Oral Meds

[JuliaGoolia]

So...

How much is too much?

I don't know if that makes much sense..

Our little BP is on three different meds. We're giving them to her orally, and she is starting to get QUITE pissy about it. The Val syrup she gets .25 cc's every day. The baytril, .2 cc's every other.. and now, this metronidazole.. .5 flippin' cc's every 3 days.
We were told to give her the meds orally, albeit the vet did give her the first dose of baytril via injection at the office. ...but she is really starting to get upset about it - and honestly, the more pissy she gets, the less liquid she seems to swallow. it seems a lot of liquid for her to take - especially on the days when all three meds fall on the same day. Her muscle control seems be getting a lot better, as it's getting harder and harder to hold on to her to administer the meds, where as before it wasn't hard at all - so i do think the meds are working.. it just seems excessive. I have heard that injections are better than oral, but it's what the Dr. ordered, ya know??

Any thoughts??

(My first thread explains what was going on with her....)

[mlededee]

you need to get a feeding tube to go on the end of an oral syringe (i'm guessing that's what you are using now?) so you can get the meds straight into her stomach. all three of those together is quite a lot and she's probably not swallowing all of it. i tried dosing some snakes orally without the tube--.5-.6 ccs was what they were getting and it was just too much to get them to take down at once. using a feeding tube is way easier.

[West Coast Jungle]

Sounds like you are treating an RI.
My main Vet prefers injections over oral. He told me that there is not suffient proof that orals are absorbed completely and that injections have a much higher concentration of meds that actually are absorbed. I once had another vet begin to give me an oral prescription and I told him I prefer injections and he said "That is much better for your snake". He assumed, as many vets probaby do, that I wouldn't want( or couldn't) do injections. Ask your vet next time for injections.

[nixer]

personally i think injections are way easier to give and much less stress than a feeding tube.
im sure its more effective as well.

[JuliaGoolia]

When we brought her to the vet, she seemed to think it was an inner ear infection. (She thought that because of her motor control issues, and always turning to the right, as apposed to the left...) I still think it may be a bit of a RI, too... but I'm just going on things I have read here and in other books/forums/FAQs/etc.

I have been thinking about injections - I don't know if we could do it - but I only say that because I've never done it before. I never thought I would be helping my son open up his pet python's mouth to give her medicine, either....

What would I need to know in order to do that? Would the vet supply me with the needles?

If we do a feeding tube, where do I get that? Would a pet store carry something that small, or would I need to get that from the vet as well? If I put it down her throat, how on earth do I do that?? I almost think I would be more nervous about getting it in the wrong place than giving an injection.. ?!?

I sure hope this is over soon. she seems to be getting a lot better, but her head control still isn't what it should be..

She "relieved" herself today for the first time in about a month.. about the same amount of time as she's eaten.. and she was able to wrap herself around my husbands hand today, too.. That's a good sign..!!

btw - thanks to everyone who has left me feedback on any of my 3 threads - You guys have really been a GREAT support system!!

-J

[mlededee]

injections aren't too difficult, but have your vet show you how to do it--that's really the easiest way to see how it should be administered.

if you use a feeding tube, your vet should be able to supply you with that and a syringe it will fit onto. you can't really put it in the wrong place--it goes straight down the back of their throat. it is easiest if you have one person hold the snake while you gently slide the tube down the snake's throat--if the snake bends its neck sharply you will have to try to straighten it enough that you can get the tube in far enough.

i had to treat a snake once with baytril, and i did give that via injection. the only medicines i have administered via feeding tube were ones to treat internal parasites so you might want to speak with your vet about which methods he feels are best for each medication.