictures of him today to show how tiny he is. any suggestions to get him eating more? the probiotic shouldn't be here until monday or tuesday i got the email that it shipped a few hours ago.

bath time.

being moody after his bath. he ran off my hand and just perched there squinting at me whenever i moved to take a picture. lol. apparently being sick doesn't make him less of a brat.

 

[AHBD]

He's beautiful ,pretty little leatherback baby ! Although he is small, probably 4-8 weeks, he looks good weight-wise. Just give him some time....he will naturally be stressed, being new and on meds. right off the bat. But he looks good.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That dosage looks good. It may affect her appetite right now though.
How is he doing tonight ? He looks great & like he is going to shed also which can affect the appetite too.
Hopefully the probiotics will really help out for her.
Keep us posted on her!

Tracie

 

[chastityx]

Hello,

That dosage looks good. It may affect her appetite right now though.
How is he doing tonight ? He looks great & like he is going to shed also which can affect the appetite too.
Hopefully the probiotics will really help out for her.
Keep us posted on her!

Tracie

he's okay as of this morning, i woke him up on accident going in the room to feed our rescue geckos. 6am and he's like "what mom go away" but the girls need fed while they're still awake! he seems to be a lot more active now than he has been even though he's not eating. i've also been leaving the blinds open in the bedroom so he gets a lot of light and he sits at the front of his cage toward the window most the day when he's not basking on his log. he's being very moody when i pick him up though. he used to love it but since i started making him eat some baby food he runs really fast around his cage when i reach in. today i'm supposed to give him his medicine & his probiotics are expected here by tuesday, kind of worried about giving it to him but i suppose if i make him eat the baby food i can make him take a bit of medicine. is it okay to give him the medicine in increments? like say give him half with his morning baby food and then the rest at night so he doesn't get too stressed from taking so much at once?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is good to hear he is at least active & basking right now.
As for giving the meds, they should be given on an empty stomach for better absorption, but you can try giving half & half if there is a time that he has not eaten later in the day. The probiotics need to be given later in the day also away from food & meds.
I hope he is feeling better soon.

Tracie

 

[chastityx]

Hello,

That is good to hear he is at least active & basking right now.
As for giving the meds, they should be given on an empty stomach for better absorption, but you can try giving half & half if there is a time that he has not eaten later in the day. The probiotics need to be given later in the day also away from food & meds.
I hope he is feeling better soon.

Tracie

he doesn't eat on his own lately so i can definitely separate the dose. here's hoping he doesn't hate me for the rest of his life for making him take medicine. LOL