Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Fortuneately, I haven't had to deal with a respiratory infection for many, many years. Back then it was Tylan. Then a few years ago a friend was treating something he had with Amacacin that was prescribed by his herp vet. The other night I was talking to another guy who told me that Baytril was what he used on his albino burmese when thay came down with it.

Now I read somewhere that injectable Batril is no longer considered safe and not the drug chosen to treat R.I.

So what is the injectable drug that is used now for R.I. ?

My vet likes to take a culture and change the drug depending on what bacteria they find. I've gotten Fortaz several times. None of these URI's were serious so I don't know how well it worked. It was sort of back before I could judge how bad they were on my own. I've heard about injectable Baytril but none of the vets I've talked to seem to have a problem with it. I've used it a few times without incident but I like to stay away from it now. I just used oral Baytril on a lizard for a general infection and it seemed to work great. He thankfully was too tiny to inject so I didn't have to try and contradict the 'doc'.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Meretseger is on the money regarding the culture/testing. You need to know what you are shooting at.

Baytril (Enrofloxacin) is a very harsh drug, and can cause sterile injection site ulcers when injected (especially the 100mg/ml strength), but it is effective against most bacteria that commonly cause RI in reptiles. It can also be given orally, but absorption isn't quite as good.

Amikacin Sulfate is also effective against some RI causing bacteria. It isn't quite as harsh as Enrofloxacin.

Another good drug for RI caused by most Gram-negative rod type bacteria is Ceftazadime.

The bottom line is that you need to find out what's causing the problem and use the appropriate drug. You actually don't even need to culture unless you are going to do a sensitivity test. Most times, you can just Gram stain a specimen and choose a drug. Usually, you only need to know if it's G- or G to know which drug is appropriate.

Some drugs which are known as Aminoglycosides are known to have nephrotoxic qualities, and some drugs are known to be toxic to certain species of reptlies, so that must be taken into account also. Even when dealing with vermifuges or anti-flagellates, some things are toxic to certain species and relatively safe in others. A good example is Ivermectin. It is deadly in Chelonians, Indigo Snakes (if improperly dosed) some rattlesnakes, etc. Same with Flagyl (Metronidazole).

The practice (common among herpers) of acquiring "leftover" drugs from other herpers and using them on their own because "it worked for someone else" is a VERY dangerous practice and has likely caused the inadvertent death of many reptiles. I saw someone selling a 100ml bottle of 100/1 Injectible Enrofloxacin at the Daytona show....chances are that someone with no idea how to use it or when to use it will purchase that (illegally) and injure their animals with it.