Yesterday one of my baby Leopard lizards became acutely ill with an apparent respiratory infection. She was gaping widely to breathe, and I saw a bubble form over her nose when she exhaled. Her illness was so severe that she wouldn't even try to right herself if I turned her over on her back, and her limbs were straight and rigid along her sides.
Fearing that she had little chance of surviving the night, I put her in my "lizard intensive care" box on top of a heating pad on low (about 94 degrees) to isolate her from her cagemates and reduce her stress as much as possible. I began Baytril, administered fluids, and hoped for the best.
The next morning I checked on her and much to my surprise, when I reached into the box to get her she crawled onto my finger. Seeing that she had improved greatly over the night, I decided to put her back in her regular cage, and she immediately ran to the corner and tried to climb the glass. Now, 24 hours following her first dose of Baytril, her behavior is nearly normal. I have never seen a lizard become that sick that fast, or respond that quickly to medication. I have every reason to believe she'll make a full recovery.
It is still a mystery to me why she developed the infection in the first place. The basking temps are around 105-106, and the cool end is in the upper 80s. The cage is dry, and is the same setup I have for all my collareds. No one else has ever gotten sick with a respiratory infection in my house. This little girl has been something of a runt, though; not growing as fast as her cagemates, and extremely shy and easily stressed. I wonder if those things had anything to do with a compromised immune system.
Anyway, she looks good now, and I am very grateful. I sure love those little guys and I couldn't bear to lose one.
élan
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2.7.0 Collareds
1.2.0 Leopard Lizards
1.0.0 Mali Uromastix
2.1.0 Green Anole
1.0.0 Chinese Dwarf Newt
1.1.0 California Newts
1.0.0 White's Treefrog
1.0.0 Fire bellied toad
2.1.0 Felines
1.2.0 Canines
1.0.0 Equine
