Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok i posted a few days ago. I have since tried the baby foods thing with the multi-vitamin/calcium sup in it. HE HATES IT... but licked it up ... i think by accident while trying to rub it off.
The vet did an xray (for free cause i guess i looked really sad and stuff when i asked how much that would cost) and he didnt find anything abnormal. BUT the bacterial culture turned up two diff bacterial infections. So he gave Sigme' a shot of Amikacin and sent me home with 4 more needles full of the stuff to give every 3 days. He showed me how to give the shot and it looked easy enough but when i gave him the shot tonight it bled a little. Just a small dot that i blotted with a q-tip. I felt the needle go in. But i'm not sure i did this right because it never bled AT ALL when the vet did it. SO. Has anyone ever given their leo a shot before that could help me out on this?
Meanwhile Sigme' shed again because he keeps getting thinner i guess. I had to soak him for 20 min because ever since the infection he doesnt shed properly. I'm so stressed..almost as much as my poor leo. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or help.

Beth and Sigme'

Keep in mind that your vet has had years of experience giving injections to animals, and the vast majority of us never have. A tiny bit of blood at the injection site simply means you nicked a little blood vessel with the needle. There may be some slight bruising under the skin when this happens. Don't worry!

Amikacin sulfate injections are used in for treatment of serious infections due to susceptible strains of gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas species, Escherichia coli, species of indole-positive and indole-negative Proteus, Providencia species, Klebsiella-Enterobacter-Serratia species, and Acinetobacter.

These bacterial infections are usually due to the geckos eating crickets that are raised or kept in filth, or feeding them meat-based pet food (like dog food.) I have had crickets from a few suppliers tested at IDEX Labs straight out of the shipping box, and they were LOADED with these strains of bacteria. If you would like to know which cricket suppliers, email me!
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Marcia McGuiness
Golden Gate Geckos
www.goldengategeckos.com

Well... the two he has are Pseudomonas & indole-negative Proteus types.
This makes me soo mad! My gecko could have died - from a cricket! Stupid bugs! I know once i get them they live in a little holding tank that rivals some on the reptile enclosures for its cleanlyness and his cage has had no major changes. The vet also suggested the food as the source.
WHATEVER i'm mad now. Thanks for the advise on the shot i was a little nervous about giving them to him.
Poor gecko...